Your physician has diagnosed your simultaneous lower back pain and nerve pain running down the back of your legs is sciatica.
You may be thinking "Okay, now I know what it is - but how do I get my sciatic nerve to stop hurting?" While the majority of sciatica sufferers see signs of sciatica healing without surgery, some sciatica treatment options have proven to be more effective than others - particularly chiropractic treatment tailored for sciatica pain.
Sciatica is characterized by back pain arising from problems with the sciatic nerve, which is a large nerve that runs from the lower back through the back of each leg. Injuries and slipped, compressed, or herniated disks put pressure on the sciatic nerve, resulting in sharp back pain that radiates down the legs, hips, and buttocks.
Sciatica causes can vary, including:
Lower back pain that travels to your buttock and down the back of each leg is the calling card of sciatica. You may feel pain at any point along the sciatic nerve, but this is the most common path of sciatica pain. Typically, just one leg and side of the body is affected, but could be both sides at once.
Sciatica pain falls on a wide spectrum, from mild aches, to sharp burning sensations, to unbearable pain requiring consistent sciatica pain management. In severe cases, the pain can feel like an electric shock, exacerbated when you sneeze or from sitting for long periods of time.
Some people also experience numbness, tingling, and muscle weakness in the affected leg, and sometimes a combination of the three in different areas of the legs and back.
If you experience any of the following sciatica symptoms, you should seek medical attention immediately:
Regular exercise, proper sitting posture, and correct body mechanics are all preventative tactics that safeguard your body from sciatica.
But if your sciatic nerve is already pinched and you're experiencing lower back pain that travels throughout your legs, a more hands-on approach like chiropractic adjustment may offer sciatica pain relief and significantly reduce discomfort.
Chiropractic treatment for sciatica is a safe, proven method that targets lower back pain, thereby alleviating the pressure on the spine and the sciatic nerve. Spinal adjustments, or spinal decompression therapy, can be personalized for a sciatica patient - which we do here at Dr. Lanoue's Family Chiropractic Clinic - with the main goal of improving restricted spinal mobility and function. Spinal adjustments can be complemented by other common sciatica treatments, including ice/cold therapy, ultrasound, sciatic massage, and TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) units, laser therapy and/or PEMF (pulsed electromagnetic wave therapy). How many treatments for sciatica with a chiropractor you will need and the exact treatment strategy will depend greatly on your prognosis and personalized chiropractic care plan.
As far as standard sciatica nerve treatment goes, chiropractic care is one of the safest, most effective recovery options that is non-invasive and drug-free, at your disposal.
Suffering from sciatica pain? Dr. Lanoue offers effective sciatica treatment in Mississauga. Schedule an appointment, and we'll devise a sciatica pain treatment plan that's custom to your body and needs.
