How Chiropractic can help with sciatica

Sciatica can affect up to 3 million people every year and can be debilitating to the person. Sciatica is the condition where there is radiating symptoms of pain in to the one or both legs. It can have many causes of which we will discuss. When it hurts in your legs to walk, sit or stand it can be very troublesome for the person. This not only affects how you work but also your stress levels. Common treatments include steroid injections and physical therapy. While effective short term a longer lasting treatment is available. 

Chiropractic care can help get to the cause of why the sciatic pain is there in the first place. A detailed exam to find the cause should be done so that the right treatment can be put together. Sciatic pain can come from a number of different structures. One being a disc impingement. This is most commonly cause by herniation of the disc. The nerves from the low back meet up with nerves in the pelvic area and travel into the legs. When the nerves from the low back are being pressed by the disc then you get radiating sciatic symptoms. Another is a misalignment of the vertebra in the low back or the pelvis that can create movement problems in the spine and pelvis. This will create and influence the nerves around that area causing symptoms of sciatica down the leg or legs.

Another cause is that involving muscle. Most commonly referred to as the piriformis syndrome. This muscle attaches across the sciatic nerve and in some people the sciatic nerve runs through it! If this muscle is tightened due to chronic pelvic misalignment or stress when sitting then it can tighten up on the sciatic nerve. Thus causing pain. It is important to note that reasoning for muscles being tight can include a number of things so getting to the cause of all of the pain is crucial. 

Chiropractors deal with the structure of the spine and pelvis as well as the muscles that surround it. Chiropractic can help by being adjusted to realign the pelvis and spine to promote better movement and tone in the muscles as well as the structure. We also work on the muscles if they are tight. This is a mutli-faceted approach that seeks to correct the why behind the pain instead of the pain itself. This provides people with the framework to get better and the answers to what is truly causing the pain in the first place!