Causes of Sciatica:

Sciatica is usually caused by a herniated or slipped disc in the spine, which puts pressure on the sciatic nerve. Other causes of sciatica include spinal stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spinal canal, spondylolisthesis, which is a condition where one vertebra slips forward over another, and degenerative disc disease, which is the gradual deterioration of the discs in the spine. Additionally, pregnancy can also lead to sciatica due to the pressure on the sciatic nerve from the growing uterus.

A physical exam by your healthcare provider can help you determine if you have sciatica.

Treatment of Sciatica:

Treatment for sciatica depends on the underlying cause and the severity of the symptoms. Most cases of sciatica can be treated with non-surgical methods such as:

1. Rest and Activity Modification: Resting the affected area and avoiding activities that exacerbate the pain can help alleviate symptoms.
2. Exercise and Physical Therapy: Strengthening exercises and stretches can help improve flexibility and reduce pressure on the sciatic nerve.
3. Medications: Over-the-counter pain medications such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen can help relieve pain and reduce inflammation. In severe cases, prescription medications such as muscle relaxants or opioids may be needed.
4. Hot or Cold Compresses: Applying heat or cold to the affected area can help reduce inflammation and alleviate pain.
5. Injections: Steroid injections into the affected area can help reduce inflammation and alleviate pain.

In rare cases where non-surgical methods are not effective, surgery may be required to relieve pressure on the sciatic nerve.

Physical Therapy in Everett, Snohomish County

Having a sciatica diagnoses doesn’t have to be scary or painful. At Everett Spine and Rehab, we will develop a treatment plan specifically for your condition which may include physical therapy or chiropractic care. If you think you might have sciatica, please schedule an appointment with us: 425-347-8614.

Sources:

1. Chat GPT https://openai.com/
2. Mayo Clinic. (2022). Sciatica. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sciatica/symptoms-causes/syc-20377435
3. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. (2021). Sciatica. https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/sciatica/

Let’s admit it, as adults, we all face back pain at some point in your life. Back pain really makes you think that you’re getting old, doesn’t it?

Now a lot of people think that back pain is normal, but I’m here to tell you otherwise. If you’ve ever experienced back pain, then it could be a sign of something more serious. So while ignorance may be bliss in some cases, that is not true when it comes to your back pain.

The truth is, sitting around and ignoring it, or even masking it with pain medications and waiting for it to go away, may just make it permanent and worsen the situation. As a guideline, there are five specific things and if you experience these, you should definitely get your back pain checked out.

Radiating Pain

First and foremost, if you’re experiencing a strip of pain that radiates from your back to your foot or leg, then you might be facing some more irritation, you should get check immediately because it might not go away on its own, and it might leads toward more pain. The longer you wait, the more treatments you might need, the more it will cost.

Limping

Now, the second sign, if your leg is hurting and making you limp, then you should get screened by a chiropractor as soon as possible. The limping might permanent if you ignore it better safe than sorry. Further, the limping may cause other issues in other parts of your body, such as your hip, your knee or your ankle, on top of the lower back. Further the low back pain might start spreading upwards into your mid back up, and quite possibly into neck and leading into headaches. We are one connected being, from our head to our toes. Symptoms down to your feet can work their way up just like back pain can work its way down.

Incontinence

Now the third sign you should watch out for is urinary incontinence with numbness in your groin area. That could be pretty serious stuff. A urinary incontinence is the term given when you don’t have full control over your bladder and your urine starts to flow out even when you’re putting in conscious effort to hold it. These could be symptoms of what is called cauda equina syndrome, which means that the nerve at the bottom of the spinal cord are being compressed. The treatment for cauda equina syndrome is immediate surgery because if it’s done too late, you may not fully recover. Imagine that, not being able to hold in your urine anymore. Therefore, you should always get yourself checked by a chiropractor immediately if you’re facing such problems.

Chills, Fever

Four the fourth sign if you have any chills, fever, night sweats, all over your body–this could be your body showing that it’s in pain and out of alignment.

Imbalance

The fifth and final symptom is imbalance with pain. This is especially for women. As a women become older, they also develop an increased risk of osteoporosis which weaken bones to the extent that they get fractured easily. This is why old women usually get fractures when they fall, especially in the hip, and should that happen, the prognosis after that is usually not very good. I lost a great grandmother who fell, cracked her hip, within a couple of months she passed away.

So if you are finding yourself unable to balance properly and you’re feeling pain in your back, you should get yourself checked as soon as possible. And the greatest place to start with that is with your chiropractor. Just like if you have some aches and pains and other symptoms, you’re not going straight to your specialist– you’re going to go to your family doctor. If you have tooth pain, you’re going to your dentist, you’re not going to go to your family doctor or a specialist right away. If you have back pain, come see me, or go see your chiropractor if you’re already established with one. Get screened to see if you need to be referred out to a specialist or if this is something a chiropractor can handle at his or her own office, which ends up usually being the case.

So let me know if you have any questions that may accompany your back pain.