Lower back pain will affect approximately 80% of the population at some point in their lives. Pain may range from a mild ache to debilitating pain that can prevent you from completing everyday tasks. One cause of lower back pain is due to sciatica, which requires diagnosis and treatment from a qualified health care professional.
What is Sciatica?
The sciatic nerve is the largest and widest nerve in the body and begins in the lumbar spine and runs through the buttocks, down the back of the thigh and ends at the knee. Sciatic nerve pain is a common health complaint and occurs when the sciatic nerve becomes compressed, inflamed, or damaged.
However, sciatica is not a health condition but rather a symptom of an underlying problem, which is why it can be challenging to diagnose.
Symptoms of Sciatic Nerve Pain
Because of the size of the sciatic nerve, damage can occur anywhere along its length, causing a range of symptoms. It can also be confused with piriformis syndrome, which also impacts the sciatic nerve. However, some of the symptoms that patients may experience include numbness or tingling in the buttocks or legs, pain that radiates from the lower back down the legs ranging from a dull ache to a sharp “electric shock.”
Causes of Sciatic Nerve Pain
Several conditions can cause sciatic nerve pain from trauma to degenerative disease to viruses. Some of the more common causes of sciatic nerve pain include a lumbar herniated disc, lumbar spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, injury due to bending or twisting awkwardly or injury due to poor lifting technique.
Diagnosing Sciatic Nerve Pain
To accurately diagnose the cause of sciatic nerve pain, your chiropractor may need to use a variety of methods including x-ray, CAT scan, or even MRI if disc damage is suspected.
Beforehand, your doctor will perform a comprehensive physical exam to gauge your pain level and range of motion and take a detailed history of your symptoms. They may also perform a test to determine muscle weakness, reflexes, and look for other signs of nerve damage.
Once your doctor has a detailed picture of the cause and severity of the sciatic nerve pain; they can create a comprehensive sciatica treatment program.
Sciatica Treatment
Sciatica treatments tend to involve an integrated approach that uses techniques to alleviate the pain associated with the nerve and other methods to address the underlying cause of the pain. Your doctor may also include some exercises and stretches to complete at home to complement your therapy.
- Hot and Cold Therapy
Hot and cold therapy is used to control the blood flow around the painful site. Cold packs are typically used first to reduce inflammation and alleviate pain, then heat packs are used to flood the area with nutrients to aid healing and in many cases, reduce muscle tension.
- Spinal Manipulation
To address the underlying cause of sciatic nerve pain, your chiropractor will perform a spinal adjustment to asses and treat spinal misalignment. The Cox technique is an effective method which uses flexion and distraction to improve joint mobility and relieve pressure on the sciatic nerve. Spinal adjustments may be performed manually or with the assistance of specialized tools.
- Spinal Decompression
For sciatica due to herniated discs, degenerative disc disease or spinal stenosis, your chiropractor may use spinal decompression techniques. One such method uses the Kennedy Neural Flex table to decompress the spine and create space between the spinal discs relieving pressure on the sciatic nerve and allowing the chiropractor to make manual adjustments and ease the disc back into alignment.
- Deep Tissue Massage
Deep tissue massage is often used in conjunction with spinal adjustment and decompression to relieve tension in the surrounding muscles. Deep tissue massage typically uses long strokes against the grain of the muscles, which may cause some initial discomfort. However, massage can help the muscles to relax and not only remove pressure on the nerve but also alleviate pain.
- Exercise and Stretching
To enhance the effect of the therapy, your chiropractor may recommend a light exercise program, and sciatica stretches that focus on lengthening the piriformis and other major muscle groups to keep them supple.
- Final Thoughts
Sciatic nerve pain can be debilitating, but you don’t need to let it stop you from enjoying your life. See your chiropractor as soon as you feel sciatic nerve pain as the earlier you seek treatment, the more effective it will be.
