Have you experienced shooting pain from your lower back through your leg? You might have sciatica. This condition is more common than people think. The Harvard Health Publishing reports that about 40 percent of people will get sciatica at some point in their life.
This is because chances increase with age. The good news is that most cases of sciatica are treatable with time and chiropractic care. Our chiropractor West Omaha team is here to share some insight on sciatica and how a chiropractor may help treat it.
What is sciatica?
Sciatica refers to the pain that originates from the sciatic nerve. This nerve runs from your lower back, buttock and through the leg. When it gets irritated, it can produce acute or chronic pain. This pain may occur on one leg or both.
The most common cause of sciatica is a pinched nerve in the spine. Pinching may occur by a herniated disk or overgrowth of a herniated disk. The chances of developing sciatica increases with:
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Age
Obesity
Long periods of inactivity
Diabetes
Symptoms of sciatica
Not sure if you just have lower back pain or sciatica? Here are some common symptoms that indicate you have sciatica.
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Shooting pain along the sciatic nerve
Numbness
Tingling sensations
Muscle weakness
How chiropractic care can help sciatica
Find the cause
The first step to treating your sciatica is finding the cause of it. Many times people do not know how they hurt their back. Certain daily activities or changes in your health can cause that nerve pinching in your spine.
A chiropractor can assist in helping you find the cause of sciatica. How they help is by performing physical exams and asking you some questions. From there, they can develop a treatment plan and give you advice on preventing.
Reduce pain
One of the main symptoms of sciatica is shooting pain down your sciatic nerve. This pain may cause you to limit your range of motion and chronic pain. Instead of reaching for a pain killer that will only temporarily solve the pain, visit a chiropractor West Omaha office.
There are chiropractic care treatments, like spinal manipulation and spinal decompression, available to help treat sciatic. These treatments both help relieve the tension on the sciatic nerve to reduce the inflammation on the nerve. While also helping the herniated disk return to its original position.
Give you stretches/exercises
Moving can be painful for those with sciatica. However, it is recommended not to sit or lie down for long periods of time. Moving, stretching and doing normal activities can help you have a speedy recovery.
A chiropractor can give you a list of appropriate stretches and exercises that you can do at home. These stretches help release the pressure in the nerve and inflammation. Asking a chiropractor for exercises can help you avoid doing stretches that might aggravate or worsen your pain.
Are you looking for a chiropractor West Omaha professional that treats sciatica?
Visit Dr. Wisniewski at Wisniewski Chiropractic. He can help find the cause of sciatica and create a treatment plan that will help get back to your daily activities! Schedule your appointment today!
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