Have you ever experienced sciatic nerve pain? That’s the pain that’s starts in your low back, goes into your buttock, down the back of the thigh, and potentially as far as your calf and foot. Sciatica is a very common reason why people come into my office and there are several ways that patients get this condition.
The sciatic nerve is the big thick nerve at the bottom of your spine that travels along the same route that you’re experiencing as described above. The nerve starts in the lower spine and runs down the back of the thighs and legs. Sciatica symptoms occur when there is pressure, inflammation, or damage to the sciatic nerve.
As a chiropractor, I am well aware of the many potential causes of sciatica. However, I did some digging around with the Internet to find out what the online world says causes sciatica versus what I see on a daily basis. Here are the results of my search.
Common causes of sciatica include:
– A bulging or herniated disc
– Lumbar spinal stenosis
– Spondylolisthesis
– Trauma
– Spinal tumours.
Based on the information that comes up when you do a Google search, sciatica sounds pretty terrible and it seems that very little can be helped with chiropractic care, right?
Wrong. Chiropractors help sciatica patients on a regular basis. Thankfully, the causes we often find are far easier to alleviate than the ones listed above. Often, what is causing your pain is likely a problem that is often not considered a possibility by other doctors who are not chiropractors.
When I reviewed the online resources about sciatica, the first thing that came to my mind is: what about a simple spinal misalignment or lack of mobility that is irritating one of more of the spinal nerves, resulting in sciatica?
It is frustrating that this is not listed as a potential issue when we see it so often in patients coming into our office every day.
During the consultation and examination of a patient with sciatica, I would be looking for the potential serious causes listed above and try to rule them out as possibilities. In most cases, it is possible to rule nearly all of them out fairly quickly.
Next, in the physical examination of the patient, I would be looking for any spinal misalignments that may be creating pressure or irritation on that nerve. The L5 vertebra, the pelvis, and the sacrum are all specific areas that I would evaluate as the leading cause of the sciatic pain.
When I’m feeling along the spine, I may feel areas of heat (increased temperature due to inflammation), spasm, or point tenderness on specific joints. Any of these indicators can reveal a spinal misalignment or restriction.
If these areas match up with nerve roots that can affect the sciatic nerve, then I can feel reasonably confident where the problem is and that chiropractic care can help.
In instances where the cause of the sciatica is less clear, taking X-rays may be a good idea to be more certain that there’s nothing going on with the spine that would prevent you from getting chiropractic care.
If you have sciatica, be sure to have your chiropractor examine your spine to look for the more common and conservatively treatable causes.
Excerpts of this article were taken from an article written by a chiropractor named Dr. Philip in Houston, Texas. He and others like me write and publish health-related articles on EzineArticles.com for the general public to view and use as they see fit.
