Sciatica| Sciatica |
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What is Sciatica? Sciatica is a term that refers to the painful inflammation of the sciatica nerve, the longest and largest nerve in your body. Sciatica comes from the Latin word meaning "hip." Your sciatic nerve extends from your buttocks all the way down to your toes! Your sciatic nerve is formed from 5 nerve roots in your lower back which join together deep in your pelvis. From there, the sciatic nerve divides into many branch nerves that serve your muscles, joints, skin, and other tissues in your legs and feet. Sciatica flare-ups may or may not involve back pain; the pain can be "referred" to other areas. Sciatica sufferers, however, often have a history of low back pain. What Causes Sciatica? * Improper lifting * Cumulative spinal stress * Sudden impact or trauma * Old injury * A fall * Lack of exercise * Over exertion * Poor posture Your spine is directly affected by the chemical, physical, and emotional stress of everyday living. The results are often the same--spinal misalignments, or subluxations. Subluxations can occur following a car accident, a fall, or a sports injury. Being overweight, having poor posture... or even an allergic reaction can lead to a spinal subluxation. Left uncorrected, subluxations can cause the opening between your vertebrae to narrow and compress, irritating and stretching your nerves. Sciatica can often be traced to one or more misaligned vertebra. The most common cause of sciatica is an irritation of nerve roots as they exit from your spine. Eventually, damaged nerves can restrict your joint movement, which interferes with the transport of lubrication to your discs. When unhealthy discs dry out, this causes the gel-like center to bulge out or herniate. The bulging or herniated disc matter can press against your sciatic nerve, causing further irritation. Irreversible damage may occur if the nerve interference is not removed. That's where chiropractic comes in! You Can Count on Chiropractic! While your body tries to adapt to a sciatic nerve injury, chances are you won't feel a thing! By the time your feel pain or numbness, often permanent damage to your musculoskeletal system may have already occurred. The goal of chiropractic is to locate the specific misaligned vertebrae and remove the resulting nerve irritation. Gentle chiropractic spinal adjustments can correct the underlying cause of your sciatica. Early sciatic pain is often so mild that most people ignore it altogether. Prompt chiropractic care can help prevent sciatica or stop its progression. Call us before the pain starts. It is easier to maintain a healthy spine than it is to treat an unhealthy one. Schedule your spinal exam today! Symptoms Leg pain: commonly called sciatica. Sometimes patients will tell me that the pain increases when they put pressure on the accelerator or brake of their car, other times it might be while walking. Whatever the irritant, leg pain or numbness must be taken care of as soon as possible. In my opinion, leg pain is a condition that is a more severe structural problem than lower back pain by itself. Treatment While treatment is very similar to the treatment for lower back pain, there are specific additional treatments such as intersegmental tractional adjustments, which help this specific condition. Refer to the lower back descriptions for more information. |
