Top 5 Most Common Symptoms of Sciatica

What Is Sciatica?

Sciatica is a condition that causes pain along the sciatic nerve located in the lower back, hips, and buttocks. It is often caused by bone spurs or discs pressing on the nerve. Sciatica causes pain and numbness in the lower back, legs, hips, and buttocks. Our team at Meek Integrative Health Center offers different therapies to help manage sciatic pain in patients. We have chiropractic care, ultrasound, therapeutic massage, hot and cold therapy, physical, therapy, corrective exercise, and electro-stimulation. Sciatica is often treated with a combination of therapies. We treat sciatic nerve pain in the Springfield, MO area.

Five Common Symptoms of Sciatica

One of the first symptoms of sciatica is pain in the sciatic nerve that runs down the lower back, hips, and buttocks. This can cause pain in the legs and feet too. The intensity of the pain varies with the patient.

Numbness in the leg is another symptom that you may feel. This is caused by bone spurs and discs pressing on the sciatica nerve.

The third symptom is tingling in the feet. This is similar to when your arm or leg falls asleep.

Swelling and inflammation is the fourth symptom of sciatica.

Weak muscles are the fifth symptom. If you are experiencing difficultly in traversing staircases or walking, this may be due to sciatica.

Other symptoms are lower back pain, problems with moving the legs, pain standing up or sitting down, a burning sensation, and discomfort on one side of the buttocks. Meek Integrative Health Center takes referrals from primary care physicians and designs a customized treatment program for each patient.

Sciatica Nerve Pain Therapies

Chiropractic care uses hands on techniques or devices to relieve pain and align herniated discs back into proper position. These adjustments relieve pressure on the sciatica nerve and improve mobility. Often hot and cold packs are used to relieve pain after chiropractic care. Spinal decompression helps to align the spine and alleviate nerve pain. Corrective exercises are often designed to improve mobility and manage pain.

Ultrasound is used to produce sound waves that travel into the soft tissue and helps relieve muscle spasms and manage sciatic pain. Electrical stimulation is used to deliver electrical currents to the muscles in the lower back, buttocks, and legs. It relaxes muscles and prevents spasms. Therapeutic massage is used to relax the patient and provide deep massage to the muscle, back, arms, legs, and neck.

Contact Us for Sciatic Pain Therapy

Don’t let sciatica hold you back from living your best life. Contact Meek Integrative Health Center for an appointment for sciatic nerve pain by filling out the online form or calling the office at 417-877-0340. Find out how we can help you live pain-free.