9 Risk Factors for Developing Sciatica

I have had many patients with more severe sciatica (leg pain from a pinched nerve in the low back) tell me with a straiight face they wished someone would cut their leg off! It can be more severe than back pain because it is a form of nerve pain.
You can decrease your risk of sciatica by working on the nine factors discussed in this article.

9 Risk Factors for Developing Sciatica

The Puzzling Popularity of Back Surgery in Certain Regions

You might think that once drugs, devices and medical procedures are shown to be effective, they quickly become available. You might also think that those shown not to work as well as alternatives are immediately discarded.
Reasonable assumptions both, but you’d be wrong.
Another study has shown wide variations of up to 4 times in the rates of spinal surgery across the US. and it has not changed over time. There is no reason for this wide variation. 
 Unfortunately this shows that the decision to do spinal surgery is many times not based on science and many people are getting unnecessary spinal surgeries.

The Puzzling Popularity of Back Surgery in Certain Regions

Surgery Not Better for Spine Narrowing, Study Finds

Have seen this result often from surgery studies over the last recent years. This new study is from the prestigious Spine Journal. Long term studies often show no benefit for surgery over non surgery treatment. That is one of the reasons I treat so many patients who have had spinal surgery. I often hear that the pain was lessened after the surgery but then returned.
Has anyone been through this scenario?

Surgery Not Better for Spine Narrowing, Study Finds