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Sciatica Causes and Treatment

Sciatica Causes and Treatment?

Sciatica can be extremely debilitating and make you feel much older than you are. Sciatica is actually caused by irritation the sciatic nerve. This is normally caused by an inflammatory condition from pressure being applied to the nerve through a prolapsed disc, nerve impingement, overly tight muscles, a misaligned vertebrae, rotated or misaligned pelvis, sacro-iliac joint. The sciatic nerve branches out from the lower back all the way into the feet. It is both the thickest and longest nerve in the body. Whilst everyone prefers to pick-out a single culprit there is usually a combination of some sort of structural misalignment in combination with other factors at play.
Other sciatica causes or risk factors include:

  • Prolonged sitting and poor work ergonomic

  • Poor posture when lifting heavy objects

  • Stress on the spine from obesity or pregnancy

  • Piriformis syndrome (nerve irritation by a buttock muscle)

  • Degenerative conditions, like lumbar spinal stenosis and spondylolisthesis

How can sciatica be diagnosed?

To diagnose sciatica properly it’s crucial that we conduct a full initial physiotherapy check-up. During this initial assessment we can take measurements of your posture, do a manual palpation to identify mechanical imbalances, take posture pictures, check inflammation levels along each segment of your spine and conduct some neurological tests to narrow the issue down to very specific variables.
During the follow up visit we discuss the results of the tests, go over the images and perform a root cause diagnosis.

What are the symptoms of sciatica?

Some of the common symptoms of sciatica are:

  • Lower back pain that radiates down

  • Pain in the buttocks or leg

  • Burning or tingling down the leg

  • Extreme stiffness that makes it hard to lift your leg

  • Muscle weakness with restricted mobility

  • A feeling of numbness and loss of sensation in the legs

  • Constant pain on one side of the buttocks

  • A shooting pain that makes it difficult to stand up

  • Hip pain

Usually sciatica is felt more on one side of the body but some people experience pain on both sides. In some cases the person suffering from sciatic nerve pain can clearly feel pain alongside the entire path of the sciatic nerve.​

Effective sciatica treatment

Corrective spinal rehab has been recognised as a natural and effective treatment for sciatica. The underlying principles is that by restoring proper alignment the imbalance that was causing pressure on the sciatic nerve is being corrected allowing the body to recover. By properly aligning the spine and pelvis the muscles and joints can balance in a more natural way, restoring proper function, reducing inflammation and increasing mobility.

On the other side of the equation removing the cause of nerve impingement restores the flow of brain-body communication to the affected parts which helps the body to express health.

Sciatica FAQ

HOW DO YOU TREAT SCIATICA?

We use Specific Correction of Segmental Dysfunction treatment by utilising pure hands-on spinal treatment methods to bring the pelvis and spinal segments back into alignment and remove the cause of nerve impingement. Our experienced physiotherapists will choose a combination and sequence that is best suited for your particular case based on their clinical experience.

ARE THE EFFECTS PERMANENT?

In most cases our patients stay well once their sciatic pain has been addressed. As you go through the corrective process you will learn better ways for doing day-to-day activities, setting up your workspace and looking after your posture. Most importantly you’ve been aligned and stabilised so that your posture is now back to a healthy range.

Just like you would look after your teeth after completing a dental plan, you want to look after your spine the same way. Our experienced physiotherapists can discuss how you can go about that and guide you to the right type of exercise and stretches to do. If you bring some pictures of your work-space they will even advise how you can optimise it.  

WILL THIS BE COVERED BY MY HEALTH INSURANCE?

We work with all major health insurance providers. In order to qualify you typically have to go through the initial assessment first as this helps establish if corrective spinal rehab treatment is right for you. After that our front desk can assist you with the requirements and particulars of your insurance. In most cases they can walk you through the steps you have to take.

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