Chiropractic and Sciatica

What is Sciatica?

Sciatica is a set of symptoms including pain that may be caused by general compression and/or irritation of one of five spinal nerve roots that give rise to the sciatic nerve or by compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve itself. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, and/or various parts of the leg and foot. In addition to pain, which is sometimes severe, there may be numbness, muscular weakness, pins and needles or tingling and difficulty in moving or controlling the leg. Typically, the symptoms are only felt on one side of the body.

The sciatic nerve may become irritated at the nerve roots, from a disc herniation, which is when the inner part of the shock absorbing discs between the bones of the spine bulge out into the space where the nerve starts. This is called a protrusion and if it bulges out too much, disc prolapse or rupture could occur. This puts even more pressure on the spinal nerves, resulting in sciatica.

The sciatic nerve may also become irritated and entrapped due to build up of scar tissue in the surrounding fascia and musculature. This scar tissue can cause the nerve to become ‘glued’ to surrounding tissue and to be tractioned and irritated through normal activities and range of motion. This scar tissue may be caused by a single traumatic event or a repetitive strain injury that had caused tissue damage.

Leg pain has many other causes. The most common causes include referred pain from the joints, ligament and muscles in the lower back, tight buttock muscles, or joint and muscle problems in the spine or pelvis.

What are the symptoms of Sciatica?

INeurogenic Pain, pain from the nerve, is typically a shooting pain that can be sharp and burning as well as being associated with a feeling of numbness, ‘pins and needles’, hot and cold sensation and muscle weakness

Referred Pain, pain due to a muscle and/or joint problem in the back or pelvis, is typically a dull achy pain, but may also be sharp. It usually does not cause a feeling of numbness, tingling, or muscle weakness.

Chiropractic Treatment of Sciatica

Sciatica is usually a general term used to describe the symptom of leg pain, because of this generality; a correct diagnosis must be made before any chiropractic treatment can start. A chiropractic examination, which includes a low back, pelvis, hip, and knee exam as well as a neurological exam, would determine the cause of the sciatica and the most appropriate treatment to be given.