Sciatica refers to pain, weakness, numbness, or tingling in the leg. It is caused by injury to or pressure on the sciatic nerve (a nerve that originates in your lower back and travels down your leg to your foot. Sciatica is a symptom not a medical condition on its own. It can be very painful and debilitating. When experiencing this condition, one is sometimes likely to choose whatever treatment that will get them pain relief. Assuming the person has tried oral medications, physical therapy and injections (unfortunately theses options are usually presented first) what is left on the table is surgery and chiropractic care. Recently there has been a study comparing chiropractic to surgery for sciatic patients.
A 2010 study of 120 patients with sciatica secondary to lumbar disc herniations that were referred by their PCP to Neurosurgery after standard conservative care, found that 60% benefited from chiropractic manipulation TO THE SAME DEGREE AS IF THEY UNDERWENT SURGICAL INTERVENTION.
The study also found that the 40% that did not respond to chiropractic care were great candidates for surgery. The message is TRY CHIROPRACTIC FIRST!
MANIPULATION OR MICRODISECTOMY FOR SCIATICA? A PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL Gordon McMorland, DC, Esther Suter,
PhD, Steve Casha, MD, PhD, FRCSC, Stephan J. Du Plessis, MD, and John Hurlbert, MD, PhD, FRCSC, FACSe
