Sciatica must rate as one of the most painful of back conditions that is commonly diagnosed and most misunderstood. Many conditions can produce the symptoms frequently seen with sciatica. Chiropractors have the skills to identify the underlying cause of the symptoms and are frequently able to help resolve it.

The sciatic nerve is one of the longest and the largest nerve in your body with five smaller nerves feeding into it, extending from the spine via the pelvis to the muscles and joints of the legs and feet. Whenever any of these nerves are pinched, compressed or compromised in any way, it will cause discomfort that is often referred to as sciatica.

And, as anyone who has suffered with sciatica will tell you, the pain can be very intense. It often follows the path of your nerve – down the back of the legs and thighs, ankle, foot and toes -but it can also focus on your back.

The pain consists of burning and sharp pains though some sufferers report feeling such as pins-and-needles, tingling, prickling, crawling sensations or tenderness. Some even say their leg goes numb or develop weakness in their feet.

Sciatica is caused by a wide variety of conditions which result in an unhealthy spine with a protruded or ruptured disc, and local inflammation which lead to abnormal function in the blood vessels, spinal cord and nerves exiting the spine. Often it is linked with postural problems, faulty movements and nervous system imbalances contributing to stress on the spine. Sciatica can also result from accidents, sports injuries and even childbirth.

Conventional medicine can sometimes find spinal related pain problems difficult to deal with, however the holistic approach used by chiropractors is often very effective*.

A chiropractor deals with poor spinal alignment and nerve pressure by helping to relieve stress on the spinal nerves, joints and discs. The treatment and self-help measures they recommend also help to reduce inflammation and promote healing of the soft tissues.

If you are suffering from symptoms of sciatica do not delay contacting Back-in-Action a chiropractic clinic in Preston – we often can bring pain relief very early on in the treatment plan.

A chiropractor deals not only with the symptoms but also the cause of pain too – which means that your long term health and a future without painful sciatica is our aim. We would aim to do this with through treatment and a range of simple exercises and other self-help measures to help prevent the pain from returning.

These suggestions include strategies that you can easily adopt to effectively change your posture while walking or sitting, rebalance your nervous system, learn how to strengthen or stretch certain muscles and even changing your diet or sleeping position.

A chiropractor will not only make the manual adjustments necessary for your spine in a pain-free way but also give you the tools you need to change whatever you have to so that your health and wellbeing improves.

If you want to know how to Solve your Sciatica at home – click this link to our Chiropractor Dr.Jozef Korab’s TopTips! ⬇️

 

Tips for Prevention rather > cure:

top five tips for maintaining a healthy back:

Firstly, you should always lift heavy objects properly. You should bend your knees – by not doing so you are putting all the stress onto your lower back. You also need to carry the object being lifted closer to your body because carrying it further away from your body increases the stress on your spine.

Secondly, if you have suffered with chronic back pain, until you’ve had the underlying problem corrected, we recommend avoid activities that involve  sudden twisting movements such as golf, football and tennis, though you may be able to continue at some sports if you improve your technique.

Thirdly, and this is very important for your all-round health too, you should maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight puts an extra burden on your lower back. Of course if you’re in pain it’s harder to exercise so it can become a bit of a vicious cycle.

Fourthly, and this is closely linked to our third recommendation, you will need to undertake some form of regular exercise. You will be fitter and healthier and the muscles in your back will thank you for it! The exercise itself could be something as simple as taking a brisk walk. Accumulating ½ an hour a day can be preventative of many chronic health conditions.

Finally it’s important that you adopt a good posture whilst walking or while sat down. Do not sit hunched over a desk – you will need regular breaks and do some sort of stretching and exercise if you work in an office sat at a desk all day. Using a good seat wedge can be very helpful in making sitting up straight more effortless.

In addition, stopping smoking can be helpful, as smoking affects the blood flow to your spine. Your sleeping position to might be a problem and you may even need a new mattress – especially if it’s over 5-8 years old.

By maintaining a healthy back you should avoid any future painful back conditions occurring. You will find that the small changes that we recommend really do have a huge impact on your back pain and your wellbeing.

FYI

DISCS do NOT SLIP!

You may have heard the term ‘slipped disc’ but this is a rather inaccurate term, as discs cannot actually slip out of place. Discs are securely attached to the vertebrae. So, while it is possible for them to wear, split or herniate, they can’t slip!

Local Chiropractor says, “Although they’re not incredibly common, a disc injury can potentially be a very serious injury. It is the sort of injury that can, on occasion, require surgery. Fortunately this is only the case in a small number of cases.”

So, what exactly are discs? The spine is made of a series of bones, the vertebrae, which can bend and twist because there are flexible, shock-absorbing ‘cushions’ between each of the bones. These are discs.

A normal, healthy disc is very strong. It is stronger than the vertebrae itself. If you have a compression injury in a healthy spine it is more likely to cause a fracture of the vertebrae rather than a disc injury.However, over time as the disc undergoes wear and tear following cumulative strain from repeated bending, twisting, lifting, and even prolonged sitting, the strong fibres of the outer disc can tear, allowing ‘leakage’ of the nucleus out of the centre of the disc. This is known as a disc herniation.

This ‘leaked’ material may then cause an inflammatory reaction and sometimes put pressure on your spinal nerve that runs next to the disc, resulting in leg pain (sciatica) if it affects the discs in the lower back, or arm pain if it affects the discs in the neck. There are a number of things that you can do to prevent developing a disc injury:

• Avoid prolonged sitting, bending,
• Twisting and carrying.
• Wear a support belt when doing manual work.
• Improve your physical fitness through exercise.
• Improve your core stability through specific exercises.
• Stop smoking, if you are a smoker.

If your back muscles and core muscles are strong, and if you are bending correctly and sitting with correct posture, your spine will be protected, including the discs.

If you are exercising regularly, it is also important to avoid exercises that involve repeated bending and twisting, especially whilst sitting. Sit-ups and twisting stretches of the back are not as good as you might think!

 

*Santilli V, Beghi E, Finucci S. Chiropractic manipulation in the treatment of acute back pain and sciatica with disc protrusion: a randomized double-blind clinical trial of active and simulated spinal manipulations. Spine J. 2006 Mar-Apr;6(2):131-7. Epub 2006 Feb 3

* McMorland D.G, Casha S., du Plessis S., Hubert R.J. Manipulation or microdiskectomy for sciatica? A prospective randomized clinical study. JMPT. 2010 Oct; 33(8): 576-584.