Sciatica
Pills or muscle relaxers can’t correct the nerve compression caused by a bulging disc.
Pain medication or muscle relaxants only tend to mask the pain caused by nerve compression. Often caused by a bulging disc, sciatica is a pain experienced in the small of the back and can lead down one or both of your legs. This pain generally becomes worse over time, particularly while sitting or standing for extended periods of time.
The spinal bones in the lower back have discs between them, and these are usually involved in causing the pain.
Physical injuries can result in bulging discs. What ends up happening is that the nerves nearby don’t have enough room, and this will cause pain and irritation in almost all cases. Even coughing, sneezing, or other sudden but minor movements necessary in daily life will cause pain ranging from mild to extreme. The pain will happen in the legs, but the cause of the pain is from the lower back. Patients often describe sciatica pain in the following ways:
- Dull and achy, like a toothache
- Sharp
- Numb and tingly, like pins and needles
- Something similar to sudden electric shocks
Resolving Sciatica Issues
Restoring a full range of motion for joints in the lower back is very attainable for many patients through a regular series of chiropractic treatments. Just as patients experience a variety of sensations from sciatica, chiropractors can use a variety of treatments to assist patients. Examples of possible treatments include the following:
- Ice/Cold Therapy—Helps to reduce inflammation and control pain.
- TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation)—Uses variable intensities of electrical stimulation to reduce spasms and control pain.
- Ultrasound—Uses gentle heat to penetrate deep into tissue to increase circulation and reduce cramps, stiffness, and pain.
- Adjustments—Manipulations of the spinal column help to free restricted movement of the spine and to restore everything to its proper position in the spinal column. Chiropractic adjustments reduce inflammation, muscle spasms, pain, and other symptoms related to sciatica.
To begin, you must first schedule a consultation and then have a chiropractic examination conducted. Our practice has helped many patients with sciatica, and you might be next.
Frequently Asked Questions
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How does someone end up with sciatica?
In many cases, it won’t be difficult to guess at which injury you experienced that lead to your sciatica. It might have been a car or sports accident, but sciatica doesn’t necessarily have to be caused by an injury—bad posture, improper exercise, or other causes may result in this condition. You might be going about your daily routine, bend over to pick something up, and have sciatica “episode” out of the blue. -
Will chiropractic intervention resolve sciatica?
Chiropractic intervention itself cannot resolve sciatica, but it can help your body heal itself. The chiropractic adjustment approach to health issues is to resolve nervous system issues and allow your body to naturally heal as a result of this. -
How long will it take?
Many patients with sciatica will find that after a few weeks or months their symptoms have subsided considerably or entirely. The best course of action can often be to continue your chiropractic care, even if the sciatica appears to be gone—this can prevent relapses.
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I don’t recall having any physical injuries. Why am I experiencing sciatica?
Many patients have similar stories. The human body is remarkably adaptive, and can accrue a great deal of stress over the years—however, at some point (as with the example of simply bending over given above), these problems will manifest.