Persistent & Reoccurring Sciatica

28/1/2019

What is Sciatica? The term 'sciatica' describes a set of symptoms including pain and altered sensation in the area of the leg(s) and back where the nerves making up the collective 'sciatic nerve' supply.
Sciatica often indicates an underlying condition of the spine that needs to be addressed for long-term resolution.
An effective approach to treating this condition.
Simple proactive & preventive steps you can take now.

Do you have Sciatica?

Symptoms of sciatica can present in varied ways. Many of which are the longterm outcome of abnormal mechanical loading and stress on specific areas of the body. One of the common areas of high mechanical stress is the base of the spine. (Take a look at the x-ray below, notice how the vertebrae look a relatively decent shape at the top of the image compared to the bottom. You can appreciate how the degeneration in this person's spine will be reflected in how they stand and their ability to walk and generally move about.)

If you are one of the many people who have developed this condition it is likely that your healthcare practitioner has informed you of the cause. X-rays and MRI scans accurately pin point a diagnosis, commonly a lumbar disc bulge/herniation, degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis and such like.

These conditions describe what is going on at a highly specific spinal level (classically L5) and explain why you are in pain, but what about why this area got so bad? What's going on with your body as a whole? Looking at the whole body will explain the underlying reason these specific levels of your spine are more worn out.

When it comes to treatment for both pain relief and long term resolution, it is vital to take in the bigger picture of what and why your spine is in the condition it is in by looking at your body as a whole structure.

What condition is your spine in?

A 'front to back' (A-P) view of the low back. You can see the lowest ribs at the top of the image, the sacrum and hips at the bottom with vertebrae T12 to L5 in-between.

We can't see how well our spine and other joints are faring like we can our teeth. so you'll be forgiven for assuming that your spine is beautifully straight and stacked up with perfectly shaped vertebrae with equal spacing. Unfortunately this isn't true for most of us as we've all had times in our lives when a knock or fall has forced bones of the skeleton into a position it couldn't fix itself (to find out more about the anatomy of this click here to watch Spine 101).

This x-ray demonstrates perfectly the effect of longterm abnormal biomechanics, particularly at the lowest two levels, L5 and 4. Notice the extra bone growth on the sides of the lower vertebrae, this is an appropriate adaptation of the bone to the stress it is being placed under. The great news is that it is possible to make specific corrections to the spine and whole skeleton that unwind this stress and accounts for the noticeable, positive changes achieved on each treatment visit to Unwind Chiropractic.

The many forms of Sciatica

Sciatica is often characterized by one or more of the following symptoms:

Constant pain in only one side of the buttock or leg (rarely in both legs)
Pain that is worse when sitting
Leg pain that is often described as burning, tingling, or searing (versus a dull ache)
Weakness, numbness, or difficulty moving the leg, foot, and/or toes
A sharp pain that may make it difficult to stand up or walk
Pain that radiates down the leg and possibly into the foot and toes.

Be Proactive...

2 easy changes that will make a start to shifting your sciatic pain.

Pick the chairs you sit on wisely. Seating that is squashy and/or tilts down at the back forces your pelvis to slump backwards putting the discs in your low back in a harmful position. Make sure the surface you sit on is firm and tilted forwards so that your knees are lower than your hips. (I will show you how to get this exactly right for your spine during your consultation).
Quit stretching your back in a forwards bending direction. Many people have been advised to do stretches that can alleviate muscular and some nerve pain for a short time but have to keep repeating them as the pain keeps coming back. These forward bending stretches and ones such as bringing your knees to chest and/or twisting the hips from side to side actually encourage the back part of the spine discs to stretch more, unfortunately perpetuating the problem. The treatment I provide will naturally allow those painful muscles and joints to relax without the need for continually stretching your back out.

It goes without saying that sciatica is much easier to treat earlier rather than later. Heed the early warning signs such as muscle spasms, waking up with a stiff, sore back and when the back is pulled into an antalgic (skewed) posture.

If you would like to find how well I can help you get in touch with me.

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