Sciatica

What is sciatica?

Sciatica is a lower back condition where shooting or electric shock-like pain travels through your hip and buttocks and part or all the way down your legs. Usually, sciatica only affects one leg, although it’s possible to get it in both.

Sciatica pain goes down your leg because it’s following the sciatic nerve path. This large nerve comes out of your lower (lumbar) spine in one piece, then divides in two when it reaches your pelvis. One of these branches then extends into each leg.

What causes sciatica?

Sciatic nerve compression or pinching triggers sciatica pain. This nerve damage could result from:

• Back or buttocks muscle spasms  
• Herniated or bulging spinal discs 
• Spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal)
• Arthritis and bone spurs
• Spondylolisthesis (vertebrae slipping over other vertebrae)
• Degenerative disc disease
• Pregnancy

You’re more likely to suffer from sciatica if you don’t exercise enough or have excess body weight. Wearing high heels and sleeping on an unsupportive mattress also increase your risk of sciatica.

What other symptoms might sciatica cause?

In addition to the typical lower back and leg pain sciatica causes, you might experience:

• Tingling
• Prickling
• Pins-and-needles sensation
• Weakness
• Numbness
• Difficulty controlling leg movements

These symptoms might affect you some or all of the time. Sciatica pain severity varies between mild and agonizing. It commonly worsens when you sit down.

How is sciatica treated?

Treating sciatica successfully is likely to require chiropractic adjustments to realign your spine. Premier Care Chiropractic’s experienced practitioners have specialized skills that enable them to identify the cause of your sciatica and relieve sciatic nerve compression.

Your chiropractor can use various techniques. One of the primary ones is high-velocity low-amplitude (HVLA) thrusts, where they use their hands to make fast, precise spinal adjustments. Another is instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, where your chiropractor uses specially designed instruments to perform spinal adjustments.

If you have a spinal disc problem, decompression can help. This is a non-invasive therapy where you lie on a treatment table that eases your vertebrae very slightly apart. The stretching allows any bulging or herniated disc material to move back to its position.

You might benefit from massage therapy following chiropractic adjustments to ease the muscle tension and help your spine stay aligned. Physical therapy can also help by increasing your strength and flexibility.

Call Premier Care Chiropractic or book an appointment online to benefit from skilled sciatica treatment today.