Sciatica Pain: Symptoms and Causes

If you suffer from pain in your leg, particularly if it’s confined to one side of your body, you may be suffering from sciatica. This type of pain is caused by a variety of conditions that impact the sciatic nerve. Fortunately, treatment from your Stillwater chiropractor can provide relief from symptoms and improved mobility and flexibility in the affected area over time.

How to Know if You Have Sciatica

The underlying condition that causes sciatica will dictate the type of symptoms you experience. These causes can range from a herniated disc in your lower back to spinal stenosis or a bone spur on one of the vertebrae in the area. In short, anything that reduces the amount of space the nerves that combine to form the sciatic nerve have as they emerge from the spine can lead you to experience symptoms associated with sciatica.

These symptoms include:

• Sharp, shooting or searing pain in the buttock or leg, particularly on one side of the body
• Pain originating in the lower back that continues down the back of the leg following the path of the sciatic nerve
• Pain that worsens when walking or standing, but that feels better when lying down
• Numbness, tingling or weakness down the leg

The pain from sciatica is usually constant, and if low back pain is present, it’s typically less severe than the pain in the legs.

What Is the Sciatic Nerve?

The sciatic nerve is actually a bundle formed by the nerves that extend from the spinal cord in the lower lumbar and sacral region of your back, specifically at L4, L5, S1, S2 and S3. A reduction of the space that any of these nerves have to pass through can cause the symptoms of sciatica, and the precise location of your pain or other symptoms will give your Stillwater chiropractor clues to the origin of the problem.

Professional Treatment from Your Chiropractor in Stillwater

When you visit your chiropractor in Stillwater for treatment of sciatica, a thorough physical exam will be used to determine exactly what’s causing your symptoms. Once that root cause has been established, the appropriate course of treatment can be established.

For more information or to schedule an appointment so you can start on the road to recovery, call our offices today at (651) 430-2727.