Can Surgery Help Your Chronic Sciatica?

Chronic sciatica can be painful and exhausting, radiating down your hips, buttocks, legs, and even down to your feet. According to studies from Harvard Health, as many as 40% of people will get sciatica throughout their lives. Those who suffer from acute to chronic back pain can become more affected by sciatica later on in life. Although most cases of sciatica can be resolved over time, those who have chronic sciatica will require some form of medical treatment to reduce pain and manage this condition. But when is sciatica persistent enough to require surgery? We’re here to help provide some advice on whether you should get surgery, the signs you may need surgery, and other factors you should know before making your decision.

Causes and Nonsurgical Treatments For Sciatica

Sciatica treatment varies according to what’s causing the pain, the symptom’s severity, and how the condition affects that person’s quality of life. Sciatica pain can extend down the back and into the feet and can linger for days to weeks without relief. The cause of sciatica can present a huge determining factor for surgery, as many of these causes can be addressed without surgery. Some of the most common causes for sciatica include:

• Herniated Disc: Herniated discs, or an injured disc within the spine, can irritate the sciatica nerve due to its movement out of place from the spin and potential degenerative factors involved with this condition.
• Spinal stenosis: As a condition that narrows the space inside the spinal canal, the progression of spinal stenosis can pinch the sciatica nerve, causing intense, lingering pain to occur.
• Spondylolisthesis: When the vertebrae slip and become misaligned, the misalignment can cause pinching and irritation to the lumbar nerve root.
• Spine Degeneration: Degenerative disc disease caused by wear and tear on the spine’s vertebrae regions can result in bone spurs. These areas of extra bone growth can lead to sciatica nerve pain throughout the lumbar region.
• Cyst/Tumor: In rarer cases, perineural cysts and spinal tumors along the spine can compress the sciatica nerve.

Spinal surgery is most often considered when nonsurgical treatments, including medications, steroid injections, aqua therapy, and nerve blocks, haven’t provided relief. When considering spinal surgery, it’s important to ask yourself and your spinal doctor questions regarding your goals, aspirations, and expected outcomes, including:

• What is your long-term outlook for this surgery?
• What nonsurgical treatments haven’t you tried?
• Do the benefits of spinal surgery outweigh its risks?
• Does the cause of your sciatica affect the outcome of the surgery?
• Are you aware of the risks associated with your spinal surgery?

When contemplating surgery, it’s important to consider these factors, as all potential causes for your chronic sciatica need to be observed to ensure proper spinal function and recovery. Overall, depending on the type of surgery provided by your doctor, full recovery depends highly on your current health, underlying conditions. Full recovery looks different for each person, so it’s important to speak with your doctor about your prospects, healing times, and other options for sciatica treatment.