SCIATICA

SUFFERING FROM SCIATICA IN PORTLAND?

Emergency room doctors say that sciatica is one of the most common things they encounter each year in Portland. While there are large numbers of people that have this issue, many never achieve a long-term solution. Their sciatic pain continues to worsen because they have not received the correct treatment. This article from West Portland Chiropractic will help you to understand the ins and outs of this condition and how chiropractic care can help you overcome it.

Most people with Sciatica experience a mild ache to a severe sharp, burning pain that radiates from your lower back or buttock and down the back of your thigh. When you experience pain from Sciatica it is our bodies’ way of alerting you that you may have a serious spinal or muscular problem. In addition to pain, which is sometimes severe, there may be numbness, muscular weakness, pins and needles or tingling, and difficulty in moving or controlling the leg. Typically, the symptoms are only felt on one side of the body.

SCIATICA IN PORTLAND

The most common causes of Sciatica are herniated lumbar discs and Piriformis Syndrome which is a condition involving the piriformis muscle to spasm causing irritation and/or compression of the sciatic nerve. This is a very important point to make because the treatment for Piriformis Syndrome is significantly different when compared to that of a herniated disc.

  • 40 percent of adults at some point during their lifetime will experience Sciatica.
  • Of the 1.5 million MRI scans performed each year, only about 20 percent show a herniated disc serious enough to be treated with surgery. And, of those patients treated with surgery, about one-third do not experience relief from their sciatica pain.
  • Researchers evaluated 239 patients whose Sciatica symptoms had not improved after diagnosis or treatment for a herniated or damaged disc. They found that 162 (69 percent) of patients had Piriformis Syndrome a muscle in the buttock which can irritate or compress the sciatic nerve.

The pelvic and lumbar spine are usually the areas that a sciatic issue will start from. This area of the spine is very complicated and it can be difficult to locate the problem. Our team will be able to work with you to zero in on the source. From there they will need to work with you to improve the position of the spine and discs.

Some patients say that all they did was bend over to pick up a piece of paper and they were hit with extreme pain. They don’t understand how an easy task caused them so much pain. The reality is that their condition was probably developing over years of time, that piece of paper just happened to be the last straw. Most spinal problems don’t happen overnight, they build up over years of time.

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