Chiropractic Treatments For Sciatica
Electric jolts of pain shooting down your legs and lower back would be alarming to anyone. If you feel acute pain that emanates in your spine and radiates down one side of your leg, you may very well be dealing with sciatica. The pain may worsen when you stay in the same position for long periods of time, twist your upper body, or move suddenly. People who live sedentary lifestyles are at higher risk for sudden sciatica flare-ups. The same goes for people who have diabetes or work office jobs that require them to sit for several hours at a time.
What is Sciatica?
Sciatica is pain that radiates along the sciatic nerve, through your lower back, and into one or both legs. The sciatic nerve traverses your lower back, past the hips, and down your legs. Unfortunately, this means you can experience pain anywhere in that area. This condition is caused when a herniated disk or bone spur pinches a nerve.
As sciatica symptoms affect the lower back and are generally the result of an underlying condition, chiropractors are highly capable of treating them with non-surgical methods. The compression or pinching of either the sciatic nerve (or the nerves at the root of the spine) is the cause of sciatica, and this can occur as a result of several different medical conditions.
The key differentiator between sciatica and lower back pain is how the pain presents itself. Sciatica extends beyond the lower back and into the buttocks and legs. However, both sciatic nerves are rarely affected at the same time, so pain in just one leg is a strong indicator that the symptoms you’re experiencing are sciatica.
Sufferers of sciatica describe their pain as shooting electricity or a burning fire rather than a dull ache or discomfort that’s associated with your run-of-the-mill back pain. Although, people may experience numbness or tingling though with or without pain. Sciatica pain is generally less intense when the sufferer is laying down or walking, but the pain can quickly worsen after bouts of standing or sitting.
Sciatica pain can range from moderate discomfort to severe pain. This is entirely dependent on the sufferer’s pain threshold and the severity of the underlying condition. In a worst-case scenario, the shooting pain may become severe enough that you can’t stand or walk at all. Unfortunately, sporadic symptoms also have the potential to build in frequency and could become a chronic issue.
What Causes Sciatica?
Herniated disks are by far one of the most common causes of sciatica because they can pinch the sciatic nerve. However, bone spurs or spine narrowing are also likely culprits. All of these conditions can press down on the sciatic nerve causing sciatica-like pain.
Sciatica can sometimes resolve on its own, but when it doesn’t you should seek out chiropractic care. If you don’t seek sciatica treatment at the right time, you may end up with permanent nerve damage. This is exactly as bad as it sounds. You could actually lose feeling in your leg or lose control over your bowel and bladder.
Chiropractors provide natural and effective sciatica treatments that can help prevent this. Their methods work well because they treat the underlying condition to resolve the sciatica symptoms.
How Can a Chiropractor Diagnose and Treat Sciatica?
A chiropractor can usually relieve sciatica symptoms in just one month, although recovery times do vary depending on the severity of the patient’s condition. Chiropractors specialize in musculoskeletal care making them the perfect care provider to support people struggling with sciatica flare-ups.
Chiropractors use spinal manipulation and various therapies to relieve pain stemming from musculoskeletal conditions. Dr. Thomas Ferrigno is a fully certified and licensed doctor that has more than 30 years of experience making chiropractic adjustments.
Dr. Ferrigno and the team at Bay Area Disc Centers will take a close look at your medical history, review your symptoms, and develop a custom sciatica treatment plan to relieve your symptoms and prevent future flare-ups. To get a clear view of what you’re experiencing, we may take X-rays or order an MRI to identify if your spine is narrowed and affecting your sciatic nerve.
A chiropractor can help relieve the pressure on your sciatic nerve that’s causing you pain. Aside from spinal manipulation, Bay Area Disc Centers may recommend spinal decompression to reduce the size of the disc herniation which is compressing the sciatic nerve along with controlled stretches and exercises that you can do at home to relieve pain. A chiropractor doesn’t just use manual manipulations to provide relief though. They focus on full-body wellness to help patients resolve the underlying problem with nutrition and wellness education.
Suggestions to Naturally Prevent or Relieve Sciatica
Take Breaks
Humans aren’t meant to spend all day in the same uncomfortable chair staring at computers and answering phones. Take breaks throughout the day, stretch, and change sitting positions during your 9-5. You’ll start to notice less pain at the end of the day when you make movement a priority.
Strength Training
Prevent back pain and sciatica by building up your back muscles. Even low-impact exercises like crunches can strengthen your back and core, reducing the likelihood of injury. This is a great preventive measure, but if you’re already hurt, take things slow and follow your doctor’s orders carefully.
Use Ice and Heat
You should only be using ice for about 20 minutes at a time, but it will work wonders on your sciatica pain. When you take a break from ice, you can switch to heat. Hot showers, heating pads, and hot packs can all help relieve back and leg pain.
Stretch
Stretch out your hip and hamstring muscles to relieve pain from sciatica. When these muscles are too tight, they put unnecessary pressure on your lower back and sciatic nerve. You may also want to consider taking up yoga to improve overall strength, posture, and flexibility. Yoga is a great pain relief and sciatica prevention solution.
Bay Area Disc Restoration Therapy and Sciatica Treatment
Alleviate your sciatica without surgery. Bay Area Disc Center’s 5-point disk restoration therapy hydrates and restores the health of your disc, speeding up your recovery. This treatment has shown impressive results. Restoration and relief are attainable. Contact Bay Area Disc Centers in San Mateo and Cambell, California today to schedule an introductory consultation.