3 reasons to see a Chiropractor if you have sciatica

It is very common for patients to present to us at Duffield Chiropractic Clinic with sciatica. Here are 3 reasons you should see a Chiropractor if you have sciatica:

1. Safety first with sciatica

Most of the time sciatica is due to mechanical problems in the spine, joints and muscles, which cause pressure on the sciatic nerve, resulting in pain, pins and needles, or weakness. However very rarely there can be other factors which can cause sciatic symptoms. Firstly we would want to know if there are any medical reasons which could be underlying and causing the sciatica which are not appropriate for manual treatment and need to be sent to the GP for medical attention. We call this ‘ruling out red flags’.

Chiropractors have to be registered with the GCC and have had a minimum of 4 years extensive training. Modules within the training course include pathology, medical history taking and examination, pathology, orthopaedic evaluation, and Chiropractic treatment techniques specifically for the spine and sciatica – as such Chiropractors are well placed to assess and treat patients with sciatica safely. Andrew takes additional yearly courses to continually update his skill set.

2. Know exactly where your sciatica is coming from

Sciatica means symptoms arising as a result of sciatic nerve irritation, which mostly gives people leg pain. As a result if you have lower back and leg pain you will likely be told or think you have sciatica.

For sciatica to start, there needs to be enough pressure and force to irritate the nerve enough to give you symptoms. This pressure can be coming from many places: disc herniations or bulges into the spinal canal, impingement of the nerve root at the intervertebral foramen, nerve root inflammation from facet joint sprains or local muscle strains, sacro-iliac joint dysfunction, referred pain from local trigger points within muscles, or local muscle spasms such as piriformis syndrome to name a few. So why have you got sciatica and which version of the above could you have?..

At Duffield Chiropractic Clinic every patient starts by having an initial consultation and examination so we can find out the exact cause of your sciatic symptoms, and precisely where it is coming from. Once we know this we can create the best plan for getting patients better quickly.

3. Have an answer for why your sciatica started

Once we know the exact location for your sciatica, we need to know why it arose in the first place. It is quite common for patients to be in severe pain with sciatica and not know why it came about, so many times will patients say ‘it just came on!’

Chiropractors assess the whole body and truly understand the longer term changes and compensations which can result in dysfunction and injury. Or basically we understand cause and effect! Causes of sciatica can be from poor bending technique or something as silly as sitting on your wallet in the back pocket! If we can treat a patient to resolve the symptoms of sciatica, and also have figured out the exact cause in the first place, then it greatly minimises the risk of it coming back again and everyone is happy.

Andrew Harlow – Derby Chiropractor