Sciatic Nerve Pain and Treatments

Sciatica is a symptom of a trouble with the sciatic nerve, which is a large nerve that runs from the lower back down the back of each leg. The sciatic nerve controls muscles in the back of your knee and lower leg and provides feeling to the back of your thigh; the sole of your foot and part of your lower leg. Chiropractic medicine is regularly used to treat sciatica. When suffering from sciatica, you have pain, numbness, weakness or tingling. Sciatica can often start in the lower back and extend down the leg to the calf, foot, or in some cases even to the toes. Sciatica is usually on only one side of the body.

Chiropractic treatment for Sciatica is one of the most accepted and widely practiced healing techniques used for ridiculer pain conditions. Chiropractic centers its treatment on the back and spine and chiropractic doctors are truly back pain and sciatica specialists. A patient may consider going to a chiropractic doctor for sciatica treatment. Chiropractic practitioners offer drug-free and non-invasive therapies to treat sciatica. Chiropractic care involves a belief that the body has the potential to heal itself. Various methods including nutritional counseling, TENS treatment, massage therapy and exercises for sciatica can be applied for chiropractic care of sciatica.

Before starting the actual treatment, the chiropractic doctor asks questions about the patient's medical history, performs a physical examination, and may ask for an x-ray or other imaging study, like an MRI. A detailed examination is part of good chiropractic care. Chiropractic can utilize a variety of treatment modalities, but it mainly concentrates on using specific manual spinal manipulations also called chiropractic adjustments or adjustments. The theory of chiropractic medicine states that in order for the body to be optimized for health, the neurological pathways must remain open and unhindered. Many chiropractic practitioners may also use various other forms of complementary treatment including nutritional counseling, TENS treatment, massage therapy and exercises for sciatica. The chiropractic treatment plan generally includes:

1. Ice/cold therapy: This chiropractic treatment technique the chiropractic doctor uses ice or a cold pack to help reduce inflammation, to control the pain from sciatica.

2. Spinal Manipulation (Adjustments): Spinal manipulation techniques are utilized by the chiropractic practitioners to realign the spine. This is what separates chiropractic doctors from other doctors. Parts of the misaligned spine may cause inflammation, pain, muscle spasms, and some other sciatica symptoms. Spinal manipulation helps reducing nerve irritability. This is also called chiropractic adjustment.

3. TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation): This chiropractic method uses a TENS unit which transmits a painless electrical current to nerves through the skin to help control pain. Small electrode bits are positioned on or near the painful area. Although TENS equipment used in chiropractic by the practitioners is large, many patients are given only a small portable unit that may be attached to the belt. TENS helps in relieving muscle spasms, stiffness, and helps in improving mobility and controlling pain by prompting the body to produce endorphins, which are the body's natural pain killer.

4. Ultrasound: The chiropractic treatment may also involve an ultrasound which by increasing blood circulation helps to reduce muscle spasms, cramping, swelling, stiffness, and pain. It is done by sending sound waves deep into the muscle tissues, creating a gentle heat that improves circulation and healing.