Sciatica: Symptoms, Causes and Treatments
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, other causes of sciatica may include:
• Tumors
• Piriformis syndrome (a pain disorder involving the narrow muscle in the buttocks)
• Slipped disk
• Pelvic injury or fracture
In the article for Spine-Health.com, author Dr. Stephen H. Hochschuler stated the following are symptoms of sciatica:
• A sharp pain that may make it difficult to stand up or to walk
• Burning or tingling down the leg (vs. a dull ache)
• Constant pain in only one side of the buttock or leg (rarely can occur in both legs)
• Weakness, numbness or difficulty moving the leg or foot
• Pain that is worse when sitting
• A constant pain on one side of the rear
The sciatic nerve generally doesn’t require extensive treatment as the symptoms usually subside. However, at-home treatments for sciatica include an over-the-counter pain reliever and ice.
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Although what they are saying about sciatica is correct, this doesn't actually say very much about how to treat it. Unfortunately, sciatica is a term that is used when you have pain going down the back of your leg, but the diagnosis describes the symptom, but not the cause. As a chiropractor, I see this all the time with patients who come in and say, "My doctor says I have sciatica, do you treat that?" The answer normally is, "Yes.", but to treat it, I have to determine what is causing the sciatica, disc, piriforomis syndrome, inflammation due to trauma, or something worse. The article mentioned tumors, but experience in diagnosis using orthopedic and neurological testing (which we do), is the best way, possibly x-ray, or MRI when necessary. It is true that in most circumstances it doesn't take very long to treat it, but, that depends on what is causing the sciatica in the first place. I have more about this on my website, Sciatica Causes and Treatment if it was due to an injury, I have an article entitled, "How Do Injuries Happen"
November 14, 2011 - 10:48amThis Comment