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Sciatica Specialist

Advantage Spinal Dynamics & Innovative Medicine

Integrative Medicine & Chiropractic located in Meridian, ID

Sciatica is back pain that originates in your sciatic nerve and can shoot down your leg. If you’re experiencing sciatic pain, you can get help from the integrative medicine team at Advantage Spinal Dynamics & Innovative Medicine in Meridian, Idaho. The specialist team of chiropractors and therapists have considerable experience in helping patients with sciatica, providing a range of treatments that target the condition. To learn more, call the office or schedule an appointment online today.

Sciatica Q & A

What is sciatica?

Sciatica is back and leg pain that’s caused by damage to the sciatic nerve or pressure from surrounding tissues. The sciatic nerve is a large nerve that begins in the lower lumbar spine and branches down each leg through your buttocks and into your feet.

If the sciatic nerve is under pressure, it could be due to muscle spasms in your back or buttocks. Other possible causes include:

  • Being pregnant
  • Degenerative conditions of the spinal discs
  • Lumbar spinal stenosis
  • Spondylolisthesis

It’s important to determine the cause of your sciatica before commencing treatment. The team at Advantage Spinal Dynamics & Innovative Medicine has access to the most accurate diagnostic tools to help find the cause of your pain.

What are the symptoms of sciatica?

The most recognizable symptom of sciatica is a shooting pain starting in your lower back that runs through your hip and down one leg. In some cases, the pain travels all the way to your foot. Other symptoms can include:

  • A tingling feeling in one or both legs
  • Numbness in one or both legs
  • Pain in your hips or buttocks
  • Pain that worsens when sitting down
  • Problems with muscle control in one or both legs
  • Weakness in one or both legs

These sciatica symptoms can be made worse by:

  • Not getting enough exercise
  • Carrying too much weight
  • Sleeping on a poor quality or unsuitable mattress.
  • Wearing high heels

Sciatica generally affects one leg rather than both, so you may feel any or all of these symptoms in one leg while the other feels fine.

What treatments are available for sciatica?

Sciatica develops as a result of pressure or irritation affecting your sciatic nerve, so treatments focus on relieving this pressure or irritation by chiropractic spinal manipulation. Other therapies your practitioner may recommend include:

  • Acupuncture
  • Biofeedback therapy
  • Massage therapy
  • Physical therapy
  • Spinal decompression
  • Stretching exercises
  • Laser therapy

Bed rest is usually not advisable for sciatic pain, so although rest is important, gentle exercise is far better than remaining immobile.

If you have back pain of any kind, including sciatica, visit Advantage Spinal Dynamics & Innovative Medicine, where you can often see Heather Stolworthy, NP or Brandon Riebling, DC the same day. Call the office or schedule an appointment online today.