If heating pads and heavy painkillers are part of your daily life due to back pain that radiates down your legs as shooting pain, weakness, or numbness, you are probably suffering from sciatica. The pain and other sensations can make everything from sleeping to sitting to walking become unbearable.
From misaligned vertebrae to other disorders, damage to the sciatic nerve can wreak havoc with your daily life. Fortunately, there are treatments that don’t just involve masking the pain with painkillers or invasive back surgery.
What causes sciatica?
Sciatica results from damage or impingement to the sciatic nerve, radiating from the spinal column down through the buttocks and into your legs.
If the nerve gets pinched by a herniated disc or suffers other damage, the sensations can be felt all along the path the nerve takes, down into your legs. Because the nerve serves as an intersection point for all the nerves in the area, the pain can radiate far from the initial point of damage.
The sensations can range from a burning, intense shooting pain to a sensation resembling pins and needles or even numbness. Sciatica is actually quite common, with about 40% of the adult population suffering from it at some point during their lifetimes.
Common causes of sciatica include the following:
- Herniated discs
- Bone spurs that press on the nerve
- Diabetes
- Digestive issues such as constipation
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Other trauma or gradual nerve damage due to misalignment while sitting
Chiropractic treatment for sciatica
Because sciatica is rooted in damage to a nerve, the chances are that there is an alignment issue causing the trouble. Your chiropractor can assess the root cause of the pain and recommend a proper course of treatment that addresses the problem at its cause.
By using active and passive manipulation, the personalized treatment you receive can help to relieve the pressure on the nerve that is causing the pain. They work with your entire musculoskeletal system, so they can address the issue, whether it is a spinal problem or some other source of pain.
The chiropractor can also develop an intervention plan including exercise and diet to relieve stress, increase mobility and reduce pain throughout your body.
Because they treat you as an entire person rather than just a number on a patient chart with a diagnosis, the chiropractor can look at your problems holistically and offer a targeted solution that is more effective than simply masking the pain with medication.
If you or a loved one are suffering from sciatica in Hudson, New York or surrounding areas call us at (518) 380-2432 for a consultation.