Sciatica and Upper Cervical Chiropractic
Sciatica, otherwise known as lumbar radiculopathy can be caused by multiple issues. The first possible cause is a a disc pushing up against your sciatic nerve in your low back. This is commonly caused by a herniated disc, slipped disc, or bulging disc. A spinal disc is like a fluid filled stress ball. When the disc is squeezed or pinched unevenly, the fluid in the middle bulges in the opposite direction. If this squeezing of the disc is there long enough, the disc will weaken and the fluid will slip out of the disc, pushing up against the nearby sciatic nerve.
This pressure on the sciatic nerve can be extremely painful. The pain does not only stay at the level of the pinched sciatic nerve, it usually travels down the length of the nerve. Since the sciatic nerve is also in control of sensing touch and muscle action, those suffering from sciatica or lumbar radiculopathy also feel numbness, tingling, pins and needles, and even muscles weakness in the leg.
Disc herniations like this can happen in any segment of the lumbar spine, and can even happen at multiple levels at once. They are also common in the neck or cervical spine. A slipped disc in the neck can cause cervical radiculopathy, which sends the same type of pain, numbness, and muscle weakness into the arms and hands.
The second cause of sciatica or lumbar radiculopathy is a significant vertebral misalignment of a segment or segments of the lumbar spine. The nerves that exit the spine of the low back are significantly larger than the spinal nerves of other areas like the neck. This means if the segments of the spine that are designed to protect them shift out of their normal resting place, they can put significant amounts of pressure on the large sciatic nerve. Again, this can be extremely painful and will send the same sensations: pain, numbness, and tingling into the buttock and leg.
Sciatica is often very sudden in onset. One day your low back feels fine, then you bend down to pick up your shoe and you get a lightning bolt of pain in the back and leg. This is often times the moment the disc pushed up against the nerve. It may be the first onset of pain, but it is not when the underlying problem began.
This problem starts from one of two ways. 1.) An accident or injury to the head, neck, or spine. Even minor injuries will tear loose the connective tissue that holds the segments of the spine together. Following an injury, the damaged muscles, ligaments, and tendons recover and heal after days to weeks and you usually feel fine again. However, the spine remains misaligned. 2.) Repetitive motions and daily tasks including constant lifting or even poor daily sitting posture begin to break down the the support structure of the low back. Overtime this will lead to weakness and bulging discs in the low back, resulting in sciatica or lumbar radiculopathy.
How can Upper Cervical Chiropractic – NUCCA Chiropractic Help my Sciatica?
Your NJ Upper Cervical Chiropractor or NUCCA Chiropractor starts by performing a detailed spinal analysis and postural assessment to identify the cause of the sciatica or lumbar radiculopathy. Spinal misalignment is the #1 cause of sciatica. If the evaluation shows evidence of a spinal misalignment, your NUCCA Chiropractor will take specific X-rays of the spine in order to identify the severity of the misalignment and exactly how it needs to be corrected.
Upper Cervical Chiropractic uses detailed X-ray information to perform a gentle and precise NUCCA correction. The NUCCA adjustment is designed to restore spinal alignment and body balance, removing stress and compression of the spine and sciatic nerve. Once this happens, the body and spine quickly begin to heal and recover from the damage of the spinal misalignment. Depending on how long the problem has been there, most people feel immediate low back pain relief or improvement.
Molland Spinal Care doctors are Eatontown Upper Cervical Chiropractors trained by the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA). Our NUCCA Clinic has helped many people find natural relief from post-concussion syndrome in Eatontown, New Jersey. As NUCCA Chiropractors we are uniquely trained to correct problems in the Upper Cervical Spine (upper neck). This vital area is intimately connected to the central nervous system and problems in this area have been shown to be an underlying cause of a variety of different problems. More information can be found on our website at https://www.mollandspinalcare.com
Resources and Useful Links
- NUCCA Association
- Upper Cervical Chiropractic NJ
- Spine-Health