Chiropractor for Sciatica Orange County
Sciatica or Sciatic Nerve Pain is pain often described as burning, shooting, electrical like sensations that shoot from the butt down the leg, sometimes all the way to the foot.
What is Sciatica
“Sciatica” refers to the pain sensations you get when the sciatic nerve becomes inflamed. The nerve becomes inflamed after an injury, prolonged poor posture and sometimes the cause is unknown. The sciatic nerve is a very large nerve that is made from the last few bones in the lower back to the tailbone that runs the course of the lower extremity. Of course being so large means it can become irritated at many different points in the body.
Causes of Sciatic Nerve Symptoms and Sciatica
- A strain of the lower back can cause stretching of the nerves resulting in sciatica.
- Tight muscles within the buttocks and pelvis can choke off the sciatic nerve and cause tingling or pain in the butt and leg.
- Disc herniations can push outward and press on nerves in the lower back that feed into the sciatic nerve causing leg pain.
Treatment for Sciatica
Typical medical treatment for sciatic pain is pain medication and/or anti-inflammatory drugs. However, if the pain persists your medical doctor may want to prescribe an oral steroid. Subsequently, if that doesn’t work, they may try injecting steroids into the area of the nerve to calm it down. Clearly, these treatments are designed to mask the pain. Obviously, they are not fixing any underlying cause of the problem.
Natural treatments include chiropractic adjustments, physio-therapy modalities, exercises and advice on home care. Specifically, treatments of this nature do not involve drugs and have very few side-effects. By releasing tension in the bones of the lower back, nerves are allowed to transmit messages better and nerve swelling decreases. Additionally, therapy modalities like Cold Laser, Low Level Light Therapy (LED) and electrical nerve stimulation can cause the nerve swelling to dissipate giving relief. Lastly, exercises to release the trapped nerve at the back or butt level can be helpful.
Home care for sciatica is crucial. Laying around will only make it worse. Getting up and moving, even though it may hurt, is best. Here are some effective and safe exercises to try at home. Do these in connection with your chiropractor’s recommended treatment. Click Here
How Long Does Treatment Take?
Sciatica is a mysterious affliction. Frustratingly, sometimes it lasts a matter of a few days and sadly for some, several months. Obviously, it depends on the cause. For example, if you suddenly awoke one morning with sciatica pain and had no injuries or trauma, that may resolve sooner than if your sciatica was caused by a traumatic disc herniation. Regrettably, once a person has sciatica it is likely to recur unless the underlying cause is corrected. To get the inflammation down as soon as possible, you will often be seen multiple times per week at first. Specifically, 6 visits over a period of 2 weeks is common.
Chiropractic for Sciatica
Chiropractic treatments are effective for sciatica. They are natural and have few side effects. Chiropractors combine chiropractic spinal adjustments and physio-therapy modalities as well as home care to tackle the problem. It’s a multifaceted approach proven to work. One study found 72% of sciatica sufferers responded favorably to chiropractic. They also found chiropractic to be safe for this problem.
Dr. Barry Marks, Chiropractor in Orange CA
Dr. Marks has over 36 years experience successfully treating sciatica, disc degeneration and disc herniation. In addition, he has post-doctorate specialty training in orthopedics and has lectured to lay persons as well as fellow doctors and lawyers on the topic of disc herniation and treatment.
If You’re Suffering with Sciatica Leg Pain, Click Here for a New Patient Special Offer. Dr. Marks will find the underlying cause and help you find relief
References:
- Santilli, V. et al. 2006. “Chiropractic manipulation in the treatment of acute back pain and sciatica with disc protrusion: a randomized double-blind clinical trial of active and simulated spinal manipulations”. The Spine Journal. https://www.thespinejournalonline.com/article/S1529-9430(05)00833-8/fulltext