Sciatica

Sciatica is a very specific type of low back pain with radiating pain down into the leg. It refers to an irritation of one of your sciatic nerves.

You have two sciatic nerves. In fact, it might be a mistake to call them nerves themselves, since they are really giant bundles of lots of other nerves. Most of the nerves that supply the sensation and muscles of your buttocks and legs travel together through a nerve superhighway that we call "the sciatic nerve."

If a traffic accident disrupts the normal traffic flow on a Peoria road, a predictable pattern of symptoms emerges: cars slow and stop, drivers get frustrated, cars search for secondary traffic routes, emergency vehicles race to the scene, and so forth.

In the same way, if the normal flow of messages along your sciatic superhighways are disrupted, the results are predictable: you will experience crushing low back pain that will shoot down your leg along the path of the sciatic nerve. It will be difficult to sit, to stand, to bend, to move, to twist.

Sciatica is extremely debilitating. How can this pain be fought? Steriod drugs don't help the pain and cause side effects instead. Muscle relaxants only provide partial relief to some patients. Although motion is painful during sciatic symptoms, bed rest has been proven ineffective. What can you do?

How We Can Help Your Sciatic Pain

Chiropractors have a long history of helping patients with sciatic symptoms. Many patients who have found no relief elsewhere benefit from chiropractic care. Chiropractors provide effective care with a minimum of complications. Chiropractors have been shown to aid their patients' coping abilities and provide better outcomes.

Dr. Johnson will investigate the cause of your sciatica and leg pain. Different causes require different types of treatment.

Dr. Johnson is proficient in delivering gentle Activator adjustments with no twisting or bending that might aggravate your low back. The Activator adjustment has been shown to be highly effective for low back pain (both at Johnson Family Chiropractic and in research studies).

We offer state-of-the-art spinal decompression therapy, the standard for conservative and non-invasive treatment of disc problems. We also offer other therapies designed to complement the Activator adjustment: ultrasound therapy, electric stimulation of the muscles, cold laser therapy, exercises to be performed in the comfort of your own home, soft tissue work, and rehabilitation therapies.

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Causes

- sacroiliac dysfunction
- lumbar disc herniation
- degenerative disc disease
- lumbar spinal stenosis
- spondylolisthesis
- piriformis syndrome
- muscle strain
- pregnancy
- old scar tissue
- trauma
- internal bleeding
- infection
- spinal tumor