What is Sciatica?
Houston Chiropractor Comments: One of the most painful conditions that we treat in our Houston, TX office is sciatica. Sciatica is a condition resulting from the irritation of the sciatic nerve. This is the largest nerve in the human body. It travels from the lower back, through the hips and buttocks, and eventually down each leg.
When people do an internet search on sciatica, they think that any pain from the back radiating into the leg is sciatica. Luckily, this is not true. Most of the time, after a proper exam, we find that their leg pain is actually a referred pain from a lumbar or sacroiliac joint, or it is an irritated TFL caused by an improper gait.
Sciatica is typically caused by either a herniated disc in the lumbar spine, a bone spur, or irritation of the piriformis muscle. The pain can be a deep achy pain, but typically is a sharp burning pain. The pain is usually on one side only. If the pain crosses two separate joints, such as the hip and the knee, it is almost always a nerve pain, such as sciatica. I typically see patients with the pain primarily being on the outside of their calf muscle.
There are certain risk factors for sciatica. The first is age. As we get older, we have an increase in disc degeneration and spur formation. It becomes easier for the sciatic nerve to become irritated. Being overweight also increases the stress on the spine. Diabetes can increase the risk of nerve damage. Finally, an occupation that results in prolonged sitting or driving as well as twisting or carrying heavy loads can cause an increased incidence of sciatica.
Most people make a full recovery from sciatica without the need for treatment. If the sciatica causes a loss of bowel or bladder control, please seek immediate medical attention. If the sciatica causes any leg weakness or numbness, please give us, or your local chiropractor, a call. Chiropractic care gets excellent results with sciatica and we can show you the correct stretches and exercises to help prevent a reoccurrence.
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!
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!
Chiropractic Care for Sciatica
Clear Lake Chiropractor Comments: 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.
Sciatica can be caused by several things. It can be from stress, depression or negative emotions which deprive the nerves of oxygen leading to pain, weakness or tingling. Carrying extra weight or bad posture can pull and irritate the sciatic nerve. A herniated disc or a vertebra being misaligned can also irritate the nerve as well as a spinal tumor.
It is important that you get a proper diagnosis from a doctor that treats sciatica regularly. Some health providers who don’t regularly treat back and nerve complaints incorrectly call all pain that radiates into the leg, sciatica. This leads to a mis-diagnosis and a delay in the proper treatment and pain relief.
After the cause of the sciatica is determined, then the correct treatment can begin. The majority of the cases respond well to chiropractic spinal manipulation, physical therapy, and lifestyle changes. A few of the cases will need to be co managed by a medical doctor.
The purpose of the spinal manipulation is to move the vertebrae or pelvis so that they allow the muscles to relax and remove the irritation to the nerve. It is important to know which vertebrae specifically needs to be adjusted. It is also important to know which vertebrae should be left alone.
Certain types of physical therapy work better for sciatica than others. It is important to know when to perform passive therapies and when active therapies or exercises should be included. Ice and heat are 2 types of therapy to be used, but it is important to know when to use each. Typically, if you can point to a specific area that hurts or is painful you will use ice for 20 minutes. If a large region is achy, but not painful, you will use heat for 20 minutes.
Lifestyle changes would include things like what position you sleep in, is your chair straight up or leaning slightly back, how you lift objects and others.
If the sciatica does not show a reduction in pain by at least 50% in 2 weeks, then ordering an MRI or a referral for medication from a medical doctor would be appropriate.
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!
