A recent study in the British Medical Journal found that patients who had spinal surgery for sciatica only had short term benefits. The results of this study suggest that expensive treatments for low back pain may not be the best choice for patients.
(Austin, TX – September 16, 2010)
A recent study in the British Medical Journal found that patients who had spinal surgery for sciatica only had short term benefits. After 6 months, patients who had surgery felt no different than patients getting physical therapy. The spine experts at Texas Physical Therapy Specialists (TexPTS) deliver hands-on physical therapy to help patients with sciatica.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Sciatica is the pain that travels along the sciatic nerve that runs from the top of the back to the bottom of the leg. Sciatica usually ends quickly, but in some patients it stays. In the British Medical Journal study, patients had the option of early surgery or physical therapy. The patients who had surgery showed improvement for a short time following surgery. But, by 6 months, and up to 2 years following surgery, there was no difference between the groups having surgery and those that did not.
“The news in this study is that patients may be able to avoid surgery. If they can wait out the pain for 6 months, they can get the same results with physical therapy,” said Dr. Robert Wainner, a physical therapy professor at Texas State University , leading musculoskeletal researcher, and therapist/owner at Texas Physical Therapy Specialists. “Patients should know that surgery is not the only option to treat sciatica.”
The study states that since the early benefits of surgery are gone by 6 months, well-informed sciatica patients, and not physicians, should decide if they have surgery. The results of this study suggest that expensive treatments for low back pain may not be the best choice for patients. Options like physical therapy at TexPTS may be the best choice for patients with low back pain.
‘…staff and therapy team were very knowledgeable and supportive of my problem and treatment’, stated a recent TexPTS patient in Austin. “I avoided surgery which was my main focus.”
‘The best treatment for low back pain is to make sure it is addressed early and does not develop into leg pain, or become a long term condition,’ says Dr. Wainner. ‘Research has shown that early movement and treatments like exercise and physical therapy offer good benefits.’ These treatments include hands-on physical therapy to move the spine and exercises that ease low back pain. Dr. Wainner suggests that patients seek physical therapists first for treatment.
The spine experts at Texas Physical Therapy Specialists can help reduce pain, reduce the use of medicines, and prevent painful and costly surgery. For more information visit our website at TexPTS.com.
About Texas Physical Therapy Specialists:
Texas Physical Therapy Specialists (TexPTS) is a private physical therapy practice with locations throughout San Antonio, Austin, and Tyler. Known for teaching and training physical therapists all over the US, TexPTS physical therapists pride themselves in being spine experts. They deliver hands-on physical therapy based on the newest research to achieve the best results for patients with bad backs, achy joints, wounded hands, and work injuries. Along the way, the TexPTS family has fun and makes friends with their patients (and their pets, their kids, their in-laws, and neighbors….) Perhaps this is why they were voted the Best Private Physical Therapy Practice in the U.S. in 2009 by their peers in the American Physical Therapy Association. For more information visit our website at TexPTS.com or find us on Facebook.
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