Sciatica

What is sciatica?

Sciatica is a painful condition that occurs when your sciatic nerve, or one of the nerves that form the sciatic nerve, is compressed. Your sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in your body. It exits from between your lumbar and sacral spine and runs through your hips and buttocks, and down into your legs.

What causes sciatica?

Sciatica pain often develops after an injury or trauma, such as a fall or lifting something too heavy. But pain can also appear for no apparent reason. This type of pain is usually due to chronically stressed and overloaded areas and can be caused by faulty posture or repetitive or stressful movements.

But in all cases, sciatic pain, tingling, or weakness means that you have pressure on either the large sciatic nerve that begins in the buttock or further up in the spinal nerves that exit from between the vertebrae in your lower back.

What happens during an evaluation for sciatica?

Dr. Kowal begins with a comprehensive evaluation of the major area of your pain as well as any other areas where you also have symptoms related to your sciatica. The goal of the exam is to find the root cause of your sciatica.

During your consultation, Dr. Kowal will review your symptoms, including the types of pain, tingling, or weakness you experience, as well as activities that worsen or alleviate the pain.

He then performs a physical exam, paying close attention to your alignment, movement, and mobility. 

While X-rays and MRIs aren’t usually required before beginning treatment, if needed, Dr. Kowal will make the appropriate orthopedic referral and help you to get a consult scheduled as quickly as possible.

How is sciatica treated?

Dr. Kowal first addresses the painful areas, whether they result from trauma or chronic overuse. These methods include gentle joint mobilization, myofascial release techniques, and therapeutic exercise.  He doesn’t use the “cracking type” maneuvers that you may associate with chiropractic care.

Treatment does not stop with attention to the painful areas. In the treatment process, Dr. Kowal also pays careful attention to how you move and hold yourself, in addition to where you hurt. Addressing faulty movement patterns can be the key to lasting pain relief.

Most patients experience an improvement in their pain as soon as they begin treatment. In addition to his gentle hands-on techniques, Dr. Kowal also provides a home care program for you to follow after your first visit. This program includes the “what to do” and the “what not to do” so you can get better as quickly as possible.

Don’t let your sciatica keep you from doing the things you enjoy. Contact the office of Dr. Richard Kowal by phone or online today to get immediate and long-term relief.