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What Is Sciatica?
Sciatica is a severe pain in the leg which can be caused by compression, irritation or inflammation of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerves run down the back of each leg and are the largest and longest nerves in the body. Each sciatic nerve is made up of five smaller nerves that leave the spinal cord from the lower spinal column, join together and then travel down each leg. When these nerves are irritated or affected by the inflammation of nearby soft tissues, it is referred to as sciatica.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Sciatica?
There are many symptoms associated with sciatica: the pain can come and go, it can be constant, but then it can also subside for hours or days. The pain can vary from a dull ache or numbness, which travels down the back into the upper leg, to intense "shooting pains" down the leg into the foot and toes. The pain can be in both legs or change from side to side. Often, back pain may occur before the sciatica itself. Sciatica can damage reflexes and cause muscle wasting in the calf muscle as a worst case scenario.
Factors Affecting Sciatica
- Sitting in one position for long periods of time e.g. driving or working at a computer.
- Working out or running or even simple things like walking, bending, turning or standing up may be difficult and painful. Tennis or golf and other twisting activities can cause sciatica pain to worsen.
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Causes of Sciatica
The sciatic nerve is very long and there are many points at which irritation can occur. The first place is the lower back. Commonly, a misalignment of one or more of the lumbar vertebrae causing pressure on the nerve is responsible.
Disc involvement can also cause sciatica. Discs are the cushions in between each vertebra. They act as spinal shock absorbers and allow the back to turn and bend normally. Trauma or injury from car accidents or falls can cause a disc to bulge to one side resulting in what many people call a "slipped disc."
Sciatica has also been linked to other conditions such as arthritis, advanced diabetes, tumours, constipation and even vitamin deficiencies. Degeneration of the spine resulting from long-standing or neglected back problems can also irritate the sciatic nerves. Cases of sciatica have even been reported following childbirth, usually due to pressure on the spine.
Sciatica is often the result of cumulative damage. Years of bad posture, poor muscle tone, excess weight or countless other causes set the stage. Then, something simple like bending over to tie your shoes can trigger an episode.
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Treatment for Sciatica
The medical approach managing sciatica is to treat the symptoms. This may include using painkillers, muscle relaxants or anti-inflammatory drugs. Traction, physical therapy or injections directly into the nerve roots may also be used.
Chiropractic Treatment
The chiropractic approach to treating sciatica is to find the source of nerve irritation and relieve the pressure causing the pain.
By correcting the source of the problem, the body can heal naturally without nerve interference. Sciatica, like other health conditions that can be traced to the spine, often responds dramatically to the restoration of normal spinal function through chiropractic care.
Treatment will vary according to the severity of the condition. With most patients, a series of chiropractic adjustments and muscle tension release techniques to move the related vertebra back to a more normal position is helpful to reduce the pressure on the nerve and tension in the surrounding muscles. In most cases, the use of ultrasound and ice is needed. |
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Teachers for the Day!
Rebecca Willard and Tara Craig were invited by Grange Primary School in Wickford to give lessons in Anatomy and Physiology - the National Curriculum requires children between 7 and 8 have an understanding of the workings of the human body. Following the lesson the children had to do homework and there were prizes for the best efforts. |
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