Sciatica in Dulwich Hill

Woman holding back Sciatica is a painful condition that results when the sciatic nerve, which runs from your spine down your leg, becomes compressed or irritated. This causes pain, tingling, or numbness in the leg and foot. Chiropractic care for sciatica pain at My Back Relief Clinic focuses on determining the root cause of the problem before performing any adjustments, soft tissue work or other forms of care.

What Is Sciatica?

The sciatic nerve serves an important function, as it directly supports the function of your hamstrings, calf muscles, lower leg muscles, and some foot muscles. Sciatic nerve pain can vary from mild to severe, and sitting or standing for long periods can exacerbate the pain. Sciatica is a common condition that up to 40% of the population will suffer from at least once in their life.

Causes of Sciatica

Sciatica is caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back to the feet. Sciatica is different from low back pain in that its origin comes from the sciatic nerve, rather than the spine. The most common causes of pressure on the sciatic nerve include:

Herniated/bulging disc
Degenerative disc disease
Direct compression/irritation of the sciatic nerve
Tissue degeneration

Spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal)
Spondylolisthesis (slippage of a vertebra)
Injury, postural imbalances and related concerns

Researchers estimate that the majority of sciatica cases, over 90%, may be directly caused by a herniated disc, which compresses the nerve root, and issues with the L4, L5, or S1 nerve roots. Herniated discs can occur due to injury or age-related wear and tear. Disc issues may also be caused by lumbar stenosis, or piriformis syndrome.

Common Symptoms of Sciatica

If you have sciatica, the most common symptoms may include pain and discomfort, particularly starting in your buttocks and shooting down your leg. People may also experience numbness, tingling, and weakness in one or both of their legs if they have sciatica. Often, the pain may get worse with twisting, bending, moving too fast, sneezing and/or other jarring movements.

Care for Sciatica

Care options for sciatica may sometimes include medication or surgery; however, manual therapies may also help. Common ways we address sciatica include physical therapies, such as chiropractic, acupuncture, dry needling, ice or heat therapy, and more.

How Chiropractic Care May Help

Chiropractic care aims to identify and diagnose the root cause of your health concern before starting any session. Our chiropractors use their hands to perform chiropractic adjustments and soft tissue therapy. The goal is to improve joint movement, reduce pressure on the sciatic nerve, improve function and decrease pain.

Additionally, we may help you with stretches and exercises as part of your care plan. Applying ice or heat may also help reduce inflammation and pain.

According to a research paper published in StatPearls:

“The key to sciatica is patient education. There are many causes of sciatica, and the disorder is best managed with an interprofessional team of healthcare professionals that includes clinicians, mid-level practitioners, orthopedic surgeons, osteopaths and chiropractors, physical therapists, neurologists, rehabilitation nurses, and a pain specialist.”

Sciatica FAQs

How do I get my sciatic nerve to stop hurting?

Sciatica is likely to be caused by an irritation to the long sciatic nerve that runs down the back of the leg. It is often accompanied by a joint dysfunction in the low back and pelvis, along with tight muscles in the back of the leg.

To stop the sciatic nerve from getting irritated, it’s important to understand why you have sciatica in the first place—is it from sitting all day, scoliosis, etc. Chiropractic care can assist in decreasing the irritation to the sciatic nerve through adjustments in the low back, but many patients find it beneficial to learn sciatic nerve flossing stretches.

How long does it take for a chiropractor to fix sciatica?

It depends on the patient, the factors that brought about the sciatica, the age of the patient and how long they have had the sciatica for.

For people that have had sciatica for over three months (chronic sciatica) it can take a year or more if the contributing factors that brought about the sciatica are still active in that person’s life. If an individual has had sciatica for less than three months, generally it can take anywhere between a few days to a few months to resolve the sciatica symptoms.

Can chiropractic care make sciatica worse?

Chiropractic is very beneficial when it comes to addressing sciatica symptoms. Likely if sciatica has gotten worse under the care of chiropractic, then there is part of a patient’s lifestyle that has yet to have been addressed. That is, the patient may still have bad habits such as lifting incorrectly or there are structural abnormalities that have yet to have been addressed, such as a scoliosis.

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We take the time to determine the root cause of your problem by taking a comprehensive history and examination and referring out for X-rays when needed. We know your pain is unique, and we employ a variety of strategies such as chiropractic adjustments, rehabilitation and ergonomic advice to properly address your unique condition.
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