Hoboken Integrated Healthcare Chiropractic Chiropractor
Chiropractic Care
Physical Therapy
On-site Medical Office
91 Washington Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030
201.798.2922

Sciatica

The clinical diagnosis of sciatica is referred to as a "radiculopathy", which means simply that a disc has protruded from its normal position in the vertebral column and is putting pressure on the radicular nerve (nerve root) in the lower back, which forms part of the sciatic nerve.

An important thing to understand is that sciatica is a symptom of a problem—of something compressing or irritating the nerve roots that comprise the sciatic nerve—rather than a medical diagnosis or medical disorder in an of itself. This is an important distinction because it is the underlying diagnosis (vs. the symptoms of sciatica) that often needs to be treated in order to relieve sciatic nerve pain.

Usually sciatica affects one side of the body. The pain may be dull, sharp, burning, or accompanied by intermittent shocks of shooting pain beginning in the buttock traveling downward into the back or side of the thigh and/or leg. Sciatica then extends below the knee and may be felt in the feet. Sometimes symptoms include tingling and numbness. Sitting and trying to stand up may be painful and difficult. Coughing and sneezing can intensify the pain.

Lumbar spine disorders known to cause sciatic nerve compression include the following:

  • Herniated discs are the most common cause of sciatica in the lumbar spine.
  • Degenerative Disc Disease, a natural biological process associated with aging, is known to cause disc weakness that can be a precursor to a disc herniation.
  • Lumbar Spinal Stenosis is a narrowing of one or more neural passageways due to disc degeneration and/or facet arthritis. The sciatic nerve may become impinged as a result of these changes.

Treatment Goals

Chiropractic care realigns the vertebrae and removes stress from nerves. Ice, heat, electrical stimulation, traction or spinal decompression therapy may be utilized to restore proper movement to your spinal column, permitting greater energy, information and nutrients to flow over nerves and tissues and throughout your body.

Additionally, Physical Therapy provides benefits utilizing a range of treatment options including massage, exercises for flexibility, strength, stability and restoration of range of motion. Our goal is to return you to normal activity as quickly as possible and to get more health back into your life. We know that being healthy is more than just the absence of pain – true health includes having the ability to do what you need and want to do!

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