Sciatica is usually a symptom of a spine-related disorder (SRD) involving the lower back.
Sciatica is a type of nerve pain that develops when your sciatic nerve is compressed or irritated, causing pain that starts in the lower back or buttocks and radiates into the back of the leg.
Your sciatic nerve is the thickest, longest nerve in your body. It’s made up of five nerve roots that exit from the lumbar and sacral spine, join together in the buttocks, and then travel down the back of your leg on both sides of your body.
Sciatica causes mild to severe pain along the path of the nerve. You may also have burning or tingling sensations or weakness in the leg.
Sciatica usually occurs from compression of the nerve as it leaves the lumbar spine. Compression occurs when there’s a change in the structure of the spine. For example, joint dysfunction of the vertebrae or a herniated disc may compress or irritate the spinal root, resulting in pain.
Your risk of developing sciatica increases as you get older because of degenerative changes in the spine that affect the spacing in between the vertebral bones.
The team at Key Spine Care conducts a thorough evaluation when you come in with complaints of sciatica pain. The team reviews your symptoms and the activities that make them worse or better. They ask about your daily routine and medical history and perform a physical exam.
The certified primary spine practitioner (PSP) at Key Spine Care conducts a thorough evaluation to determine the cause of your sciatica and whether you need additional imaging tests or a referral to a specialist.
The team at Key Spine Care creates individualized care plans for sciatica, using conservative therapies that give your body the ability to heal itself, reducing your pain. Your treatment plan may include:
The PSP at Key Spine Care serves as your interprofessional care coordinator, making sure you get all of the treatment necessary to eliminate your sciatica.
A chance for you to come down, meet us, get all your questions answered, and determine if we’re a good fit for what you need – completely FREE of charge. It’s a no-pressure, no-obligation appointment with a specialist, and there’s no prescription or referral required. If you’d like to “discover” what’s causing your problem first, BEFORE you invest any more of your time or money on treatments that don’t work, then Request a Discovery Session.
Everyone is different, so why should everyone get the same cookie-cutter treatment plan? At Key Spine Care, we take the time to conduct a thorough examination and learn what are your unique wellness goals. ONLY AFTER these two steps are completed, and we have determined your individualized diagnosis, do we create a comprehensive and individualized plan to help you resume doing what you love — without the use of rest, pills, injections, or surgery!
At Key Spine Care, we focus on ACTIVE over passive treatment plans, and for good reason. Expert doctors and therapists all agree: An ideal treatment approach encompasses more active than passive methods. If your doctor or therapist is heavily reliant on passive methods such as massage, electric stimulation, heat/ice, kinesiotaping, and posture correction, that is a red flag. In our opinion, treatment plans that rely primarily or exclusively on passive methods such as spinal adjustments, massages, vibration beds, etc. are NOT addressing the underlying issue but rather are masking the symptoms and providing short-term symptom modification.
This is why we proudly and exclusively only offer 1:1 care (e.g. no assistants or PTAs, just you and the doctor for the entire appointment, every time), we work together as a team to implement our shared plan to treat and prevent your symptoms.
While we love our 1:1 time with our patients, we also do NOT want you to be locked into a never-ending treatment plan of 2-3 visits per week for life! Most of our treatment plans are 12 visits or less as we prioritize teaching you how to:
