How Chiropractic Treatment Can Alleviate Sciatica Pain

The world is celebrating the International men's health month, and thus all healthcare service providers, media platforms, and individuals leverage the opportunity to encourage boys and men to go to frequent health check-ups, get medical advice, and early treatment for injuries.

Since the lower back bears most of the body’s weight, it is not rare to develop lower back pain, even when doing the most basic of daily tasks. Although there are many causes of lower back pain, one of the most common causes is sciatica. Sciatica is a common cause of back pain that affects the sciatic nerve; a nerve that travels from the lower back and down each leg. Sciatic pain typically affects one side of the body with pain traveling from the lower back, and down one leg. If you witness any of the following symptoms for sciatica, it is recommended you seek medical attention immediately.

Symptoms

Sciatica refers to a pain that travels along your sciatic nerve beginning at your lower back and traveling down both legs. Although the sciatic nerve runs down both legs, individuals with sciatica usually only feel it on one side of their body. Sciatica is most often caused by a herniated disk or bone spur that compresses part of the sciatic nerve. Symptoms include pain originating in the lower back that travels through the buttocks and down the leg, weakness, and difficulty of moving the leg, and a shooting pain caused by sitting down or standing up. The pain can range from severe and debilitating to dull and infrequent, but not treating sciatica can worsen symptoms over time. If you are suffering from sciatica pain, it is important to get it checked out by a medical professional to avoid further injury or damage to the sciatic nerve.

Causes

In order to better understand the symptoms of sciatica, it is important to understand what causes it. There are six lower back problems that are usually the main causes of sciatica. These include a herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, isthmic spondylolisthesis, lumbar spinal stenosis, piriformis syndrome, and sacroiliac joint dysfunction. As you can see, sciatica pain can often be the sign of a more serious medical condition, and should be treated immediately before further damage is done to the lower back. Other causes of sciatica include pregnancy, scar tissue build up, muscle strain, spinal tumors, and infections. Although these conditions are much rarer in causing sciatica, they can still be a sign of a more serious condition.

Chiropractic Treatment for Sciatica

Although debilitating for some people, most sciatica cases include moderate and infrequent pain that can be treated by non-surgical procedures such as chiropractic treatment. Chiropractors treat sciatica on a regular basis as the pain originates in the lower spine. A chiropractor will aid the body to heal itself naturally using a variety of treatments for sciatica using a non-surgical approach. These include spinal manipulation adjustments to realign the affected region, ice therapy to reduce inflammation and pain, and ultrasound to increase circulation, and reduce muscle spasms. A sciatica treatment plan may incorporate a number of these treatments depending on the specific needs of the patient as well as the cause of their pain. The treatment time for sciatica will also vary for each patient depending on a variety of factors, including how the pain originated, the severity of the injury, and their body type and age.

Although sciatica is a common injury, leaving it untreated can cause future complications in the individual. Over time, sciatica can worsen, sometimes to the point that leaves a person debilitated through the pain. If sciatica pain persists for a prolonged period of time, surgery might be an option, especially if the pain is so severe that it immobilizes the individual. But complications associated with surgery should make it a last resort only after alternative medical treatments have been utilized. With chiropractic treatment, a patient can safely and naturally reduce their pain associated with sciatica, and avoid long-term complications that arise from their injury. Chiropractic treatment will also improve the range of motion and function of the patient’s lower back, in turn reducing the probability of sciatica pain in the future, and promoting better overall wellness.