Living With Sciatica? Try Chiropractic Care!
Tiger Woods is a firm believer in it. Barry Bonds and Joe Montana agree. But is chiropractic care effective for sciatica, or is it “all in their heads”?
As it turns out, there are medical reasons why the types of treatments offered by chiropractors may provide significant relief from the back and leg pain or numbness that is a hallmark of sciatica.
To learn more about your treatment options for sciatica, contact Aegis Chiropractic & Physical Therapy in Hadley, MA today.
What is sciatica?
To determine whether chiropractic care is appropriate for your back pain, you must first understand sciatica. The pain is caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve.
“Sciatic pain can be described as dull, achy, sharp, toothache-like, pins and needles, or similar to electric shock-like shooting leg pain,” according to Spine Universe. “Other sciatica symptoms include burning, numbness, and tingling. Sciatica is also known as referred pain, neuropathy, or neuralgia. Sciatica is misunderstood as a disorder; however, sciatica is a symptom of a disorder.”
The sciatic nerve runs from your lower back to your hips, buttocks, and legs on either side. People with sciatica typically experience pain and numbness in their back or on one side of their lower body.
A variety of initiating factors can result in the dreaded “pinched nerve.” The most common causes are a bone spur or a herniated skeletal disc.
However, inflamed muscles following an injury can put pressure on the sciatic nerve. Tumors, pregnancy, and even constipation can all be primary causes of sciatic pain.
The benefits of chiropractic care
As stated by Spine Universe, “The purpose of chiropractic treatment is to help the body’s potential to heal itself. It is based on the scientific principle that restricted spinal movement leads to pain and reduced function and performance. Chiropractic care is non-invasive (non-surgical) and drug-free.”
One factor thought to increase back pain is the “locking up” of the spinal area once that initial pressure is introduced. When mobility is reduced by pain, the pain and pressure increases – the classic vicious cycle.
Chiropractic adjustments that help to increase mobility in the area can thus lead to reduced pain, allowing for a greater range of motion.
Most of us associate spinal manipulation with chiropractic care, but it is often an important part of pinched nerve treatment. Precise adjustments performed by qualified professionals work to align vertebrae while increasing range of motion.
These precisely applied adjustments also adjust the nerve itself, reducing pressure on it.
Along with these adjustments, your chiropractor may utilize ultrasound therapy, which employs sound waves to deliver penetrating heat. This targeted heat application relaxes tissues and reduces the kind of inflammation that leads to spasm and pain.
Another common technique, the TENS unit (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) delivers a targeted electric current in order to reduce aches and ease muscle spasms. Expert application of ice therapy is also helpful for reducing inflammation.
Don’t believe us? Listen to the pros!
Professional athletes not only sustain more severe sports injuries than the rest of us, but their livelihood is jeopardized if they can’t effectively address issues like sciatica.
Champion weightlifter, Melanie Roach, attributes her recovery from severe disc herniation in part to such chiropractic treatment as targeted massage following a micro-surgery to address the problem. “My back is stronger than it has ever been and within seven months, I was 100% and beyond what I was,” the celebrated athlete noted.
NFL legend, Jerry Rice, had a similar experience when he first began seeing his chiropractor with severe back pain following an injury during practice. “I couldn’t move, I couldn’t walk – so I went to see [my chiropractor],” Rice recounted. “We got everything lined back up, and the next day I went right back out to practice!”
Contact us today to learn if this treatment is right for you.
Like other therapies, chiropractic care is not a cure-all. Depending on the cause and location of your pinched nerves, other treatments might be more effective.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the spinal manipulation element of chiropractic care seems to be better suited for non-radiating sciatic pain.
But the famed medical institution also concluded that it can be effective in many cases, and judged it to be a safe, non-invasive treatment option.
If you want to learn first hand whether chiropractic care is right for you, contact our Hadley, MA clinic today. Our team at Aegis Chiropractic & Physical Therapy can help you get started on a customized treatment plan that fits your needs.
Sources:
- https://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/sciatica/chiropractic-treatment-sciatica
- https://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/back-pain/world-class-olympic-athletes-struggle-back-pain
- http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sciatica/basics/definition/con-20026478
- http://lexfamilychiro.com/dr.-gallentine-s-articles/chiropractic-care-benefits-athletes.html
- http://www.acasc.org/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC5rE8NPzd4#t=81