Sciatica
Sciatica is a very common condition we see presented at Progressive Chiropractic Berwick. We have a number of treatment options available to bring welcome relief and provide a path to healing.
What is Sciatica?
Do you experience sciatic pain in Berwick? Sciatica is a common term used by patients to describe leg pain which is radiating from the lower back. In medical terms, sciatica is described as lumbar radiculopathy. Sciatica or lumbar radiculopathy occurs when pressure is placed anywhere along the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve starts in the lumbar spine (lower back) and travels through the hip, buttock and down the back of the leg to the foot and sciatic nerve pain can occur in any of these regions.
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Symptoms of Sciatica
Sciatica presents as nerve pain (sharp, shooting, stabbing, burning, electric shock sensations) radiating from the buttock down the back of the leg and foot. It can present as:
- lower back pain
- tingling
- pins and needles
- numbness and or weakness in the affected leg
These symptoms can range from mild to severe and can be self-limiting or require treatment to manage.
Causes of Sciatica
Sciatica can be caused by a number of conditions which cause injury to the sciatic nerve. These can include spinal trauma, bony or other growths, repetitive heavy lifting, narrowing of the spinal canal and muscle swelling or tightness in the buttock. Often encountered in chiropractic, these causes of sciatica include disc herniation (disc bulge), spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis, spinal arthritis and degeneration and myofascial dysfunction.
There are known risk factors for sciatica which include:
- age and degenerative changes in the spine
- obesity, which places additional pressure on the spine
- occupations involving heavy manual handling requiring twisting or lifting heavy loads
- physical stress on the spine
- poor general health
Treatment of Sciatica
A range of treatment options exist for managing sciatica, and these depend on the severity and duration of symptoms.
They include:
- rest
- pain relief medication
- lifestyle changes including education on back safety
- Cox Technic – Flexion / Distraction therapy
- manual therapies
- surgery
How can chiropractic help with Sciatica?
At Progressive Chiropractic Berwick we have various treatment modalities that can help treat sciatica.
These include:
lumbar decompression (flexion-distraction) using Cox Technic to provide a gentle, comfortable and effective stretch to the joints to increase disc height, relieve disc pressure, increase the size of the spinal nerve canals (intervertebral foramen), increase mobility of the spinal joints
- spinal manipulation to help any spinal joints that are not moving correctly. This can relieve pressure that may be placed on the sciatic nerve
- massage can help to relieve muscle tension and manage myofascial dysfunction around the sciatic nerve
- back education and exercises involving stretching and active muscle release techniques can help to improve posture and muscle tightness
Do you need help with Sciatica?
Research on chiropractic treatment of Sciatica
Patients suffering lumbar disc herniation managed via Chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy demonstrated clinically significant improvements. Leemann, S et al. (2014). Outcomes of acute and chronic patients with magnetic resonance imaging – confirmed symptomatic lumbar disc herniations receiving high velocity-low amplitude spinal manipulative therapy: A prospective observational cohort study with one year follow up. Journal of Manipulative & Physiological Therapeutics, 37 (3); 155 – 163
Chiropractic appears to be an effective sciatica treatment method. Assendelft, W et al. (1992). The efficacy of Chiropractic manipulation for back pain: Blinded review of relevant randomized clinical trials. Journal of Manipulative & Physiological Therapeutics, 15(8); 487 – 494
Amin DB, Moawad CM, Costi JJ. New Findings Confirm Regional Internal Disc Strain Changes During Simulation of Repetitive Lifting Motions. Ann Biomed Eng. 2019 Jun;47(6):1378-1390. doi: 10.1007/s10439-019-02250-z. Epub 2019 Mar 28. PMID: 30923984.
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