Sciatica - What causes it and how you can get relief!
One of the most common things people complain of when they come to see us, is sciatica. When we ask where it hurts, some point to their leg, some to their back and a few to their shoulder. Clearly not everyone is clear exactly what it is, so what is sciatica? Sciatica is not, strictly speaking, a medical diagnosis, it is a symptom of an underlying medical condition. It is a lay term for pain that extends down the leg; pain that can really hurt.
Common Sciatica Symptoms:
- Most often it starts in the lower back and travels into the thigh; it can travel further down the leg to the foot and toes.
- Sciatica is not only felt as pain, it can be felt as a burning, tingling or pins and needles sensation.
- In advanced cases there can be numbness or weakness of the leg muscles
- Sciatica mostly affects one leg, rarely does it affect both.
What Causes Sciatica?
Sciatica gets its name from the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve runs
from your lower back down each of your legs to your toes. It is formed
from the nerve roots (nerves that come out of the spine) L4-S3 at the
bottom of the spine. All these nerve roots join together to form the
largest nerve in the human body; about the size of your index and middle
finger together.
The sciatic nerve feeds messages from your brain and back again. This
allows you to move your legs and walk, feel sensation when something
touches your leg, quickly move your leg away when you stand on your kids
Lego in the dark, and so much more! In conclusion, it’s a very big
and important nerve.
The most common causes of Sciatica:
- A trapped nerve in the lumbar spine affecting the sciatic nerve.
- A disc herniation - one of the discs in the spine bulges out to the side and presses on the lower back nerve roots (that form the sciatic nerve).
- Piriformis syndrome - this muscle is in your buttocks that the sciatic nerve runs under, and sometimes through, and if it gets tight it can irritate the sciatic nerve.
- Trigger point referral - knots in the muscles of the buttocks or low back called trigger points, can cause a referred sensation of pain down the leg (referral) that can mimic sciatica.
Sciatica Relief
With the causes listed above, a combination of Chiropractic
adjustments, massage, stretching and cryotherapy (using an ice pack or
Biofreeze). With this approach you are addressing any misalignments of
the spine and pelvis through the Chiropractic adjustments; this takes
the pressure off the nerves and aides the recovery of any disc
herniation.
At Reflex Health we ensure that we give you the best treatment and
advice to help you with your sciatica, and in those few cases that we
feel that therapy like Chiropractic and massage are not the most
suitable option, we refer you to the person who is right for you.
Contact us today to book your Sciatica Consultation on 020 7228 6906 or email info@reflex-health.com
"We are dedicated to getting you and your family well and keeping you that way."
Dr. Ari Mihailidis
