Sciatica

Summary

• Sciatica is a pain in your buttocks and leg
• Sciatica can be caused by a few things like a pinched nerve, certain types of arthritis, or a slipped disc (disc bulge or herniation)
• There are a few treatment options such as Chiropractic, Physiotherapy, Osteopathy, and Acupuncture to name a few.

The Sciatic Nerve

To understand Sciatica, we first need to understand what the Sciatic Nerve is. The Sciatic nerve is the main nerve that runs down from your spinal cord in your spine, and down into your leg. It is formed by the lower nerves in your back from L4 to S3 that come together and form one long nerve that runs down through the buttock and down to the lower leg. 

Interesting facts about the Sciatic Nerve

• The Sciatic Nerve is the longest nerve in the human body
• The Sciatic Nerve provides the connection for almost all of the skin of the leg

What is Sciatica?

Sciatica is typically caused by a compression, or pinching of the sciatic nerve somewhere along it's path. Once this happens, you will often experience pain from your sciatic nerve, but it may also present as numbness, tingling or weakness that may radiate anywhere from the lower back, through the buttock and down the back of the leg.

Common complaints from patients suffering with sciatica:

• Burning or tingling down the leg
• Pain in the back of the leg that is worse when sitting
• Weakness or numbness in the leg or foot
• A shooting pain when standing up

Sciatica is relatively simple to diagnose. The main part of the diagnosis more comes down to what is causing your sciatica. We can tell a lot about what's causing your sciatica by your description of your pain and how it started. When you come to Curl Curl Chiropractic, your chiropractor will want to know if there was anything that caused your pain, if you've had any fevers, if you've had any problems controlling your bowels or bladder, if you've had any previous cancers, or if you've lost any weight without trying.

Your chiropractor will then do a thorough  physical examination on you paying special attention to your legs and lower spine. This will often include testing for muscle weakness, loss of sensation and reflexes.

Your Chirorpactor may have to send you for more diagnostic tests, which may include X-rays, a CT scan, or an MRI scan to find out what is putting pressure on your nerve.

There are a number of different treatment options if you have sciatica, and sometimes it requires more than one type of treatment to properly fix it. Health professionals such as:

• Massage therapists
• Physiotherapists
• Osteopaths
• Acupuncturists
• Chiropractic
• Surgery (in more severe cases)

At Curl Curl Chiropractic, we often  find that a combination of different modalities, such as chiropractic and massage therapy may be the best form of treatment for some patients. For other patients, we may refer them to a physio or an acupuncturist to compliment their Chiropractic care.