Chiropractic Story

Understanding Sciatica

What is Sciatica?

The sciatic nerves are the longest nerves in the body. They start in the lower spine, pass behind the hip joint and go down the buttock, down the back of the leg to the foot.

Causes and symptoms:

Pain from this nerve, called sciatica may be felt from the hip to the big toe. Sometimes the nerve is pinched between vertebrae or its passageways are narrowed by swelling of a sprained ligament in the area. Then it becomes irritated and tender. A disk may bulge out of place and press on the nerve. Rarely, an abscess, blood clot or growth may push on the nerve.

Treatments:

There are diverse methods of treatment for sciatica. Non surgical spinal decompression is a popular method of treatment where using computer controlled hydraulic traction to treat disc herniations. Accupuncture as well as physical therapy are other methods of achieving relief and repairing the problem areas in the hip or spine. Specific Surgical Methods of treatment are IDET or Intradiscal Electrothermoplasty where the small nerve fibers that grow between cracked and degenerating discs are destroyed by a heated wire as well as RadioFrequency Discal Nucleoplasty which is similar to the IDET but insted of using a heated wire, a needle is injected into the disc and a radio frequency is used to destroy the nerve fibers.

Find out more about Sciatica by visiting American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

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