Sciatica Pain: Can a Chiropractor Provide Relief?

When most people talk about chiropractic therapy, they often think of back pain. Back pain is a common problem treated by chiropractors, but they also treat other conditions such as sciatica pain. Chiropractors use a combination of medical massage and chiropractic adjustments to heal without involving medicines or surgery.

Sciatica is quite literally a pain. Instead of suffering through it or visiting your primary care doctor, chiropractic care can help alleviate your symptoms and treat the underlying cause of your problem. Unlike conventional medicine, chiropractic therapy encourages the body to heal itself.
 

What is Sciatica?

Sciatica is pain triggered by a pinched sciatic nerve. This nerve travels from the lower back, past the hips, and down each leg. You can experience pain anywhere along this path or through the entire nerve length. 

Most people experience sciatica pain on one side of the body. The pain you experience can be mild to severe and feel like a deep aching pain or an electric shock. It can also cause the affected limb to feel weak or numb. 
 

What Causes Sciatica?

Sciatica pain occurs when the surrounding tissue puts pressure on the sciatic nerve. That leads to tingling, pain, numbness, and other symptoms. Due to the placement and length of this nerve, the pain you experience is not easy to ignore. It can prevent you from sitting, standing, or walking normally. Sitting can stretch the muscles and put additional pressure on the sciatic nerve, worsening the pain. 

Ultimately, sciatica is a symptom of an underlying condition that causes something to put pressure on the sciatic nerve. Examples of the underlying conditions include:

• Misaligned, slipped, or herniated spinal discs

• Bad posture and prolonged sitting

• Trigger points or prolonged muscles

• Pregnancy

• Degenerated discs

• Pain while wearing high heels

Due to many potential causes, seeking treatment as soon as possible is best.
 

How a Chiropractor Can Help

Chiropractic therapy focuses on spinal manipulation and other manual therapies. Chiropractic therapy is a holistic healthcare method that aims to treat the whole body, not just the problem area.

Chiropractic care is very effective in relieving sciatica pain by helping the body heal itself. It is a drug-free and noninvasive treatment, making it an ideal choice for many patients. A chiropractor may use one or more treatments to address sciatica.
 

Adjustments

Spinal adjustments are the core of chiropractic therapy. It helps realign the spine to restore the body to its proper alignment, allowing it to function more effectively and freely. An adjustment can also help reduce the pain associated with nerve inflammation, including sciatica pain.
 

TENS

Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation employs a battery-powered box to stimulate the muscles. The treatment uses electrical currents at different intensities to help reduce the occurrence of muscle spasms and control pain.
 

Ultrasound

This treatment employs very mild heat created by sound waves to provide deep tissue penetration. This treatment stimulates blood circulation and helps reduce pain, stiffness, muscle spasms, cramping, and swelling.

Chiropractors may also incorporate nutritional recommendations and exercises into their treatment. However, that will depend on the severity of the condition, your individual needs, and your habits and lifestyle. Since each patient is different, chiropractors treat sciatica pain from the patient’s perspective by seeking the most effective approach.

For more on sciatica pain, visit 22 Health at our Altamonte Springs, Kissimmee, East Orlando, or Orange City, Florida offices. Call (407) 951-8921, (407) 270-6601, (407) 750-5557, or (386) 218-0564 to schedule an appointment today.