When your sciatic nerve is compressed — such as by a herniated disc — the nerve becomes irritated and inflamed. The symptoms of sciatica can vary from numbness to weakness to burning or tingling sensations. Others feel intense pain or shocking sensations.
Regardless of what causes your sciatica, Barry Hughes, DC and our team at Premier Chiropractic aim to treat the root cause of sciatica, rather than just masking your symptoms. Sciatic nerve pain treatment varies depending on what is irritating your sciatic nerve.
Below, we explore the ins and outs of treating sciatica and how we can help you get relief.
Diagnosing the Cause of Your Nerve Pain
There are many conditions that can lead to sciatic nerve pain, including obesity, herniated disc, neuropathy, piriformis syndrome, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, and lumbar radiculopathy.
Before Dr. Hughes can recommend the right treatment plan for you, he first conducts a comprehensive consultation and exam to review your symptoms and assess the severity of your sciatic nerve pain. Diagnostic imaging, such as X-rays or MRI images, is helpful when diagnosing the cause of your pain.
Treating Sciatic Nerve Pain
Once the source of your pain has been identified, Dr. Hughes creates your treatment plan. Depending on the underlying cause of your pain, you might benefit from:
- Nutritional counseling
Nutritional counseling provides several benefits for individuals battling sciatica. Learning to eat anti-inflammatory foods can help reduce inflammation in your nerves too. Nutritional counseling can also help you lose weight — if being overweight was a factor in your sciatic nerve pain. - Chiropractic care
Chiropractic care is well-known for its ability to reduce back pain, but the benefits don’t stop there. According to the experts at Cleveland Clinic, chiropractic care — particularly manipulation, acupuncture, massage, and heat therapy — were effective in reducing sciatic nerve pain. This is especially true if your sciatica developed as a result of underusing muscles (from sitting too much). - Physical therapy and rehabilitation
Physical therapy is a conservative approach to reducing sciatic nerve pain. The goal is to reduce inflammation while increasing the flexibility and strength in the muscles in your back.
Here at Premier Chiropractic, our rehabilitation program includes both passive and active therapies. This means you may experience any combination of cold therapy, massage, soft tissue rehab, and electrical stimulation. We will also suggest the appropriate cardiovascular exercises for you as well as strength training and stretching.
- Lifestyle changes
If your sciatica developed from poor posture or from sitting for prolonged hours each day, you might consider making lifestyle changes that support your back. This includes regular exercise, stretching exercises, and breaking up long sitting periods with walking breaks. - Decompression
Decompression is a non-surgical treatment that alleviates pressure and pain by gently stretching your back. This might benefit you if you also have a herniated disk.
Don’t Brush Off Sciatic Nerve Pain
We know that the tingling, burning pain of sciatica can keep you from doing what you love, but you don’t have to struggle alone with nerve pain. To explore your sciatica treatment options, call our Pearland, Texas, office at 281-223-1172. You can also request an appointment today by visiting our website.