The condition called sciatica isn’t a medical disease on its own, but rather a name for the collection of symptoms that commonly accompany sciatic nerve irritation. As the largest and longest nerve in your body, the pair of sciatic nerves run down each leg after branching off the spinal cord in the lower back.
Compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve can happen in several ways, each of these causing the symptoms we know as sciatica. At Active Care Chiropractic & Rehabilitation, we specialize in lower back pain and sciatica treatment.
In many cases, chiropractic care provides fast relief of your symptoms while supporting the long-term improvement of your lower back health. The good news is that most of the time, the reasons behind your sciatica pain would resolve naturally. Visit us to minimize your downtime and recover faster.
The primary symptoms of sciatica include pain, sometimes a combination of dull aches interspersed with sudden, sharp, stabbing pain. Secondarily, sciatica often generates numbness and tingling.
A distinct characteristic of sciatica is that these symptoms aren’t always at the site of the original problem. You can experience the effects of sciatica anywhere along the nerve’s length, from the lower back to your feet. While it’s possible to have sciatica on both sides, usually only one leg feels the effects.
Sciatica results from nerve compression or irritation. How this occurs can have a number of causes. The complexity of the spinal column means that there’s not a lot of extra room.
The bones and support tissue of the spine play a huge role in your mobility and balance. They’re also responsible for protecting the spinal cord and the nerve roots that branch off to all parts of your body.
In some places, nerves pass through narrow openings, not much larger than the nerve tissue itself. Anything that reduces these spaces or comes into contact with nerves can create problems.
Some of the medical conditions that compress or irritate the sciatic nerve are:
Medically, stenosis refers to any type of abnormal narrowing. In the spine, it usually refers to the growth of bony outcroppings that fill parts of nerve pathways. Bone spurs are a common side effect of osteoarthritis.
The cushioning discs between the vertebrae have a thick outer layer and a gel-like center. Cracks and ruptures can happen to the outer casing, allowing the gel to escape. When it touches or presses on the sciatic nerve, you experience sciatica symptoms.
A healthy spine displays an impressive alignment of components. Whenever changes occur to one part, this alignment could be lost. This includes conditions like degenerative disc disease, compression fractures of vertebrae, or spondylolisthesis. Pregnancy can even cause temporary alignment problems that cause sciatica.
In most cases, sciatica symptoms will abate in weeks or months after they begin. In some cases, the condition that causes the problem heals while in others, your body adapts and the pain symptoms fade, even though an irreversible, degenerative condition like arthritis might be responsible.
Sciatica cases that require surgical response are thankfully rare. Chances are, the team at Active Care Chiropractic & Rehabilitation can help your body respond faster to the sciatica challenge. Chiropractic adjustments support musculoskeletal balance and improved blood flow, two key factors in your recovery.
Find out more by scheduling a visit to any of our six locations with a call or a click. Relief may be nearer than you think, so make an appointment today.
