Acupuncture could be better than a common drug for treating sciatica pain, a recent small study suggests. After three treatments, 57% of acupuncture patients were cured compared to just 27% of patients taking a common pain killer and 20% receiving alkaloid injections. Researchers from China divided 90 sciatica patients into three groups receiving one of [...]
The efficacy of drugs for sciatica treatment has been called into question in a recent literature review. Although there are consistent guidelines for prescribing medication for low-back pain, “this is not the case for sciatica.” To address this lack of clear guidelines, researchers analyzed the results of current literature on pharmaceutical treatment of sciatica.1 After [...]
Supervised sessions of physical therapy provided immediate and long-term relief for patients with sciatica, according to secondary analysis of a recent study. 165 patients with moderate and severe sciatica pain participated in several supervised physical therapy sessions for three months. Immediately following a session, 85% of patients experienced reduced leg pain through a process known [...]
Previously, treatment for low-back pain consisted of bed rest or passive treatment methods. Now more studies are pointing to the benefits of staying active with pain thresholds. The word “active” is a double entendre though: not only does it mean more exercise, it also means that patients take an active role in their treatment by [...]
This is part 2 in a series of 3 on active conservative treatment of sciatica. Often, doctors opt to give patients surgery based on the belief that surgery produces faster recovery times. But results from a new study indicate that conservative treatment produced faster recovery rates than surgery. 181 patients with severe sciatica received active [...]
This is part 1 in a series of 3 on active conservative treatment of sciatica. Studies have shown that conservative treatment can be just as effective as surgery in treating patients with low-back pain and sciatica. (1) But methods of conservative treatment can vary widely from chiropractic adjustments to epidural injections (other treatments include mobilization, [...]
A combination of exercise and chiropractic care may be the missing link in your sciatica treatment. Recently, a case study illustrated the benefit of chiropractic care in a 47-year old firefighter with chronic back pain and sciatica. The patient had an active lifestyle and physically-demanding job. He had a deep, dull low-back pain, pain in [...]
Relief from sciatica nerve pain may be just a pressure point away. Applying the right amount of pressure to the sciatica nerve for two minutes significantly alleviates sciatica nerve pain for up to an hour, according to preliminary research presented at the American Academy of Pain Medicine conference. This preliminary study used an approach called [...]
Sciatica pain is often so debilitating that it forces people to miss work and other normal activities. Of all patients with low-back pain, sciatica patients have the highest level of disability (1). In fact, patients with sciatica are disabled for an average of 72 days according to Norwegian public-health records. Fortunately, a recent study offers [...]
