Low back pain can range from a nagging ache to discomfort that makes sitting, standing or moving difficult. When pain, numbness, tingling or weakness travels from the lower back into the buttock or leg, the sciatic nerve may be involved. Understanding the difference between general low back pain and sciatica — and why symptoms sometimes move or change — can help you make more informed decisions about care.
In truth, medication is often only a temporary solution to a recurring problem. When the drug wears off, low back pain would most likely come back, and sometimes worse than before. Let’s try to learn more about what sciatica is and where to look for long-lasting care.
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First of all, let us inform you what sciatica is not. Sciatica is not a medical condition. Instead, it is a term used to denote a collection of symptoms from an underlying medical condition that negatively affects the sciatic nerve.
The sciatic nerve is the most extended and extensive nerve in the body. It begins to your lumbar spine, runs deeply through the buttocks, and continues down the back of your leg and feet. Anything that would cause irritation, damage, or compression, and give trauma to the sciatic nerve can trigger agonizing back pain. However, several common conditions can also bring about sciatica, such as:
Upper cervical care in Sioux Falls helps patients know more about how to prevent sciatica. Some people are highly susceptible to getting sciatica. Also, if you have the following risk factors, you are more vulnerable to suffer from sciatica.
Take a good look at the following warning signs and see if they would apply to you. Here is a list of symptoms that could tell if you have sciatica.
This particular sensation is one of the most common symptoms. Pain spreads out, originating from the lower back and shoots down your leg. The feeling may become more severe as it moves down the leg. It is more likely sciatica if your back pain concentrates in the lower area of the back and goes down just one leg. This path of pain follows the sciatic nerve.
Sciatica frequently affects only one side of the body. It is because trauma often focuses on one of the nerve roots. Thus, it’s only causing you to feel it down one leg, buttock, knee, or hip.
Sciatica causes a sensation of burning in the hip, back, or somewhere down the leg. It may feel mild and go away and then come back anytime. If it is not taken care of quickly, there is a very high chance that back pain and these other sensations will gradually get worse and lead to more symptoms.
It affects either side of the hip or both sides, not only on the bottom of the sciatic nerve. When one side of the body is in pain, you have a natural tendency to compensate by shifting your weight to another. As a result, this leads to hip pain on both sides – one side is due to sciatica, and the other is due to overcompensation.
As sciatica gets worse, numbness may begin to appear anywhere along the side of the hip, back, or down the leg. Extreme numbness can affect your leg, causing you to have problems with walking correctly.
Feeling the pain from prolonged standing or sitting is normal. This pain goes away when you move around to shift your weight. However, sciatica pain is quite different. It becomes worse the longer you are sitting or standing. Changing your position and moving around may help and give you only temporary relief. Some people report about feeling severe pain whenever they cough or sneeze.
Upper cervical care in Sioux Falls has already given relief to numerous sciatica patients. Our upper cervical chiropractors have helped many sciatica patients to identify and correct a regularly overlooked cause of their situation. We focus on accurately adjusting and realigning the atlas, the uppermost vertebra in the spinal column.
The atlas is unique and special for many reasons. It is responsible for lifting and supporting the head’s weight and for the majority of its movements. Here is what would cause sciatica to occur: The atlas (C1) if misaligned from an accident, injury, or regular wear and tear. It is one of the most probable locations for this misalignment because it is the most freely flexible and movable section of the entire spine.
If the atlas moves out of its proper alignment, the shoulders often become uneven as the mid-back adjusts. When one hip draws up higher than the other, this can cause an imbalance in the lower back. These compensations would start to irritate the nerves that form your sciatic nerve. Finally, inflammation and pain would follow, resulting in numbness, burning, and weakness. These and more are symptoms associated with sciatica.
Therefore, a misalignment in the atlas (C1) can cause a trickle-down event that results in sciatica. Upper cervical care is always focused on addressing the root cause of an individual’s symptoms. It does not merely provide a temporary solution or relief. It gives long-term relief by addressing the underlying cause of any health problem.
Here at Upper Cervical of Sioux Falls, in South Dakota, we will locate the root cause of your sciatica to produce long-term relief. Call our office at (605) 275-6900 or send us a message online to start upper cervical care in Sioux Falls today, and find relief similar to what our patients have experienced.
For some patients with persistent low back pain or nerve-related symptoms such as sciatica and radiculopathy, Dr. Casey Weerheim may also recommend Extracorporeal Magnetotransduction Therapy (EMTT) as part of an individualized care plan. This non-invasive therapy uses high-energy magnetic pulses and is offered at Upper Cervical of Sioux Falls as an additional treatment option for certain musculoskeletal conditions. If your back pain has been difficult to resolve, we can evaluate your symptoms and determine whether EMTT, chiropractic care or a combination of approaches may be appropriate for you.
To schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Casey Weerheim call our Sioux Falls office at 605-275-6900. You can also click the button below.
Low back pain describes discomfort in the lower portion of the back and can have many potential causes. Sciatica refers to symptoms involving the sciatic nerve, which travels from the lower back through the buttocks and down each leg. Sciatica often produces pain that radiates into the buttock or leg and may also cause numbness, tingling or weakness. You can experience low back pain without sciatica, and some people with sciatica have more noticeable leg symptoms than back pain.
Sciatica can feel different from person to person. Common symptoms include sharp, burning or shooting pain that travels from the lower back or buttock into the leg. Some people describe an electric-shock sensation, while others experience aching, numbness, tingling or weakness. Symptoms commonly affect one side of the body, although the location and intensity can change depending on what is affecting the sciatic nerve.
Sciatica symptoms can sometimes change location or appear to move from one side to the other. Changes in posture, movement and irritation or pressure affecting nerves in the lower back may influence where symptoms are felt. Because shifting pain can have several possible explanations, an evaluation is important if your symptoms persist, frequently change sides or are becoming more severe.
Yes. Because sciatica involves irritation or compression affecting the sciatic nerve or its nerve roots, symptoms can include numbness, tingling or a pins-and-needles sensation in the buttock, leg or foot in addition to pain. Muscle weakness can also occur. New or worsening weakness or significant loss of sensation should be medically evaluated promptly.
Consider seeking medical evaluation if low back pain or sciatica is severe, persists despite conservative measures, continues to worsen or significantly interferes with walking, sleeping or everyday activities. Seek immediate medical attention for symptoms such as loss of bowel or bladder control, numbness around the groin or saddle area, significant or rapidly worsening leg weakness, or back pain following a serious injury. These symptoms can indicate a condition requiring urgent medical care.
Chiropractic care is one conservative option some people consider for certain types of low back pain. At Upper Cervical of Sioux Falls, Dr. Casey Weerheim evaluates each patient’s symptoms and health history to determine whether chiropractic care may be appropriate. Our approach emphasizes individualized care rather than assuming every case of back pain has the same cause. Depending on your condition and examination findings, Dr. Weerheim can discuss the options available at our Sioux Falls office and whether another healthcare provider should also be involved in your care.
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