What is Sciatica?
Sciatica is a condition that results from the compression of your sciatic nerve, located in your low back. Sciatica is often described as a dull, achy, sharp, and/or needle-like pain that is felt in the lower back or buttocks and will travel down one or both legs. Sciatica is also often described as getting shocked with a low voltage of electricity.
What causes Sciatica?
Sciatica can occur for any number of reasons. Some causes of sciatica include
- Subluxation
- A herniated disc
- Pregnancy
- Child birth
- A tumor
- Sudden trauma
- Strenuous lifting
- Sudden rotational movement
- Repetitive and cumulative small traumas
- Lumbar spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower back)
- Degenerative Disc Disease (breakdown of discs, which act as cushions between the vertebrae)
- Spondylolisthesis (a condition in which one vertebra slips forward over another one)
- Non-Spinal Disorders such as sitting on a wallet for too long or the jolt of a sneeze
Sciatica is caused by irritation of the root(s) of the lower lumbar and lumbosacral spine.
Sciatica Treatment
The dynamic approach of SpinalCare Physical Medicine for the treatment of sciatica starts with complete diagnostic testing to discover the root of the problem. A drug-free approach of chiropractic care is one of the best solutions for patients with lumbar disc herniations and sciatic pain. Once the cause is established we may use any of the following treatments: