Sciatica Treatment – When a Chiropractor Makes Sense

Sciatica is a common but painful condition in which pain radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve, branching from the lower back through the hips and buttocks and down each leg.

Any kind of compression of the sciatic nerve can cause sciatica, but the condition most commonly occurs when a herniated disc, bone spur or narrowing of the spine compresses the nerve. Typical sciatica pain radiates from the lower spine to the buttock, and down the back of the leg. It may also be accompanied by numbness or muscle weakness in the affected leg.

Sciatica can cause debilitating pain that compromises quality of life. Fortunately, there are many treatment options available. In some cases, a chiropractic treatment plan might be appropriate.

We’ve put together a guide covering sciatica treatment, and when it might make sense to see a chiropractor about your condition.

How Sciatica Treatment Works

The goal of sciatica treatment is to relieve the pressure on the sciatic nerve. Because many different conditions can compress nerve roots, the most appropriate and effective treatment will depend on the underlying cause, and varies greatly between patients.

Often, a combination of treatments is most effective. A doctor or chiropractor will evaluate your symptoms and conduct a series of diagnostic tests in order to develop and recommend a course of treatment.

The following options, either singly or in combination, are often effectively used to treat sciatica pain:

• Physical therapy
• Chiropractic treatment
• Massage therapy
• Anti-inflammatory medications such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or oral steroids
• Epidural steroid injections to resolve localized inflammation in severe cases
• Pain medication temporarily used to control severe pain
• Surgical treatment for severe cases that are unresponsive to conservative treatments

When to See a Florida Chiropractor for Sciatica and What to Expect

Chiropractic care is considered a conservative treatment option for sciatica. It is non-invasive, and has a low risk of side effects, unlike surgery or certain medications. Generally, healthcare providers will exhaust all non-invasive treatment options, including chiropractic, before resorting to surgery.

If you have newly developed sciatica, chiropractic care, potentially combined with physical therapy and/or chiropractic massage, is an excellent first line of treatment. If you have previously treated your condition with medications and found it ineffective or that the side effects aren’t acceptable, chiropractic care is also an excellent next step.

Your chiropractor will ask you about how you experience sciatica pain and run diagnostic tests to determine likely underlying causes of your sciatica. This could include physical exams and imaging tests such as X-rays or potentially an MRI.

Once the diagnosis is complete, your chiropractor will develop a treatment plan that could include chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, physical therapy or other treatment modalities. The aim of these treatments is to correct misalignments of the spine compressing the nerve and causing your painful and debilitating symptoms.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to predict how an individual patient will respond to chiropractic or any other treatment. The efficacy will depend on your unique physiology. However, some patients attain significant relief from sciatica pain after their first round of chiropractic adjustment, massage or physical therapy.

If you are suffering from sciatica, talk to a South Florida chiropractor or doctor about conservative treatment options first, including chiropractic care. He or she can help you evaluate which approaches will best fit your needs.

About the Author:

Dr. Singer has been a practicing chiropractor for more than 20 years, and USA Health & Therapy has been around since 2004. Over the course of his career, Singer has helped tens of thousands of people with all kinds of issues by using a wide variety of treatment strategies. He has extensive knowledge of chiropractic modalities, including Gonstead, Diversified, Thompson Drop Table, and Activator, and in 1997 he earned a special adjunctive Chiropractic Certification in Spinal Trauma (CCST) to better provide care for car crash victims. Dr. Singer is licensed to practice chiropractic medicine in both Florida and New York.