DO YOU HAVE SCIATICA ?

If you’re experiencing pain that radiates from your back or your buttocks straight down your legs, you could have a common condition known as sciatica. Many individuals in Lake Oswego suffer from the pain associated with sciatica and, unfortunately, many never achieve a permanent solution. If left untreated, a sciatic condition may continue to get worse, making completing daily tasks go from difficult to impossible. The following article is directed at helping you to better understand sciatica and details how treatment from a trained chiropractor can help you overcome it.

Sciatica in Lake Oswego

Sciatica, also known as sciatic neuralgia, is a condition that can cause pain in the lower back and all the way down the back of the leg into the foot. Sitting and standing for extended periods of time may be very difficult. They can also lead to weakness, tingling and numbness in the leg and foot. This condition will often come and go during a person’s lifetime, causing periods of varying pain and discomfort. If not treated, the sciatic pain will grow worse, and the nerve may become permanently injured.

The reason that the pain travels so far, seeming to radiate up and down the legs and back, is that the source of sciatic pain is the compression of the sciatic nerve. This is the longest nerve in the whole body, originating in the lumbar spine and extending to the buttocks, from where it travels down the length of the leg to the ankle and foot. When vertebrae in the lower back become compressed, the sciatic nerve may become pinched. It is the pinching of this nerve that causes the pain associated with sciatica.

How Do You Develop Sciatica?

There is a broad range of different factors that can potentially lead to sciatica. Most commonly, it’s caused by disc injuries and bulges in the spinal column. In cases such as this, the disc will press against the nerve root, causing the problem. Disc Injuries happen because of many reasons, including poor posture, injuries caused by repetitive use, and trauma from accidents. Pregnancy is another common cause of sciatica. Although patients often say that they only bent over to pick up something when they were hit with severe pain, the reality is that the spinal condition causing their pain was most likely developing for quite a while unknown before the incident triggering the pain occurred.

Chiropractic Treatment for Sciatica

In Lake Oswego, experienced chiropractors are trained to accurately diagnose the cause of sciatica and to work together with patients to develop the best treatment approach for each individual. Following the completion of the initial assessment, chiropractors will begin to assist the body in regaining its natural alignment by making gentle adjustments to the patient’s spinal column.

While some patients respond very quickly to treatment, others may take longer to recover. Recovery time can vary and depends mainly on the level of severity of the damage that the condition has caused.  The good news for patients is that it usually takes less time to correct a problem like sciatica than it took to create it. Once chiropractic treatment has corrected any misalignments, many patients report a vast improvement in their condition. If you are suffering from sciatica related symptoms, call our team at ProHealth Chiropractic today and schedule your appointment.