If you suffer from sciatica, you may wonder if chiropractic therapy can help you find relief. After all, chiropractors can help relieve all types of body aches, why not sciatic pain?
Sciatica, as you may know, starts in your low back and shoots into one or both of your legs. However, the pain isn’t the same for everyone.
Some people with sciatica feel sharp, debilitating pain while for others, it can be more moderate. No matter how it occurs for you, you’ll want to relieve the pain.
In this post, you’ll discover that sciatica is actually a symptom of an underlying problem and how chiropractic therapy can help your sciatica pain.
What Is the Sciatic Nerve?
If you suffer from sciatica pain, you probably know about the sciatic nerve. This is the longest nerve in the body. It starts in the lower back, splits, and runs down each leg into the foot. Its function is to continue the spinal connection from the back into the legs and feet.
If you have a sciatic disorder – causing you pain – it can be because of misaligned vertebrae, herniated discs, pregnancy or even health problems like diabetes.
What Causes Sciatica?
Many people think sciatica is the problem when it’s actually a symptom. In truth, sciatica is nerve compression.
What causes nerve compression you ask? Good question.
Often, it’s caused by a jarring to the body. Have you slipped and fallen? If so, that causes trauma to your body. But also, arthritis in your hip can cause sciatic pain. If you’re experiencing spasms or numbness in your leg/foot, that may be a symptom of sciatica.
How Can Chiropractic Therapy Improve Sciatica?
Chiropractic treatment for sciatica is a way to help your body heal itself.
In addition to a chiropractic adjustment, your chiropractor may recommend ice/heat therapy, ultrasound, and TENS therapy. The classic ice packs combined with heat reduces inflammation and pain and you can do this at home while watching Netflix.
Ultrasound therapy uses a machine to create heat and sound waves throughout your body. It stimulates circulation and reduces swelling while the TENS unit sends electricity through your body. It also stimulates circulation and provides pain relief.
Before chiropractic therapy can help your sciatica, it’s essential to make sure to have a proper diagnosis. Here at McQuaite Chiropractic, we review your medical history and take an x-ray before we create a treatment plan.
How Fast Does it Work?
Many people find immediate relief after a chiropractic adjustment. The quick hands-on manipulation of the spine takes the pressure off the sciatic nerve so you find relief.
Of course, it takes more than one chiropractic treatment for long-term healing. Your chiropractic will work out a customized treatment plan that’s right for your situation.
Do you want to find out if chiropractic treatment is right for your sciatica? We offer free consultations at our Doylestown office.
Let me guess, you’ve done your shopping and you’ve got a stack of holiday gifts to wrap. Congrats! Now comes the fun part, wrapping them.
You may love this part or you may dread it.
Either way, if you’ve ever plopped yourself on the floor to wrap, you know that it doesn’t take long before your back starts aching. Avoid back pain while wrapping holiday gifts by being smart about your wrapping station.
Here are some simple tips to help reduce “gift wrap fatigue” so you have a happier holiday season.
If your first choice is to drop on the floor and spread all the wrapping paper around you, you’re not the first. But know that it’s not going to help you feel your best. Floor sitting doesn’t create great posture and good posture will help your body feel better.
By the way, the bed isn’t any better.
Instead, choose a table with a matching chair for the height. Your kitchen or dining room table should do the trick. This will reduce your back and neck strain so you’ll feel better.
If you choose to create a gift-wrapping station where you stand, wear supportive shoes while you do. Standing barefoot or in flip-flops will not help and it won’t be long before you’re feeling achy.
Break it Up
Marathon gift wrapping sessions may seem efficient but can leave you exhausted. Instead, you’ll minimize the strain on your back, neck, and arms if you break them up. Maybe wrap the gifts as you buy them, or have a few mini-wrapping sessions. Your body will thank you.
My favorite gift-wrapping solution is using gift bags. They’re easy and always look good. Plus, you don’t have to fuss with uneven bits of paper and losing the scissors or tape.
Stretch Your Body
Gift-wrapping may not seem like a workout but you are using different parts of your body in ways that are not typical for you. It will help if you do a few simple stretches before and after. If you’re drawn to yoga, you might want to wrap gifts after you have a short yoga session when your muscles are warmed up.
Enlist the Help of Others
If you’ve got family members who can help, let them. You don’t win any points by doing it all yourself, plus, it helps them feel involved.
Yes, Visit Your Chiropractor
At McQuaite Chiropractic in Doylestown, Pa, we’ve seen back injuries from lifting/moving Christmas trees, slip and falls on icy sidewalks, and yes, back and neck pain for marathon gift wrapping sessions.
We’ll help you feel your best. Not only can chiropractic care readjust your spine and improve your posture but it can also release tension and boost your immune system. Give yourself a break and schedule an appointment with us.
You’re probably familiar with the concept of chiropractors.
Most people associate them with “cracking backs” for pain relief and while there is a kernel of truth to this idea, there’s a lot more to it. In fact, you might be surprised at what that so-called “cracking” actually is!
(Hint: it’s not bones cracking.)
But first, what IS a chiropractic treatment?
It’s an all-natural approach to pain relief and suitable for all ages. While some use the term “chiropractic medicine,” chiropractors tend to refer to their practice as “treatments” or as a type of therapy like massage or physical therapy.
Where Does the Term “Chiropractor” Come From?
Like many words in the English language, Greece is the source of this one.
As Medical News Today tells us, The word chiropractic comes from the Greek words cheir (hands) and praxis (practice). As the name suggests, it is a hands-on therapy.
Chiropractic manipulation is the application of pressure to a person’s spine or other parts of their body by a qualified chiropractic doctor or chiropractor. This pressure allows a chiropractor to adjust and correct alignment.”
If you’ve ever been to a chiropractor, you know they use spinal manipulation adjustment your spine (and maybe your wrist or shoulder!) But you may still wonder if it falls into the category of medicine and the answer is…
Is it Medicine?
Yes. Although it’s considered complementary, or natural “medicine.” Chiropractors are doctors – they attend medical school and have licenses – but they can’t issue prescriptions or perform surgery.
Instead, chiropractors focus on your symptoms and seek to help your body heal itself through natural means. A typical treatment includes a few questions about how you’re feeling and a series of “adjustments.” That “cracking” or “popping” sound that many people associate with chiropractors? That’s actually trapped air being released from your joints and it’s nothing to worry about.
Chiropractic treatments are definitely a form of healthcare and are proof that medicine doesn’t have to come from a pill. Most chiropractors will also recommend other therapies such as heat/cold therapy, electrical stimulation, massage, and maybe even dietary supplements in addition to chiropractic treatments.
Your chiropractor will work with you to create a customized treatment plan.
The purpose of chiropractic care is to help people find pain relief through re-aligning their bodies, and it’s not uncommon to feel immediate relief. One of my favorite stories is about a patient who’d wrenched his back and hobbled into the office. 20 minutes later, he was standing up straight and no longer in pain.
However, chiropractic care does work best over time rather than a one-time scenario. Most patients come on a regular basis and they feel the benefits of ongoing care. I have patients who come a few times a week to a once or twice a month. It all depends on your symptoms and health goals.
Chiropractic medicine goes far beyond back pain relief, it’s also beneficial for chronic headaches, carpal tunnel, and even boosts your immune system! If you’re in the Doylestown, PA area, please stop in for your free consultation.
If you’re like one of the millions of people who suffer from low back pain, you want to feel better. You’ve tried massage, you’ve tried pills, you might even be considering back surgery.
But before you go that route, you decide to try chiropractic treatment for low back pain. After all, at least 22 million Americans use chiropractic treatment for pain relief across the country and thousands use it here in Bucks County.
How Chiropractic Care Works
As you may know, chiropractors use spinal manipulation to help your body heal itself. According to WebMD.com, “Manipulation is used to restore mobility to joints restricted by tissue injury caused by a traumatic event, such as falling, or repetitive stress, such as sitting without proper back support.”
Essentially, your chiropractor re-aligns the 30+ bones, ligaments, tendons and tissues in your body so they’re in their rightful place. When you’re feeling pain, it can be from a herniated disc — which is a spinal disc that’s out of place and pressing on a nerve.
Or, it could be a host of other things, the only way to know is with an evaluation. The evaluation will dictate your treatment plan.
There is No “One Size Fits All” Chiropractic Treatment
Everyone has individual needs depending on their medical history and the initial evaluation. That’s why I take an x-ray to better evaluate what’s going on inside. For example, low back pain can be caused by any number of things – from poor posture to a car accident to raking leaves.
Based on your x-ray, symptoms, and medical history, I’ll make a customized treatment plan to help your body heal.
For some people, they may benefit from two to three chiropractic visits/month while others will see the most benefit in two to three visits per week to start. I’ve even had patients where they came daily for two-four visits accelerate the healing process.
The reason you need multiple chiropractic adjustments over a short period of time – especially at the beginning of your treatment plan is that you’ll find the best results over multiple treatments.
You don’t expect to see immediate results after one trip to the gym. One chiropractic treatment can give you immediate relief, but ultimately, the best results build on one another just as it takes consistent trips to the gym to see the best results.
The Benefits of Multiple Chiropractic Treatments for Low Back Pain
Many of those people have never visited a chiropractor before.
When you work with chiropractic medicine, our intent is to get to the source of the problem rather than cover it up with pain pills. In addition to multiple chiropractic treatments for low back pain, I usually recommend other modalities too. Heat or cold therapy, massage, and electrical muscle stimulation can all relieve pain.
As you can see, there are many factors that can affect your chiropractic treatment. There’s no magic formula. We’ll assess your condition and go from there. At our Doylestown office, we do take most insurance and offer a free consultation.
