Sciatica

sitting on couch with leg pain Sciatica is a common medical condition that affects the sciatic nerve, which is the largest single nerve in the human body. This nerve runs from the lower back, through the buttocks, and posterior thigh/thighs. Sciatica can cause pain, weakness, numbness or discomfort in the back of the thigh or big toe areas.. The pain typically worsens with periods of sitting or standing, and often affects pregnant women, those with diabetes, and people who are obese. Proper chiropractic care is important in helping with Sciatica.

Typical Symptoms

A tingling or burning feeling down the back of one’s leg
Weakness, numbness, or a difficult time moving the leg
Persistent discomfort that affect one the posterior leg and buttock muscles
A shooting pain that makes it uncomfortable to stand up

Piriformis Syndrome

With piriformis syndrome, most patients describe symptoms of acute tenderness in the buttock and sciatica-like pain that travels ONLY into the buttock/buttocks….never past there.

Our Natural Approach

Dr. Steve uses SOT blocking, which is an effective way to help manage Sciatica symptoms by opening the disc and facet spacing through the use of comfortable wedges. By positioning the wedges specifically, tension on the surrounding muscles and ligaments can be reduced, which helps to decrease inflammation and muscle spasms. Dr. Steve recommends 12 consecutive treatments to get optimal results.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you get sciatica?

Sciatica is often the result of cumulative damage. The “greatest causes” are one’s bed and one’s profession.

Can Chiropractic eliminate this condition?

The purpose of Chiropractic is to help your spine work as it should, reducing nerve irritation and restoring your body’s healing ability. If a patient’s disc is bulging (something an MRI tells us), it will heal like nothing ever happened to that area. However, if the disc tears aka herniates, it becomes a weak area in the body. One may need to change their lifestyle a bit in order to prevent future incidents.

What other things should I do?

You can apply ice for 20 minutes to the affected disc . Even though the pain is in the leg, it’s coming from an L-4 disc, which is even with the top of your waist in the back. Dr. Steve recommends applying ice to that area for 20 minutes on and one hour off 4-6 times a day. To avoid freezer burn, it’s a good idea to put the ice over a cotton shirt.

Is there anything I shouldn’t do?

We don’t recommend getting massage therapy, stretching or putting heat on the affected area, as that could aggravate the L4 disc and worsen the Sciatic. Those things are counter productive to a brand new aka acute injury.

Book an Appointment

You don’t have to suffer with Sciatica. Contact Preferred Chiropractic today to book an appointment.
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