Chiropractic Relief For Sciatica
Bay Area Chiropractor Comments: One of the most painful things that patients come to my Houston, Texas office for treatment is sciatica. They cannot find a comfortable position to relax. They have sharp pain radiating down their leg. They are trying to find any relief.
Sciatica is when the sciatic nerve becomes irritated, causing pain to radiate from the lower back, through the buttocks, and down the leg. The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body. It starts at the lower portion of the spinal cord, passes deep in the buttocks, runs down the back of the thigh before dividing above the knee joint.
Some doctors and patients think that any pain that radiates down the leg is sciatica, but that is not true. That is why it is important that you are examined by a doctor that can make an accurate diagnosis and has the experience to treat the sciatica several different ways. You don’t want to waste your time doing things that don’t give you relief.
In my 34 years of being a chiropractor, I have been able to treat the majority of my sciatica patients with complete relief of their symptoms in 2-8 weeks. Most of the patients respond well to chiropractic spinal adjustments and physical therapy. Some patients respond better to doing stretches and exercises that can be primarily done at their house or at a gym. A few of my patients require co-management with a medical doctor that understands sciatica for medication management.
If the sciatica does not show a reduction in pain by at least 50% in 2 weeks, then ordering an MRI would be appropriate. We would then know if we needed to change the type of treatment being performed or if we needed to refer the patient to another provider.
Dr. Ward Beecher practices at Beecher Chiropractic Clinic at 1001 Pineloch, Ste 700 Houston, TX 77062. You can schedule an appointment at www.BeecherChiropractic.com or by calling (281) 286-1300. If you have any questions regarding this blog, please comment below!
