Could Your Back Pain Be Caused by Sciatica?
March 3, 2017
You’re sitting in your favorite chair and you start to feel thirsty, and this causes you to worry. It isn’t because you don’t have anything to drink, but rather that you’re going to feel a sharp shooting pain in your back that races through your legs as soon as you try to stand up. What started as a dull ache is now extreme, and it almost feels like an electric shock. You start to feel it whenever you go from sitting to standing, or have been on your feet for a long time. What is causing this? Pain medication doesn’t seem to work, and you don’t want to get back surgery, so what are your treatment options? Today, your chiropractor in Naples, Dr. Chad Wills, is going to tell you what may be causing your pain, and how you can get treatment without prescription drugs or invasive surgery.
Sciatica: Symptoms and Causes
Sciatica is a condition that stems from pressure being placed on the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back all the way down the legs and into the feet. This pressure is usually caused by bulging or ruptured discs in your lower back, specifically between your L4, L5, and S1 vertebrae. A disc can also degenerate, which causes it to release inflammatory proteins that can irritate the sciatic nerve. This pressure and irritation can lead to a multitude of symptoms:
- Constant pain in the lower back, buttock, and leg on one side. People rarely experience sciatica on both sides of their body.
- Pain that radiates from the lower back all the way down the leg and into the foot.
- Pain that is described as sharp and searing, similar to an electric shock.
- Numbness or weakness in one of the legs or feet.
- Severe pain when moving from a sitting position to a standing one, and vice versa.
The overall key indicator that you have sciatica is a pain that runs along the path of the nerve down the back of your body. As stated before, sciatica is often caused by problems originating in the lower back, so this is what must be treated to relieve symptoms.
However, most doctors will either prescribe powerful pain medication or recommend back surgery, which can make you dependent on pills or leave you recovering for weeks. Fortunately, there is an alternative approach that is fast, effective, and completely non-invasive.
How Chiropractic Care Can Help
The main goal of chiropractic care is to restore proper nerve function in the spine so it can properly communicate with the body. This usually leads to reduced pain, greater function, and a long-term relief of symptoms. When it comes to people suffering from sciatica, one approach we use is call spinal decompression therapy. As the name indicates, this treatment is geared towards taking the pressure off of the discs and vertebrae in your back that are being forced together. This addresses the direct cause of sciatica rather than just treating the symptoms like medication. This will bring your spine into a proper alignment, which will allow the discs in your lower back to heal, and this will prevent them from pressing on the sciatic nerve and causing you pain.
When you come in to visit my office and are suffering from any kind of back pain, we’ll start by asking about your symptoms, and then use a variety of diagnostic techniques to determine the root cause of your problems. After that, we can come up with a treatment plan to address your particular needs and get you back to a pain-free life.
Any Questions?
Millions of people suffering from sciatica seek out treatments that don’t directly address what is causing the symptoms, and this can drastically affect their quality of life. Chiropractic care is able to treat sciatica at its source, and the results can be truly astounding.
If you would like to know more about sciatica’s symptoms and causes, or are suffering from back pain and would like to get treatment, please give us a call today.
About The Author
Dr. Chad Wills is currently a chiropractor in Naples, FL, where he is dedicated to treating patients with a variety of physical ailments and injuries. He is certified to also treat whiplash injuries, brain traumatology, and scoliosis. He is dedicated to helping his patients live a completely healthy lifestyle that promotes wellness of both mind and body. He currently practices at Wills Chiropractic, and can be reached at his website or (239)330-6299.
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