Sciatica Pain Relief – Can Chiropractic Help?
Do you suffer from sciatica? Let’s start off by defining sciatica. Sciatica or sciatic nerve pain is defined as pain along the distribution of the sciatic nerve. This would include the following:
- Buttock Pain
- Leg Pain
- Thigh Pain
- Lower Back Pain
The pain may travel just into the buttocks, into the buttocks and part of the leg, or may travel throughout the entire leg to the foot. This would also include pain experienced in the front, side, or back of the leg.
There are multiple causes of sciatica in patients seeking sciatica pain relief:
Disc Herniations and Sciatica
Between each vertebra in the lumbar spine are structures called the intervertebral discs. If a disc becomes herniated it can actually physically pinch or impinge upon the nerve. A pinched nerve commonly causes pain which radiates into the leg or in the case of the neck into the arm. If you think of the disc like jelly doughnut, the jelly would be outside the doughnut. If the disc has the potential to heal, it will likely respond favorably to conservative treatment such as chiropractic care.
Spinal Misalingments and Sciatica
The vertebras in the lumbar spine can misalign causing the hole between vertebras where the nerves exit the spine to become smaller. This is known as foraminal stenosis. The nerve then has less room and thus is more susceptible to irritation which could potentially cause leg symptoms in patient’s seeking sciatica pain relief. Other factors contributing to foraminal stenosis would include disc herniations mentioned above, arthritis, and bone spurs.
Tight Muscles (Trigger Points) and Sciatica
I find that many patients sciatica is caused by muscle issues. Tight muscles can develop what are called trigger points. The trigger points within the muscles cause pain to be referred throughout the leg. The 2 most common muscles that cause sciatica would be the piriformis and the gluteus medius. These muscles will commonly irritate the sciatic nerve causing various leg pain and symptoms. In addition, spinal misalignments and pelvic misalignments cause tight muscles which irritate the sciatic nerve. The primary causes of tight muscles are related to spinal and pelvic misalignments. As you can see, these causes of sciatica are interrelated.
Sciatica Pain Treatment
It is very common for patients to have more than one of the causes occurring at the same time. For example, the patient will commonly have spinal misalignments and trigger points. Thus, the most effective way to treat them is to address both causes. If the patient has received a therapeutic steroid injection yet still has symptoms, it is an indication that the patient has more than one of the causative factors for sciatica. The steroid injection can be valuable but is not able to address spinal misalignments or tight muscles. It is very important that you have all potential causes of sciatica evaluated and treated.
As a doctor of chiropractic I have helped many patients obtain sciatica pain relief. I specialize in the evaluation and treatment of spinal misalignments and tight muscles/ trigger points. For a free no obligation consultation please contact my office today. We have same-day appointments for those in pain and looking to obtain sciatica pain relief as soon as possible. Call today to see if I may be able to help you with my sciatica pain treatment. I serve patients in Roseville, MN, Arden Hills, MN, Saint Paul, MN, Falcon Heights, MN, Shoreview, MN, and the Como area of Saint Paul.