Sciatica — Symptoms, Causes, and Risk Factors — Anchorage, AK

If you find yourself experiencing a shooting pain from your lower back to your legs that feels as if you have received an electrical shock, chances are you are one of the many, from Anchorage, who suffer from sciatica. As the longest nerve in the human body, the sciatic nerve goes from your buttocks to your toes and can be the source of tremendous pain when irritated. With most people, sciatica usually affects only one side of the body.

Fortunately, improving joint motion in the lower back with a program of chiropractic adjustments has produced results for many people. It all starts with a consultation and thorough examination in our Anchorage office. If we think we can help, we’ll tell you. And if we don’t think we can help, we’ll tell you that too and refer you to someone we think can. Get started today.

Sciatica Symptoms

When sciatica starts to take hold on your body, you will begin to notice various symptoms. These include leg pain that gets much worse when sitting, a tingling or burning sensation down your leg, numbness or weakness in the affected leg or your foot, intense pain that makes standing up very difficult, and pain on one side of your lower back that always seems to be present. Coughing, sneezing or other kinds of movement that cause the same type of pain can also be symptoms of sciatica.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, it is a good idea to schedule an appointment with us for an examination in our Anchorage office as soon as possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

It’s easy to trace some spinal problems to an event, such as a car accident. Yet, sciatica is often the result of cumulative damage. Years of bad posture, poor muscle tone, excess weight or countless other causes sets the stage. Then, something simple like bending over to tie your shoes can trigger an episode. Spinal decay can be another culprit. Instead of disc thinning that puts pressure on the sciatic nerve roots, arthritic bone spurs can intrude into the space normally reserved for the nerve.

Actually, chiropractic doesn’t cure anything! Only your body can do that. The chiropractic approach to sciatica (and other health problems) is to help restore the way your spine works, reducing nerve irritation and revitalizing your own healing ability.

Most sciatica patients are delighted with the results they get after weeks or months of care. Naturally, this varies from patient to patient. After a relapse or two, many discover that years of neglect have produced spinal instabilities that never fully heal. These patients elect to continue with periodic chiropractic checkups. It’s up to you.

This is a common refrain. Because our bodies are unusually adaptive, we can often accommodate a variety of stresses for years. Finally, like the “straw that broke the camel’s back,” we turn or bend funny and suddenly our spine succumbs to the accumulation of stress.
REQUEST AN APPOINTMENT TODAY!