Suffering With "Sciatica" for Longer Than 2 Months?

Dublin CA

25 May, 2022

5:40 PM

Description

“I’ve had sciatic pain for well over 9 months…It feels like a deep pain in my buttocks that shoots down the back of my leg.  It hurts to sit, I can't bend over to put on my socks in the morning…I’ve tried everything from PT, chiropractic, and even muscle relaxants and painkillers, but nothing seems to work” – Sue 56 from Dublin Can you relate?Sciatica is a painful condition that comes from a "pinched nerve" in your back and travels down your leg. This is often caused by tight muscles in your back and hips or even something like a ‘bulging’ or ‘herniated disc’ in your lower back.People who suffer from sciatica typically have most problems sitting for long periods of time, find it difficult to bend over, and in some cases will feel numbness, tingling, and sometimes even a loss of feeling and strength in the foot and leg.And due to our society spending more time sitting, and being more sedentary than ever, the amount of people suffering from sciatica continues to increase at a very alarming rate. How can I fix it?It can be frustrating when you are looking to solve this problem, since it seems like there are millions of options out there for treatment.Should you try stretching and exercising? Should you just try to ‘push through’ and wait for it to go away on its own? Or should you try chiropractic?It can feel overwhelming, and even scary at times, especially when you see the doctor, all they seem to do is push pills, or recommend surgery, even when an easier, natural option may exist. What I will do today is help you understand that sciatica IS something that can be as long as you create the right "conditions and environment" to allow it to heal. The biggest mistake most people make is treating the "symptom' of sciatica leg pain by doing stretches, massages, or even exercising their painful leg.  However, this often makes the problem worse.  Why? Even though sciatica might "feel" like a tight muscle, the source of the problem is coming from a "pinched nerve". And even though stretches or massages might feel good temporarily, it only adds to the stress and tension on the nerve, oftentimes making the pain worse. But for Sue, taking a "full-body" approach, and identifying the "root cause" of her pain, she started to feel substantial relief within just a couple of sessions. Examples of some of these "underlying causes Tight “thigh muscles”: Practitioners often make the mistake of thinking that the ‘hamstring muscle’ (in the back of the leg) needs to be stretched because it often feels ‘tight’…but since sciatica comes from a ‘pinched nerve’ in your back, stretching your ‘hamstring’ often times increases the pressure on the nerve and makes things worse. By focusing on stretching the ‘quad muscles’ in the FRONT of her thigh, Sue realized her pain had relieved by 50% within the first session Back “stiffness”: Sue had also made the mistake of trying to do ‘core strengthening exercises which would not help her get out of pain, but oftentimes just exacerbated her pain. The reason being her lower back, because of years of sitting had developed stiffness and scar tissue, which was causing excessive compression in the discs in her back’. Using hands-on “scar tissue release” techniques, we were able to unlock and relieve the stiffness OFF Sue’s back, which then made exercising much less painful, and MUCH more effective. Poor posture: Sue, like many others, had developed poor posture in her upper back which also affected her back. We realized her lower back was “compensating” for problems in her upper back, leading to her pain By working on these "root causes instead of focusing on the "symptom" of her pain through the RIGHT treatments and exercises, Sue was back to: Being able to wake up in the morning and get dressed without any pain or stiffness Could bend ALL the way over and touch her toes for the first time in decades (without pain either) Could now sit comfortably on long drives, go on trips with the family without having to worry about her ‘sciatica’ coming back again. If you are living with, or concerned about someone suffering from sciatica, and are looking for more help, our clinic is offering a limited amount of "Discovery Visits" over the next two weeks.  Click here to make an inquiry about a FREE “Discovery Visit” Within these "discovery visits" you can expect to receive: An honest conversation about your health and whether or not we are a good fit for each otherA full, detailed assessment of your mobility to identify the root causes of your sciatica painAn estimate of how much it will cost, how long it will take to heal, and tips you can start with right away to try to heal your condition at home Click here to make an inquiry about a FREE “Discovery Visit” Sincerely,Dr. Kevin MaoPhysical Therapist