Sciatic Pain

It’s quite interesting how many aches and pains are contributed to sciatica. I often have patients who are experiencing pain and the first conclusion they jump to is that it must be their inflamed sciatic nerve. A nice (and annoying) fact about your sciatic nerve is that if it is causing you pain, there is no mistaking it for something else! Allow me to explain.

Your sciatic nerve starts with a bundle of nerve roots in the spine. These come together to form one major nerve called the sciatic. Your sciatic nerve extends down through your buttocks, to the back of your leg, and ends at your foot. It is a very large nerve. People often feel pain in their sciatic nerve because something is wrong with their back. Because the sciatic nerve can also irritate the sacroilliac joint of the pelvis, it can cause pain after trauma to the hip area.

If your sciatic nerve is inflamed and causing pain, it is an intense pain known as sciatica. Sciatica pain can be quite debilitating, making it hard to go about your day to day work. Pain can be a dull, pins & needle feeling or sharp and acute, like an electric shock. A burning sensation or loss of feeling can also occur. When someone walks into our office with sciatica you can see the pain on their face and many times their gait will seem off. They may also have tingling, some numbness, and muscle weakness. The pain is usually most intense in their buttocks, lumbar, hip, and leg. More than anything they just want the pain to end.

If you have pain that begins at your lower back, extends into your buttocks, and is affecting your lower extremities, please contact our Toronto Chiropractors. We work to diagnose the source of the problem and help alleviate the pain. Using specialized techniques such as acupuncture, Active Release Techniques, and traction, chiropractic treatment can heal sciatica. Rather than treat your pain with temporary pain medicine, visit us so that we can find the root of the problem and work towards ending your sciatica.