Struggling With Sciatica?
One of the most mysterious conditions responsible for pain is sciatica. For some sufferers, the discomfort it causes disrupts many daily activities. Fortunately, treatment can bring relief to patients who visit our Gateway Family Chiropractic practice. Our chiropractors in Greeley CO or Loveland CO provide only natural treatment that does not involve medication or surgery.
What Exactly is Sciatica?
Many people mistakenly believe that sciatica represents a specific diagnosis. It is actually a symptom of a medical condition.
Nerve roots branch out from the lower spine, then come together to form the sciatic nerve. This is the largest single human nerve. Sciatica occurs when this nerve becomes compressed or irritated.
The most common symptoms of sciatica include:
- Continual pain in just one buttock or one leg, rarely in both
- Pain that worsens when seated
- Burning, searing pain, or tingling in a leg
- Numbness, weakness, or trouble moving the affected leg, foot, or toes, or all of them
- Pain so sharp that standing up or walking might be difficult
- Radiating pain that runs down a leg, sometimes also into a foot and toes
Pain generated by sciatica varies greatly. Some individuals experience constant discomfort so severe that it incapacitates them. However, sciatica might also be merely an irritation that occurs from time to time.
Six underlying conditions are the most common causes of sciatica. A lumbar herniated disc occurs when the inner components break out of a disc and pinch a nerve root. Degenerated discs that develop in the lower back can irritate nerve roots. In patients with isthmic spondylolisthesis, slippage of a vertebra might pinch a nerve. Narrowing of a lumbar spinal stenosis patient’s spinal canal commonly results in sciatica. Sometimes the piriformis muscle irritates or pinches a nerve root. Sacroiliac joint dysfunction is a cause when irritation to the sacroiliac joint also irritates a nerve.
Less-common causes include pregnancy, epidural fibrosis, muscle strains, infections, fractures, spinal tumors, and ankylosing spondylitis.
Sciatica Treatment from Gateway Family Chiropractic
Sciatica sufferers who visit our Gateway Family Chiropractic practice receive a customized treatment plan after our doctors of chiropractic complete a comprehensive exam and a health history. Treatment from a chiropractor involves only natural therapies that avoid medication or surgery.
Spinal decompression provides relief from sciatic nerve pain. This involves making adjustments to realign the spine by using manual manipulation to very gently stretch it. Manipulation alters the spine’s force and position and takes pressure off the nerves and other spinal structures. Exercises help some patients. Chiropractors also sometimes recommend lifestyle changes and massage therapy.
Schedule a Consultation with Our Chiropractors
Don’t let sciatica interfere with the activities you love. To schedule an appointment with a chiropractor in Greeley CO or Loveland CO, call us today. Brothers Dr. David and Dr. Michael Hughes are co-owners of Gateway Family Chiropractic. They offer neurologically based chiropractic care for families in the Greeley, Loveland, Windsor, Berthoud, and Fort Collins area and are nationally certified in spinal decompression.
