Sciatic Pain: Is Pain usually felt in the Low Back, Buttock, or various parts of the leg and foot. This pain may be caused by compression or irritation of one of the five spinal nerve roots that give rise to the sciatic nerve (see image to the left). With the Sciatic nerve being the largest nerve in the human body and approximately 30% of it like all other nerves can feel pain (nociception) it becomes easy to see that Pain can arise from this structure.
Although sciatica is a common form or presentation of Low back pain and Leg pain it is important to know that Sciatica is a set of symptoms not a diagnosis. The Diagnosis is what structures are causing sciatic Pain. There are quite a few different causes for sciatic symptoms; such as Subluxation (vertebral misalignment), Disc herniation, Piriformis syndrome (muscle), Spinal stenosis, degenerative Disc/joint Disease (spondylosis), spondylolisthesis (forward or backward slippage of a vertabrae compared to the one below), Radiculopathy (not a diagnosis but an vague explination stating dorsal nerve root involvement) and pregnancy, these tend to be the most common causes.
How does Chiropractor evaluate sciatic pain? The Chiropractor uses all the gold standards tests and exams to come to a diagnosis of the root cause of the sciatic pain. These exams and test include but not limited to, Radiographic and MRI analysis, postural, orthopedic, neurological testing, functional assessments, extensive case history, and palpation just to name a few.
How does chiropractic help these conditions? Once a definitive diagnosis has been confirmed then the chiropractor treats those structures involved. through various drug free, non-surgical hands on techniques that aim to restore function to dysfunctional structures, through the use of the adjustment (realigning the vertebral column), exercises (to regain strength to core musculature to stabilize the area), proper nutrition (to give the body the proper building blocks for health), As well as ergonomics (to aid in everyday activities to avoid re-injury), bracing if necessary, Ice and other modalities (to aid tissue healing). The techniques just scratch the surface of the treatment options so proper education is important.
Each Person is anatomically and emotionally different so our goal is to customize our care to your needs specifically. For more information feel free to contact Lancaster County Chiropractic for any and all questions regarding Sciatic care free of charge. consultations are always free. (717) 509-6166 Ask for Dr. Kettering