Americans are certainly no strangers to low back pain, which is the leading cause of disability. While many roads lead to low back pain, sciatica is one that’s very well traveled — up to 40% of people will develop this painful nerve compression issue at some point in their lives.
For many, the uncomfortable sciatica journey is temporary, and relief is just weeks away. For others, however, the symptoms of sciatica can persist for months, if not years.
Whatever your sciatica timeline, relief is your top priority, and the team here at World Medical Group dba Neuropathy & Pain Centers of Texas wants you to know that it’s our priority, too.
So, if your sciatica is well past its expiration date and still giving you trouble, here’s what we want you to know.
When we refer to sciatica, it’s really a group of symptoms more than a condition. As the name implies, sciatica is a condition in which something is pressing against the sciatic nerve in your lower back, which is the longest and thickest nerve in the human body.
This nerve is formed by nerve roots and fibers in your lumbar spine that come together to form the larger sciatic nerve, which starts in your low back and splits and travels down each side of your buttocks and into your legs, all the way down to your feet.
We mention this anatomy to explain why sciatica symptoms often extend down into one side of your lower extremities. And these symptoms involve not only pain, but also numbness, tingling, and weakness.
As we mentioned, when you have sciatica, something is pressing against the nerve in your low back to create your symptoms. That something can be:
Even a problem in your hip muscles — piriformis syndrome — can lead to sciatica-like conditions.
As we mentioned, for many people, sciatica is a temporary issue that clears up in 4-6 weeks, on average. For those who are dealing with symptoms for three months or more, the sciatica becomes chronic.
If this has been your experience, and you want to avoid piling onto the problem with surgery, here’s what we’ve found to be effective:
This innovative cold laser system helps soft tissues to heal and also works toward reducing inflammation. Both of these actions are very helpful when it comes to sciatica.
We can’t say enough about the benefits of physical medicine when you have chronic sciatica. The goal of this approach is to teach you exercises that relieve the nerve compression, as well as ways in which we can strengthen the core muscles that support your spine. When we do this, it takes the pressure off of your discs, allowing them to return to their spaces between the vertebrae.
The overriding goal of chiropractic care is to fix subluxations (blockages) and misalignments in your spine. When we do this, it allows healing resources to flow more freely into your lower back, where it can reduce inflammation and repair damaged tissues that are pressing on your sciatic nerve. And, chiropractic adjustments can also directly target the nerve compression.
If we find that muscle knots are contributing to your chronic sciatica, trigger point injections are a great solution. In some cases of sciatica, these injections release the muscle tension to relieve the nerve compression.
Alongside these possibilities, we also counsel you on at-home steps you can take to manage sciatica symptoms, such as hot and cold therapies and medications.
The bottom line is that we will work with you until you find meaningful relief from your chronic sciatica. To say goodbye to sciatica discomfort, please call or message one of our offices in Arlington or Fort Worth, Texas, today to schedule an appointment.
