Thursday, January 9, 2014

Chiropractic Care Helps Many Sciatica Sufferers

By Anita Valerie Baltrus


Sciatica can cause a great deal of pain and discomfort and can interfere with your entire life. It can be almost impossible to sleep or relax when pain is throbbing in your back, buttocks, or legs. However, there is help for many people that are suffering and it comes in the form of modern chiropractic. Here are details on this sometimes disabling condition and how chiropractic is making a big difference in people's lives.

The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body. It extends from the lower back to the feet and allows these areas to experience "movement" and "feeling". If the nerve becomes irritated it can cause pain signals to be felt along the pathway and this is called sciatic nerve pain or sciatica.

You have many nerves in your body. In the back, spinal disks (soft material) keep bones in the spine separated and aligned properly. The most common source of sciatic pain is the lumbar spine (low back). If something happens to affect spinal alignment, nerves in the back can be affected and you may throb with pain.

Spinal disks can sometimes bulge or protrude and in some cases they may break or rupture. This is often referred to as "slipped disks" although the term is not accurate. Most people respond positively to the right kind of chiropractic therapy, and many studies reveal that about 90 percent can be helped.

The modern chiropractic doctor has several methods that can help the patient find pain relief. Some procedures are aimed at relaxing muscles while others are designed to strengthen weakened muscles (physical therapy or electric muscle stimulation). Also, gentle chiropractic adjustment helps the spine back to natural alignment and traction therapy can help to relieve pain.

The October 2010 edition of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics reports that sciatica can be successfully treated with spinal manipulation. As many as 60 percent of people (that have exhausted other forms of therapy like exercise and pain drugs) respond to chiropractic. Results are often just as impressive as people that had back surgery procedures.

You may be less likely to have a surgical procedure if you see your chiropractor first. According to Spine December 2012, research on patients with injured backs was done and 42.7 percent eventually had surgery when they saw a surgeon initially. Of those that saw chiropractors first, a mere 1.5 percent ended up with surgery.

In the U. S. Lumbar spine manipulation is performed mainly by chiropractors, and for good reason. Chiropractors have the skill and equipment to perform spinal adjustments safely and effectively. When you seek care for your back it is always best to go to a trained and experienced professional. You will have a complete examination and consultation on your first visit. Your chiropractor uses the most modern and time tested methods to determine the cause of your sciatica or other concerns. Therapy will then be directed at the cause of pain, as opposed to simply blocking it with pain drugs. Chiropractic care is safe and natural and people of all ages may benefit from it.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment