Sciatic nerve pain can be extremely uncomfortable and make it difficult to perform your daily activities.
If you suffer from sciatica, you are most likely wondering how to relieve the pain! 🥵
There are many ways to relieve sciatic nerve pain, and the best treatment will depend on the severity of your symptoms and the exact origin of the problem.
In this blog post, we will discuss how a pinched or irritated sciatic nerve can be healed through chiropractic treatments.
This pain can unfortunately make it difficult to perform your daily tasks.
For your information, the sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body. It runs from the lower back to the toes. When this nerve is compressed or irritated, it can cause pain in the lower back, hips, legs and feet down to the toes.
What is sciatic nerve and sciatic neuralgia?
First, you should know that the sciatic nerve is the largest and longest peripheral nerve in the human body.
So it is very important; it is not a "piece too much"! 😂
It extends from the bottom of your spine to the bottom of your leg and foot. There are 2, on the left and right: the left side for the left leg and the right side for the right leg.
This nerve has both sensory and motor components. It is involved in every movement your lower limbs make!
For example, it is involved when you perform a thigh and foot extension or a leg flexion.
The long trajectory of the sciatic nerve is the cause of blockages. And, the consequence of these irritations is often responsible for pain, sometimes inflammatory. These pains can radiate all along the nerve.
A pinched sciatic nerve frequently starts in the lower back, then spreads to the buttocks, calf, thigh or foot. In other words, it affects the whole lower body.
What causes sciatic neuralgia?
Sciatica is a type of neuralgia affecting the sciatic nerve. It causes a painful thrust along the nerve.
The sciatic nerve is colloquially referred to as a pinched or blocked nerve. But we can also call this pain "sciatica" or "sciatic neuralgia".
A sciatica neuralgia does not start by chance.
Sciatic nerve pain is usually caused by another pathology.
In most cases, this can be due to theherniated discthe piriformis syndromea malfunctioning of the spinal movement or lumbar osteoarthritis.
Many other factors, such as physical stress, poor posture, wrong movement, pregnancy and obesity, can also cause sciatica.
What symptoms may we experience: how do we know if we have sciatic nerve pain ?
The first symptom of sciatica is pain.
The pain may start in the lower back, continue to the gluteal muscle and then end up in the leg or foot.
Be aware that these painful symptoms follow the path of the sciatic nerve, which is the longest nerve in the human body.
Pain from sciatica is usually accompanied by neurological symptoms such as numbness in the leg, tingling and electric shock-like sensations in the leg.
The pain tends to intensify when sitting, standing or during a particular effort.
Sciatica only affects the back and legs, not other limbs.
On the other hand, if another nerve is irritated, for example in the neck, this may cause painful symptoms in the neck and arms, but this is not sciatica: it's cervical-brachial neuralgia.
It is the equivalent of sciatica, but it occurs in the upper limbs. Therefore, stomach pain, for example, is not a symptom of sciatica.
Having an irritated sciatic nerve implies pain during physical efforts or when you are in a sitting or lying position.
In short, as soon as you move from a static to a dynamic position, you risk increasing your pain.
How to treat a pinched sciatic nerve with a chiropractor?
First of all, by consulting a chiropractor, you can count on the right diagnosis as to the origin of your sciatic nerve pain !
To make an accurate diagnosis, the chiropractic professional works on the muscular, nervous and articular aspects.
He first performs a complete examination of your condition through targeted questions, physical, orthopedic and neurological examinations and even with thermography and digital radiology.
Then, he will suggest exercises to help relieve your physical limitations. These techniques can often be practiced at home, with minimal equipment.
But, since sciatica can take many forms and cause different pain from one person to another, the chiropractor must sometimes opt for more specific services.
If you've suffered a back, neck or hip injury, you know that you can go from feeling good to feeling tight and sore pretty quickly.
We highly recommend our chiropractic services to treat any back pain!😇
Neurovertebral decompression
The neurovertebral decompression is a gentle and deep traction of the spine is mechanized and controlled by the decompression table.
It is a non-invasive technique to help you regain your range of motion and most importantly, reduce pain.
This creates an increase in space between the vertebrae, a decrease in pressure on the intervertebral discs and nerve roots, a rehydration of the intervertebral disc and an increase in joint mobility between the vertebrae.
This resorption movement in the discs is produced on a small scale with each treatment, but cumulatively, it produces long-term positive effects in the spine.
What can you do at home to help relieve your back pain ?
Talk to your chiropractor to make sure you are taking all the steps you can at home to improve your condition. Here are some examples that may help:
- Apply hot or cold compresses
- Avoid sitting or standing for too long
- Adopt a good posture
- Increase core strength through exercise
- Gently stretch the lower back and hamstrings
- Walk regularly
- Swimming or aquafitness
- Use proper technique to lift heavy objects
What home exercises and stretches can help relieve sciatic nerve pain?
Lying down is the best position to relieve sciatica, but you should not stay in bed for too long, as this can make the problem worse.
Professional chiropractors can give you exercises and stretches to do to relieve the pain quickly.
To relieve sciatica, you can perform certain exercises. However, stop the exercise if it causes you pain.
Here are a few exercises to loosen the sciatic nerve:
- Pyramidal stretching Lying on your back, grab your right thigh with both hands behind your knee and pull your right leg towards your opposite shoulder and hold for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Spinal mobilization Lying on your back with your arms stretched out horizontally, bend your legs while keeping your feet on the ground and then gently move them to one side and then to the other for 1 minute. Your buttocks and lower back can be lifted off the ground.
- Cat posture On all fours, try to round your back as much as possible and hold the position for 20 seconds. Then, do the opposite by arching your back and hold the position for 20 seconds.
Consider a Chiro for long-term back problems.
For back problems, chiropractors use a variety of non-surgical treatments, such as spinal manipulation or manual therapies.
Chiropractors will assess your condition and offer advice on how to manage the problem.
Our chiropractic center will welcome you in a warm and professional environment!
Read comments from satisfied patients!😉
https://www.ratemds.com/amp/best-doctors/?text=Francois+poirier,
https://www.ratemds.com/doctor-ratings/121534/Dr-Michelle-Bernatchez-Laval-QC.html/
Our therapeutic approach will help you regain greater mobility and better posture, so you can enjoy a better quality of life.
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