Chiropractor For Sciatica Lafayette, CO
Are you looking for a top notch chiropractor for sciatica in Lafayette, CO? Sciatica pain is excruciating and can be detrimental to your job, lifestyle, and ability to spend time with family. Eliminate your sciatica once and for all. We accept most major insurance!
The sciatic nerve is the longest and thickest nerve present in the human body. Sciatica is a condition that arises as the result of an injury or irritation of the sciatica nerve , which stems from the buttock/gluteal area.
Being the largest nerve, it actually consists of three nerve roots that come from the sacrum area, and two stemming from the lumbar spine (lower back).
All together, these five different connecting areas of the nerve form a right and left side, which runs through the buttocks, hips, and legs down both sides of the body, and even extends down into the feet and toes.
Sciatica pain is usually noted at varying levels from severe excruciating pain to more mild troublesome pain symptoms. The pain symptoms may occur anywhere on the path of the sciatic nerve, and due to its size, sciatica can be felt from the lower back down through the legs.
Sciatic nerve pain symptoms cause a “pins and needles” sensation that is mot commonly experienced in the toes, foot, and legs as well as numbness anywhere along the sciatic nerve.
Generally, when patients use the term sciatica, they are referring to any pain symptom whose root is in the lower back region and pain is felt radiating down into the leg, sometimes the feet and toes. Irritation, inflammation, and pinching / compression of the nerve resulting in pressure are the most common causes of sciatic nerve pain.
What are the symptoms of sciatica?
Sciatic nerve pain can be felt at any point along the sciatic nerve, or the nerves that are connected to it, spanning from the low back down to the toes.
Spine Health reports that some of the most common symptoms of sciatic include:
- Numbness: Numbness, muscle weakness, and tingling sensations are often felt on the back of the leg
- Pain: People with sciatica have consistent shooting pain and burning sensations originating in the lower back or buttock region, which then radiates down – in some cases into the feet and toes.
- Symptoms On One Side: In very rare cases both legs are effected, but usually only one side of the body is effected.
- Posture Changes: Symptoms will often intensify depending on the body position. Twisting, coughing, standing up, and bending the spine forward all all reported to make sciatica worse.
Sciatica symptoms are common among individuals living in the United States, with over 40% experiencing the pain of sciatica in their lifetime.
Does sciatica have risk factors?
Sciatica pain is one of the most common conditions of that effects the lower back, National Library of Medicine reports that 5% – 10% of patients who have low back pain, are actually suffering from sciatica symptoms.
Much like many medical conditions, their are certain risk factors that give people a higher chance of being effected, these include:
- Tobacco Usage: Persistent smoking of tobacco over time has been known to cause irregularities in the spine, such as bone weakness, wear of discs in between the spinal vertebrae and potential of damaging soft tissue in the spine.
- Typical Wear & Tear: Bone tissue and spinal discs will naturally decrease as people age, Sciatica pain may result from these normal changes in the bones, ligaments, and disc that is caused by the natural effects of aging.
- Overweight (High BMI): The strains on the body of carrying excess weight through everyday activities may lead to back pain and tight muscles. These bodily stressors can be a trigger for sciatica.
- Osteoarthritis: Osteoarthritis can weaken the spin over time, this weakening of the spinal canal can increase the nerves risk of injury.
- Working At A Desk (Sitting Down): Sitting for extended periods of time at a desk while working, often with incorrect posture, can lead to lower back issues.
- Injuries (New & Old): Generally, having any kind of traumatic injury to the spine or low back may increase risk of pain from sciatica. Lifting heavy objects with improper lifting technique can cause serious damage.
Medical conditions that cause sciatica
Beyond the general risk factors, there are also a handful of medical conditions responsible for sciatica. Some of the most common conditions include:
- Piriformis Syndrome is caused by tightness and muscle spasms in the piriformis muscle. This is an uncommon condition, but the increased pressure create around the sciatic nerve can be a cause of sciatica.
- Degenerative Disc Disease is a result of natural wear and tear with everyday life that causes shortening of spinal discs. The shortening of discs often times leads to a condition known as spinal stenosis.
- Spinal Stenosis is characterized by the spinal canal becoming tighter (narrowing). This narrowing takes away from the room available for the spinal cord and nerves in the area, which results in pinching and compression on the sciatic nerve.
- Slipped discs and herniated discs are on of the most common causes of sciatica. This is because of intense pressure that they put onto the sciatic nerve roots. These spinal discs have the function of providing cushioning between the vertebrae and the spine. Unfortunately pressure can cause the insides of the disc, a gel like material, to break through to the outside and press against the sciatic nerve. This extra pressure is a direct source of pain symptoms.
- Spondylolisthesis is another major cause of sciatica. When this happens a vertebra becomes misaligned in the spine, narrowing the pathway for the nerves in the spine and causing pinching along the sciatic nerve.
Chiropractic care for sciatica
Some patients with sciatica get relief naturally over time, but a majority of patients need some sort of therapy to relieve pain. Traditional medical providers may prescribe pain medications for treatment of sciatica, which only masks the pain symptoms and does not address actual problem.
Many sciatica patients choose chiropractic treatment as a natural relief from pain. When a patient visits South Pointe Chiropractic and receives a diagnosis of sciatica during an initial examination, there are a wide variety of chiropractic care options available.
Compared to other medical techniques, chiropractic treatment seeks to find and solve the root cause of pain symptoms, without relying on surgery or medications.
- Chiropractic adjustments to the spine, also known as spinal manipulation, can help realign a slipped or herniated disc, which takes undesired pressure off of the sciatic nerve. Depending on the patient, the chiropractor can use a variety of adjustment techniques include High Velocity Low Amplitude (HVLA), Low Velocity Low Ampiltude (LVLA), and High Velocity High Amplitude (HVHA). The style that is used is based on what is best for the patient after an initial examination.
- Massage Therapy used in conjunction with chiropractic manipulations is an excellent combination for relieving sciatica pain symptoms. Massage loosens and relaxes tight muscles that press on the nerve, releases endorphins to the brain that help reduce pain, and facilitates the circulation of blood, oxygen, and other nutrients to effected areas. At South Pointe Chiropractic, our Licensed Massage Therapists are experienced in treating sciatica.
- Spinal decompression is also an excellent tool for relieving built up pressure, tension, and pinching in the spinal column. This therapy works by slowly stretching the spine with low force, that temporarily takes the pressure off of spinal discs. The relief of pressure may cause any bulging or herniated discs to retract, which removes pressure off of nerves and other spinal structures. Beyond pressure relief, this can also promote movement of nutrient rich fluids, oxygen and water to discs which can help them heal.
- Lifestyle factors also play an important role in the long term treatment of sciatica. Underlying conditions such as incorrect movement patterns or posture may contribute to sciatica. During chiropractic therapy you may be prescribed a home exercise program designed to retrain the leg muscles, core muscles, and back muscles to function in a way that does not contribute to pain symptoms.
- Heat therapy and cold therapy is often used at the beginning of treatment, as a way to provide quick short term relief. This is because gentle heat releases the tension in tight muscles, and cold therapies compliment this by slowing down blood flow. This slowing down of blood flow helps to reduce inflammation.
- Functional Dry Needling is another tool available for treatment, which is utilized to create a healthy twitch response in the muscle tissue of effected areas. This helps to relieve tension in soft tissue, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and fascia layers.
I need a chiropractor for sciatica in Lafayette, CO
Chiropractic care is an excellent treatment option for sciatic nerve pain. South Pointe Chiropractic has a team of experienced chiropractors that will help you resolve sciatica pain symptoms, and ensure that you have lasting pain relief.
Our beautiful office is located in Lafayette, CO next to the beautiful Coal Creek Trail. Please give us a call at (720) 749-4712 to schedule an appointment.
Sciatica FAQ's
Is chiropractic good for sciatica?
Yes! Pain symptoms from sciatica can be debilitating, taking away from time with friends and family. Other treatment methods that involve over the counter medications do not address the root cause of the symptoms.
Chiropractic treatment will help relieve sciatica pain naturally through treating the root cause of the problem, without any potentially harmful side effects. Some of the tools that are used to treat the condition include: spinal manipulation, spinal decompression, massage therapy, lifestyle changes, posture correction, and functional dry needling.
How long does it take a chiropractor to fix sciatica?
At South Pointe Chiropractic, we focus on improving the quality of life in our patients through treating pain symptoms in as little visits as possible. The treatment plan will vary from patient to patient, but we have seen drastic and lasting improvement within for visits or less.
Treatment will depend on what factors are responsible for the symptoms, sometimes home exercise programs are needed to correct faulty movement patterns and fix postural issues to avoid future pain symptoms.
How do I get my sciatic nerve to stop hurting?
One of the best home treatments for sciatic pain is alternating heat and ice therapy, which can provide temporary relief for sciatic nerve pain. The heating aspect will help reduce tension and ease possible muscle spasms, while the cooling will reduce inflammation to the effected area.
Although this may work for a temporary at home fix, seeing a chiropractic professional is the best way to ensure that pain relief is long lasting.
How should I lay with sciatia?
Laying down or sleeping with sciatica nerve pain can be troublesome. We recommend to lie flat on your back when sleeping, trying to keep your buttocks and heels resting against the bed, with knees slightly bent towards the ceiling.
The best aide to stay in this position is by putting a small to medium sized pillow under your knees to promote a healthy spine position. If you have a self adjustable mattress where the firmness settings can be controlled, you may be able to find a setting through trial and error that is more comfortable for your sciatica pain.
A mattress that is too soft will misalign your spine, which can result in more pain and stiffness as well as other problems.
How do I get rid of sciatica permanently?
Fortunately there are multiple options when it comes to a cure for sciatica.
The way our chiropractors handle sciatica is a combination of adjustments, mobilizations, massage therapy, dry needling, trigger point therapy, stretches, and exercises.
This is the best method because it addresses the core problems that cause most sciatica nerve pain, without the use of surgery or medication.
Other options that may work for some patients include:
- Surgery is an option available for individuals who have had chronic sciatic nerve pain resulting in loss of bladder and bowel control.
- Medication such as muscle relaxers and pain killers may help sciatic nerve pain, but it only masks symptoms instead of addressing the cause.
- Microdisectomy: This is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that can remove slipped disc fragment, if other more conservative approaches do not work.
- Laminectomy: The lamina are flat plates of bone that originate from the pedicles of the verebral body forming the outer wall of the spinal canal, that serve to protect the spinal cord. Also known as the vertebral arch, the lamina can be a source of pressure that causes pain. The laminectomy procedure removes the lamia which can ease pressure on the spinal cord.
We recommend to see one of our providers for an sciatica pain, we are capable of relieving the vast majority of pain symptoms without the use of medication or surgery.
Can apple cider vinegar help with nerve pain?
Apple cider vinegar has been referred to as a home remedy for many common conditions. Some of the minerals it contains such as phosphorus, calcium, potassium, and magnesium can help relieve nerve pain.
One of the main benefits is the anti-inflammatory properties, which may help reduce inflammation caused by sciatic nerve pressure.