Sciatica, or lower back pain, could be caused from a number of different causes. Many of the different causes are ones that may be addressed by your Houston chiropractor, Dr. Viri, D.C.
What is Sciatica?
Sciatica is due to an inflammation of the sciatic nerve. This nerve is the longest nerve in your body, starting at the level of your spine and going all the way down to your toes. If you’re taller than six feet, this means this nerve could be more than three feet long.
Where the Sciatic Nerve Travels
During this long journey, there’s plenty of opportunity to become compressed. The sciatic nerve starts at the level of the spine and then goes through vertebrae of the lower spine, then through the piriformis muscle. It’s a thick nerve that could have a diameter as large as your thumb.
The sciatic nerve then travels down through the buttocks, hamstring muscles at the back of the leg, back of the knee, the lower leg, and all the way down to the toes. If this nerve is disturbed in any way, symptoms such as weakness in any of the muscles it supplies can result. Also, pain, numbness and/or tingling in any of the areas along its route may occur.
Symptoms of Sciatica
Sciatica occurs in only one leg, not both. The pain usually starts in the buttocks or low back and radiates down to the foot or toes but may stop at the level of the buttocks, calf, or ankles. The pain may be sharp, burning, or hot. Sciatica symptoms worsen when you are standing up or sitting without moving. The pain improves when you walk or lie down.
Sciatica could be a reason to go to the Emergency Room if the symptoms are accompanied by bowel or bladder incontinence or even weakness that worsens with time.
This Simple Cause of Sciatica Can Be Reversed Quickly
What many people don’t realize is that sciatica could be caused from something you do each and every day – from sitting on your wallet! What happens in this situation is that muscles on one side of your spine contract when you sit on your wallet in your back pocket. Contracting the muscles may include the piriformis muscle, which is one of the muscles that the sciatic nerve travels through. Thus, the sciatic nerve gets compressed, and ouch – you end up with pain!
One of the very first things that Dr. Viri, D.C., Houston chiropractor, looks for is whether or not you have been sitting on your wallet! And if she finds this is the root cause of your sciatica, she recommends you find another place to put your wallet. This way you can stop having episodes of sciatica in your life from now on.
Sciatica Treatment Relieves the Condition
However, your treatment involves other types of modalities to get well and recover fully from this sciatica episode. Dr. Viri will use chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, physical therapy, acupuncture or rehabilitation; whatever is needed to get you out of pain, relieve and restore the nerve and get you back to a high quality of life.
If you have sciatica, call Dr. Viri, D.C. at her Chiropractic office in Houston to schedule your consultation and treatment.
