Chiropractic Treatment of Sciatica

Doctors of Chiropractic (DC) medicine regularly treat sciatica. Sciatica is a painful condition that affects many people. Sciatica is defined as pain that runs down one leg. The pain can be a referred aching pain or it can also cause numbness or changes in sensation in that leg. Chiropractic treatment of sciatica is effective for patients depending on the underlying cause and severity of the condition.

Sciatica can lead to pain which runs into the hip and the top of the thigh, or to pain running all the way down the leg and calf into the foot. This type of nerve pain can vary between patients in intensity and frequency. It can be minimal, moderate or severe in its intensity, and occasional, intermittent, frequent or constant in its frequency. As such, it’s not surprising that people who suffer from sciatica are often in a lot of pain and can feel very uncomfortable.

Causes of Sciatica and Treatment

Sciatica can have a number of different causes so if you’re suffering from it, it’s important to get a correct diagnosis in order to be able to heal from it.

The most common cause of sciatica is a bulging disc or nerve impingement in the spine. A bulging lumbar disc can cause compression of the sciatic nerve which can generate pain into the glute, thigh and calf. Depending on which level disc has bulged will depend on where the pain travels down the leg. People who experience lumbar disc bulges tend to experience fairly unrelenting pain down the leg and a lot of muscle spasm.

Treatment for this type of sciatica requires anti-inflammatories or cortisone to help reduce the inflammation in the disc and musculoskeletal treatment to help reduce the muscle spasm.

Another cause for sciatica is what we call a peripheral nerve entrapment. This means that the sciatic nerve has gotten stuck or impinged by muscles in the legs which causes the sciatic nerve to get irritated and send pain down the leg. The most common muscles to impinge on the sciatic nerve are the piriformis and the hamstrings. If these muscles get very tight they can start to irritate the sciatic nerve.

Treatment for piriformis syndrome or hamstring tightness is more straight forward than a disc bulge. Massage, physio or chiropractic can help to release the areas of tension in the tight muscles and give stretches to make sure the problem doesn’t happen again.

Chiropractic Treatment of Sciatica

Chiropractors can treat sciatica by applying spinal manipulations to reset a herniated disc to its natural state, which takes the pressure off the sciatic nerve. Chiropractic techniques for realignment can be a quick and high-velocity thrust or use minimal force and gentle pressure. These manipulations are effective at reducing pain and also easing muscle spasms.

Spinal decompression is also a chiropractic technique that can treat sciatica. This helps to lengthen the spine and enhance the space between the vertebrae in order to relieve the pressure on the nerve.

Contact Dr Miki for Chiropractic Treatment of Sciatica

I help patients with sciatica on a regular basis in my Brisbane chiropractic clinic. The first steps are to find out what is causing the sciatic pain and then coming up with a treatment plan. If you or anyone you know suffers from sciatica and would like help, feel free to make a booking or get in touch today. I would love to help!