Many doctors prefer to use a number of other treatments before recommending surgery. Fortunately, some are beginning to accept spinal decompression as a viable alternative. Aside from being less invasive, this procedure also addresses other factors that may not be possible to diagnose, let alone treat with a surgical procedure.  In particular, when a spinal disc, or a piece of bone pinches a nerve, it may also cut off some of the blood supply to other tissue in that area.   This may include bone tissue, as well as cartilage that will send off distress signals for months on end.  While the cessation of pain may be a relief, there is no telling how much hidden damage may have been caused by the compression and even people suffering with diabetes could find relief in spinal decompression therapy.

Many kinds of injuries can disrupt the normal alignment of the muscles and bone in your neck or spine.  After the initial pain goes away, you may develop sciatica months, or even years later.  Interestingly enough, even people with hip and shoulder pain often find out that the problem is located in the spine, or in the areas where the main nerve exits the spine.
A chiropractor can use certain spinal manipulations to realign your back, and relieve the pressure.   That said, if the case is more severe, or there are other joint complications, you may need to see an orthopedic specialist.  In most cases, they will wind up doing a lot of tests, and then give you all sorts of pain killers.

If you want to get out of the cycle of pain caused by sciatica, you should consider a number of different options.  While most doctors will tell you about surgery, cortisone shots, and pain killers, they may not tell you about a newer treatment.  Therefore, you should make it a point to ask about spinal decompression, as well as try to find out from other resources if it has the potential to be of help to you.