Suffering from sciatica?
Sciatica is a condition where the major nerve of your lower limb has been entrapped, tethered, or compressed by an improper structure along its pathway. Think of your nerves as highways. Along the route of a highway, you can have roadblocks and accidents that bring traffic to a screeching halt. Similarly, the sciatic nerve travels from within your spine, out through these little tunnels (intervertebral foramen) and down each of your legs. During this route, the nerve has to pass by your spinal discs (bulges and herniation can cause sciatica), pierces through your gluteal muscles (another source of entrapment), down your hamstring, and splits into different areas down the rest of your leg. As you can imagine, there are multiple structures and causes for sciatic pain. You need a qualified Chiropractic physician to asses what’s causing the pain. At our chiropractic clinic, we use X-ray, MRI results, nerve conduction studies, exam findings, and your history to determine the root cause of your pain.
Risk factors can include:
- Trauma, Injury, Falls
- Auto Accidents
- Poor posture
- Office jobs requiring prolonged sitting
- Chronically tight hip flexors
- Weak abdominal muscles
- “Wear and Tear” micro-trauma from sitting and lying supine
- Sports injuries
- Inactivity
- Can increase with age & being less active
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Overweight or Obesity
- Inflammatory Conditions
Signs and symptoms:
- Radiating pain, burning, tingling, and/or numbness extending from the back or hips down to the lower legs
- Lower leg muscle weakness
- Radiating pain accompanied with clumsiness, poor balance, or lack of sensation
- Increased pain when sneezing, coughing, or “bearing down” to use the restroom.
Our approach to sciatica
The most important step in treating sciatica is finding the root cause. This is what our Chiropractic clinic does best. Our doctor is a Board-eligible Functional Neurologist and through proper testing, will determine the cause. Is it a disc bulge? Herniation? Stenosis? Piriformis entrapment? Tibial/peroneal entrapment? These are the questions that determine a case, and what we help discover. Once a cause is found, the doctor will tailor a care plan that fits you specifically. It may include Chiropractic adjustments, exercise rehabilitation, active release technique, and/or other advanced methods to improve your quality of life. All of our procedures are safe, non-invasive, and effective. At the Chiropractic & Physical Therapy Center in Fairfax, VA, we believe in taking a conservative approach to spinal care, without the crutch of using pain medications.