Chiropractic Approaches to Treat Sciatica Without Drugs or Surgery

It’s a normal day and everything is fine — until it isn’t. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning jolts from your hip down the back of your leg all the way to your heel, and you’re left trying to hobble along on pins and needles. That’s how many people describe the feeling of sciatic nerve pain.

At Advantage Spinal Dynamics & Innovative Medicine in Meridian, Idaho, our team provides nonsurgical, nonpharmaceutical chiropractic treatment for sciatica. 

With proper, conservative treatment, you may not need serious intervention. However, it’s critical that a qualified chiropractic specialist sees you to avoid doing more harm.

Sciatica basics

Sciatica refers to nerve pain that originates from one or both of your sciatic nerves, which start on either side of your spine.

A sciatic nerve runs through your hip and buttock down through your leg. If anything pinches this nerve, the result can be extreme pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness in the affected leg. Sciatica generally affects only one leg.

Sciatica can result from a slipped or herniated disc in your lower back. The damage to the disc causes inflammation, and the inflamed tissue puts pressure on the nerve. The good news is that most people with sciatic nerve pain find it goes away on its own with time and self-care.

Chiropractic approaches for sciatic nerve pain

Sciatic pain typically radiates out and down from some form of pressure or irritation affecting your sciatic nerve. At Advantage Spinal Dynamics, our team focuses on relieving that pressure or irritation with chiropractic spinal manipulation. 

We may also recommend massage therapy, physical therapy, spinal decompression, or other methods based on the severity of your pain and how much it challenges your mobility. 

Ideally, you should aim to get some exercise daily. Be gentle, but keep up with your range of motion to protect against becoming even more immobilized.

Only after all chiropractic options have been exhausted do we recommend pain drugs or surgery. But we believe that with conservative care, you can work through pain and stiffness with no drugs or, at the least, only over-the-counter pain medications and anti-inflammatories.

As the inflammation around your sciatica nerve wanes, you should notice more and more pain-free days. Eventually, you should return to full mobility. Around 80%-90% of people who experience sciatic nerve pain heal completely without surgical intervention.

To learn more about how we can treat your sciatic nerve pain, call the Advantage Spinal Dynamics office today at 208-213-7963 or request an appointment online.