Sciatica affects thousands of people every year. This condition is very common, and many people never find an effective way to alleviate their symptoms. For this reason, it’s important to fully understand what causes sciatica and how it can be effectively treated.
In this article, we’ll dive into the topic of sciatica and discuss some of the best treatments for this condition, one of which is chiropractic care. With this knowledge, we hope that you can avoid suffering from the debilitating symptoms associated with this problematic ailment.
What is Sciatica?
Sciatica is a relatively vague term that refers to any condition which affects the sciatic nerve. Often, this means that issues such as low back pain, hip pain, and other symptoms in the lower body are grouped under the broad term “sciatica.”
However, true irritation of the sciatic nerve usually results in lower extremity pain, weakness, and tingling/numbness. This denervation of the sciatic nerve can also lead to a condition known as foot drop, in which the patient is unable to flex the ankle upward. As a result, patients with foot drop will often trip, fall, and generally have difficulty walking and getting around.
What Causes Sciatica?
There are tons of different things that can lead to sciatica. For example, some medications can irritate the sciatic nerve, leading to the development of sciatica symptoms. Luckily, once the medication is discontinued, the symptoms will usually resolve quickly.
Additionally, muscle strains and tightness of tissues surrounding the sciatic nerve can cause sciatica. This is a multifactorial problem that generally involves a comprehensive treatment plan that addresses all of the patient’s issues.
Thirdly, trauma or injury to the lumbar spine may result in sciatica. When a person is involved in a car accident or another traumatic situation, they may suffer an injury to their lumbar spine. Besides some of the other major issues that might develop from the accident, such as spinal cord damage, the patient may additionally experience sciatica.
What are the Treatments for Sciatica?
Because sciatica is such a common condition, there are tons of different treatments available. Let’s take a look at some of the most effective sciatica treatments currently being used by clinicians.
Strengthening Exercise
Sciatica can lead to weak muscles. Also, the issue may be partially caused by muscle weakness as well. Therefore, strengthening the muscles of the abdomen, low back, hips, and lower body in general can help patients overcome and avoid this issue.
Best of all, it only takes a few simple exercises, performed two or three times per week to reap the benefits. You don’t need to commit to a full bodybuilder program; you just need to target the key muscles of the hip and low back region, slowly progressing the exercises over time.
Stretching Exercise
One of the major issues associated with sciatica is muscle tightness. The muscles of the back can often be extremely tight in patients with low back pain and sciatica. For this reason, stretching them out can provide incredible relief from their symptoms.
Much like strengthening exercise, it doesn’t take much stretching to improve flexibility and decrease sciatica symptoms. Stretches for the hamstrings, hip flexors, and piriformis go a long way toward increasing mobility and addressing this issue.
Chiropractic Care
Chiropractors work to realign the spine after it has suffered a subluxation in one or more spinal segments. By applying gentle pressure to these areas, they can help patients reduce pain, improve function, and return to their daily activities in no time at all.
Don’t let sciatica control your life! Book your appointment with your Parker chiropractor at Awaken Chiropractic today and wave goodbye to your sciatica symptoms.
