Your nervous system works like one big electrical circuit.
It's all connected. Your spinal cord transmits all of the electrical nerve impulses between your brain and lower back.
From there, individual nerves emerge from your spine then travel to supply sensation and movement to a specific area of your buttock, legs and/or feet. This allows you to move and feel sensations like touch, heat, cold and pain.
Anything that interferes with this transmission can cause problems.
Here's Why Sciatica Is So Much More Than A Pain In Your Leg
Watch this short video to learn what causes it and why it's important to know.
Take care of the longest nerve in your body.
Your sciatic nerve runs from your lower back, through your pelvis, hip area and buttocks and down each leg. When somethings wrong there, the whole body is affected.
The term "sciatica" refers to pain that radiates along the path of this nerve. Pain into your buttock or down the back of your leg (Sciatica) is a sign that you have an underlying problem that is putting pressure on your sciatic nerve.
The most common cause of this nerve compression is a bulging or herniated disc in your low back.
Piriformis syndrome is another cause of sciatica. The piriformis muscle is a deep muscle in your buttock and lies directly over the sciatic nerve.
If this muscle tightens or spasms, it puts pressure directly on the sciatic nerve causing leg pain.
Little things like sitting on your wallet can also cause pressure on the sciatic nerve. Our Chiropractors are experts at finding the cause of sciatica and treating it using a variety of safe and effective methods.
How do I know if I have sciatica?
Sciatic pain radiates from your lower (lumbar) spine to your buttock and down the back of your leg. There may also be numbness, tingling, and muscle weakness in the affected leg and the pain can range from a mild ache to a sharp, burning sensation.
It can feel like a jolt or electric shock or it can start gradually and intensify over time.
The real problem is what we call "Lumbar Radiculopathy"
We'll explain what that means and why it's important.
If you've been diagnosed with a "Lumbar Radiculopathy", this means that one or more of the nerves emerging from your lower back has become irritated or possibly pinched. This often results in pain, numbness or tingling in the specific area of your leg that is supplied by the irritated nerve.
The term "Sciatica" is often used to describe this condition because most (but not all) "lumbar radiculopathies" involve the sciatic nerve which supplies the back & outside of your thigh and calf.
Symptoms of lumbar radiculopathy may vary from a dull ache to a constant severe sharp shooting pain. Your symptoms are likely aggravated by certain positions or movements.
Our chiropractors have a number of treatment options and management strategies to help you feel better and get back to life as soon as possible.
