There's a good chance that you or someone you might know has been told that they "have sciatica." About 40% of adults in the U.S. will experience sciatica at some point in their life! Those that have heard the diagnosis may feel as if it's a life sentence and that they will have to feel this pain every day for the rest of their life. We're here to tell you that it is treatable and we are here to help!

What is sciatica?

Sciatica is not an injury or disease - instead, it is caused by the compression of the sciatic nerve. Sciatica is named after the sciatic nerve. This nerve begins in your lower back and pelvis and travels down the outside of the hip and leg before stopping at the knee where it then branches off to innervate the calf and foot. This anatomy is important to understand the root cause of sciatica pain.

What are common symptoms?

The most common signs of sciatica are..

• Numbness
• Burning
• Tingling
• Sharp pain
• Muscle weakness

Sciatica can also cause pain and numbness down your entire leg and into the foot. Sciatica pain is unique to each person and dependent on the cause. For some, it can become worse during certain activities or positions they spend a lot of time in throughout the day.

For example:

Sitting for long periods of time or rising from a seated position can produce sciatic-like symptoms.

What should you do about it?

The first thing you should do is get it properly assessed. This is crucial to determine the underlying cause of your pain. At Aleck Pain to Performance, Dr. Aleck and Dr. Richmond take their patients through the most up-to-date approach to diagnosis and treat sciatic like symptoms; both doctors are thoroughly trained in the Mckenzie Method (MDT).

My pain is gone, now what?

Eliminating pain is our main goal, but treatment shouldn't end there! Our goal now is to build up your body's resilience to prevent a reoccurrence of your symptoms. We achieve this by making sure your joints such as your lower back and hips have the range of motion and strength they need to handle your day-to-day activities.

Final thoughts

Remember - being previously diagnosed with sciatica is not a death sentence and is not something you will have to live with forever! We will give you the tools you need to take the power into your own hands and be able to be in charge of your own health.

Learn more by listening to our podcast about Sciatica! - LISTEN HERE