Welcome back! In our last blog we covered the signs of sciatica. How feeling pain in your butt, thighs, and feet, as well as shooting pains and tingling, are all common signs of sciatica. But now that we can identify what our pain is, we should identify what causes that pain. And how we can relieve that pain with a chiropractic adjustment. Here are the biggest causes of sciatic nerve pain.
- Abnormal Alignment – This can cause mechanical inflammation. And when the spine and pelvis have impaired motion as well.
- Herniated Disk – This is typically the most common cause. The disks in your back act like cushions for the vertebrae, and as you age, these cushions begin to get much weaker, making you more susceptible to injury. When the disk pushes out towards the sciatic nerve, it puts pressure on it, resulting in sciatic nerve pain.
- Spinal Stenosis – The medical term stenosis refers to the narrowing of canals within the body. In the case of causing sciatic nerve pain, as the spine begins to narrow with age, it begins to put pressure on the sciatic nerve.
- Piriformis Syndrome – The Piriformis, is a muscle found deep in the buttocks. It connects the thigh and the spine and runs just over the sciatic nerve. As that muscle spasms, it triggers sciatic nerve pain because of the added pressure. This is much more common in women.
If you haven’t noticed the common theme here, the pain that you feel from your sciatic nerve tends to be caused by pressure. If you’ve noticed that this common theme seems to be a problem that plagues your body and you need pain relief, we recommend working with a chiropractor. Ask them about spinal decompression, and if it can help you, and please, don’t hesitate to call the pain management clinic at Olympic Spine & Sports Therapy.
