What is the superior treatment for sciatica--injections or physical therapy?

Short or long term?: In the short-term, injections can achieve faster relief if the nerves are being compressed in specific locations. However, longer-term studies have shown that within 3-6 months outcomes are similar. Keep in mind, most people will actually improve without specific therapy given enough time - although stretching, core strengthening, weight loss, and not smoking help a great deal.

Adjunctive: Injections can be very helpful adjunctive treatments for sciatica but in my opinion they should be combined with a good physical therapy program. I find that the two together work better than either one separately however, depending on the situation i will often use pt alone as a first attempt and add an injection if the pt is not helping. Not everyone agrees with me on this however.

Hard to Say: Injections will give you pain relief early, but PT can be just as helpful but will take time to get relief. There is new research coming out that when you are in a lot of pain, you're body actually stops you from performing exercises so that you may not benefit from PT initially. So we believe that if you at least improve your pain first, you can then proceed with the exercise therapy programs.