Sciatic Nerve Pain

We address many health concerns in my office but one of the most common problems that I see daily is sciatica– an acutely painful condition that results from the inflammation or irritation of the sciatic nerve that runs down the back of the leg into the calf, ankle and foot, often causing severe cramping or numbness of the toes, and spasms in the lower back and buttock.

Not only is sciatica painful but also it can be very complex and derive from a number of causes: spinal disc herniation, in which the outer layers of the disc fray or tear and result in a protrusion of the intradiscal material with pressure on the sciatic nerve roots; tight piriformis muscles of the buttock which compress the sciatic nerve at its emanation from the sciatic notch of the pelvis; spinal stenosis, a congenital or acquired, degenerative narrowing of the spinal canal which physically compresses the sciatic nerve roots; spinal degenerative disc disease/osteoarthritis, (also known as degenerative arthritis of the spine) that results in bone spur formation that can rub against the sciatic nerve roots as they leave the spine; postural changes related to pregnancy, which results in laxity of the ligaments of the pelvis and sacroiliac joint that can refer pain along the sciatic nerve; along with a number of others.

The good news is that in many of these cases, I have had great success at alleviating the condition of sciatic nerve irritation with entirely conservative approaches – chiropractic treatments, physical therapy, non-surgical spinal decompression therapy, myofascial release, and nutrition – and saved patients tens of thousands of dollars on costly and invasive injections and surgeries.

The key to the treatment is the evaluation of the condition at its earliest onset, before there are chronic or permanent manifestations of nerve root damage. Once a spinal nerve root has become compressed or irritated, it can quickly deteriorate and degenerate within a matter of only a few weeks to cause severe, unrelenting pain from the nerve root damage itself; muscle spasms; muscular atrophy and loss of muscle mass; and resultant weakness in the leg, leading to noticeable gait changes, and instability in walking. At its advanced stages, sciatic pain can be debilitating and cause the patient to require use of a cane, walker or wheelchair to get around, since the nerve becomes damaged beyond the body’s ability to repair it, and it can even result in signs of loss of bowel or bladder control.

For over 20 years, I have treated the condition of sciatica safely and effectively in my office through conservative management and have helped to restore health to thousands of patients who thought that they had no other options.