Chiropractic Care and Sciatica: Can Relief be Found?
By Krista Elliott
If you suffer from sciatica, you've probably tried every pain relief option out there. The sensation of having a white-hot bar of steel down your backside and leg is not one to be forgotten, and can significantly interfere with your everyday activities and even your quality of life.
What is Sciatica?
Sciatica is pain that travels from the low back or buttock area down the back of the leg. The pain is caused by the compression of the sciatic nerve. This nerve, which is the largest one in your body, runs from the sides of the lower back, down the buttock and back of the leg, and all the way to the foot. So when it is compressed, it affects a large portion of the lower body. Pain can be moderate, dull, and achy. Or it can be severe and sharp enough to interfere with basic motor functions. Occasionally, numbness and/or tingling will also occur.
The nerve can be compressed in a few ways. Sciatica during pregnancy can occur, as increased fluid retention, a growing uterus, and shifting internal organs put pressure on the sciatic nerve. It can also occur from something as seemingly harmless as always sitting on a wallet in your back pocket (gentlemen, take note).
Often, sciatic nerve pain and compression is caused by lumbar spine subluxations (bones in the vertebrae that are misaligned). If the nerve becomes compressed enough, it can interfere with the brain's signals, causing the affected leg (or legs) to periodically miss signals and "give out" at inopportune moments.
How Chiropractic Care Can Help
Treating the pain of sciatica by itself is really only treating the symptom of a deeper issue. If your sciatic nerve is compressed due to spinal subluxations, getting to the root of the problem is key. With careful and professional chiropractic treatment, such as you'd get from The Joint Chiropractic, existing subluxations in the spine can be corrected. Once that occurs, and the sciatic nerve is no longer compressed, pain relief should follow. If the nerve was compressed badly or for an extended period, it is possible that pain will continue to some degree. However, with continued chiropractic care and complementary pain management options to reduce inflammation, you should find significant relief from your sciatic pain.
Sciatica is a pain in the backside, in the most literal sense. However, professional chiropractic care may be just the answer, allowing you to find the relief you need from sciatic nerve pain.