A Sigh of Relief for Sciatica

How do you know if you have sciatica? Many patients experience:

• Pain in the buttocks or leg that worsens when sitting
• Burning or tingling down one or both legs
• Weakness, numbness or difficulty using your leg or foot
• A shooting pain that makes standing difficult

If these symptoms sound familiar, you’re likely to be in your 40’s or 50’s and have pain when coughing, sneezing or any kind of movement. Simply put, you probably have sciatica.

What Is Sciatica?

Like a large river created by smaller streams, four or five pairs of nerves exit the spine in the lower back to form the two sciatic nerves. The soft pulpy disc between each spinal bone is often involved. While a disc can’t “slip,” it can bulge, herniate or rupture. This can put direct pressure on the nearby nerves.

The result? Swelling and inflammation. Depending on where the sciatic nerve is affected, the pain may also radiate down to the foot or toes.

What You Can Do

While sciatica can be distracting, it rarely produces permanent nerve damage—especially with prompt chiropractic care. In fact, chiropractic care is so successful in providing sciatica pain relief, it’s almost considered routine.

The only challenge seems to be impatient patients who expect instant results. Unlike artificial solutions such as drugs or more drastic surgery, chiropractic care helps restore the proper relationships between bones, discs and nerves. This natural approach, relying on the healing ability of your body, moves at its own pace.

If you’re dealing with sciatic nerve pain, consider giving our practice a call.