Chiropractic for Sciatica
Chiropractic for sciatica is one of the most common uses for this natural and
holistic back pain treatment
option. Sciatica is truly an epidemic condition, affecting a huge number of patients worldwide. It is also known as being one of the most stubborn and treatment resistant health issues, often enduring for years, decades or an entire lifetime.
Chiropractic
is popular for providing symptomatic and temporary relief, but may not be able to enact a permanent cure for symptoms, regardless of diagnosed cause. However, being that chiropractic does not utilize drugs or surgery, the patient may be spared from some of the riskier therapy modalities by sticking to the natural organic healing practices of this complementary medical modality. This is a very good thing indeed.
Chiropractic for Sciatica Diagnosis
Most
sciatica
is diagnosed as coming from a structural issue in the lumbar or lumbo-sacral spinal regions.
Herniated discs
have the distinction of being the most commonly diagnosed source of pain, although
degenerative disc disease
and
spinal arthritis
are not far behind. All three conditions are either universal or extremely prevalent in the lower back, making diagnosis fast and easy for care providers. Unfortunately for patients, these diagnoses are sometimes wrong, as research clearly shows virtually no link between these common
back pain scapegoat
issues and the actual incidence of dorsopathy. That’s right. Many people have terrible pain without a structural source and many people have horrible looking structural issues, with no pain. Occasionally, there is no actual reason discovered to explain the pain, but treatment continues, regardless, since it is often a cookie cutter process anyway, regardless of diagnosis. In some cases, structural issues may indeed be the actual sources of pain. In these instances, patients must question and understand exactly how chiropractic can cure the spinal abnormality, or if indeed it can resolve it at all. If only symptomatic relief is provided, then the patient must be informed of this fact. If a cure is possible, the chances for it to be enacted should be explained and the patient should hold the doctor to their prognosis firmly.
Chiropractic for Sciatica Treatment
Chiropractic treatment
usually consists predominantly of
spinal adjustments.
Some doctors also integrate
dietary
counseling,
exercise
therapy,
massage therapy,
TENS
or
spinal decompression
into their care regimens. All of these are fine for providing temporary and holistic aspects of potential relief, but only spinal decompression offers any hope of providing a lasting cure for indicated types of structural back pain. Luckily, the incidence of chronic structural back pain is very rare, as some patients suffer from regional
ischemia
as the source of their symptoms. This also explains why so many back pain therapies, including chiropractic, typically do not cure the condition. If the causation is due to a mindbody issue and the treatment is targeting a structural source, then treatment is guaranteed to fail. I greatly prefer chiropractic as a lifestyle choice and health maintenance option compared to simply using it as a
back pain treatment.
Chiropractic for Sciatica Advice
Sciatica supposes an anatomical reason for the pain, either in the
spine,
or in the
piriformis muscle
or
sacroiliac joint.
This is consistent with the purely Cartesian philosophy taught to every medical, complementary medical and pseudo-medical student in the healthcare system today. It is for this very reason that most back pain endures despite constant care. How many people do you know who had terrible pain and recovered completely and permanently? Did chiropractic cure them? Surgery? Drugs? Typically, none of these. The reason for these horrible results is simple in many cases. The diagnosed source of pain may be incorrect. Chiropractic certainly will not cure pain if the therapy is not aimed at the correct symptomatic causation. Makes sense. Therefore, concentrate on achieving that elusive accurate diagnosis and then think carefully about which treatment you might consider best for your needs and expectations. Chiropractic can be a good choice, given a honest relationship with the doctor and a realistic prognosis for the results of treatment.
Chiropractic for Sciatica to Back Pain
2/8/10 Revised 2/1/12
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