Sciatica Hurts: Here’s How We Treat it at Newport Center Family Chiropractic

Do you experience sciatic pain? If you’ve ever felt the sharp nerve pain of sciatica running along your backside and legs, then you know that sciatica can create a life-interrupting discomfort that makes once-enjoyable activities unpleasant. Sciatica can make sitting, standing, walking, climbing, and even lying down a difficult and uncomfortable act. You may be in the middle of an activity and feel sciatic pain, or feel it at the end or beginning of a day. In either case, sciatic pain can be debilitating and disrupting. Sciatica hurts—here’s how we treat it at Newport Center Family Chiropractic.

What is sciatica?

Sciatica is nerve pain that is caused by inflammation of the nerves from pressing joints in the lower back. Joints that press against and inflame nerves are often misaligned or injured. The pressure of the joints against the nerves, in places where they wouldn’t normally reside, is what can cause significant irritation and inflammation in the surrounding areas. Joints can become misaligned for a variety of reasons. After impact or injury, or even from lifestyle habits and congenital factors, the joints in the spine and lower back can shift out of their natural alignment. There are many unpleasant side effects that arise from misalignment, but sciatica is one of the most common.

Why do I feel sciatic pain after lying down?

It may feel counterintuitive, but it’s very common to feel sciatic pain after simply lying down. You may think, “well I haven’t been doing any physical movement or activity—why do I feel pain?” This is because sciatica isn’t necessarily affected by the amount of physical activity you are or aren’t engaging in. Sciatica is caused by inflammation in the sciatic nerve, and that is typically exacerbated by misalignment in the joints of the lower back.

When you lie down, your body contorts to accommodate your mattress. For those with an aligned spine, this typically isn’t a problem, nor is it disruptive, but for those with misalignment in the spine, this can actually worsen the degree of the misalignment.

How do I treat sciatic pain?

While a traditional medical practitioner may encourage you to treat the symptoms of sciatica with hot and cold packs, stretches, and medication, at Newport Center Family Chiropractic, we like to get to the root of the problem. To treat sciatic pain at its source, inflammation should be reduced around the sciatic nerve. To do this, any joints that are irritating the sciatica nerve must be moved away from the nerve. How do we do this? We realign the joints and/or remove pressure from the sciatic nerve.

Decompression Therapy in Newport Beach

Decompression therapy is one of the most effective treatments for sciatic pain, as well as for a host of other symptoms. This is because decompression therapy can effectively reduce and eliminate sciatic pain at the source. Decompression therapy can also be a way of treating other conditions that arise from nerve interference and misalignment.

To begin, let’s talk about sciatic pain.

Sciatica/Sciatic Pain & Decompression Therapy

We’ve discussed how inflammation causes sciatic pain. Now, let’s talk about how decompression therapy can help reduce inflammation.

Inflammation in the sciatic nerve occurs when the joints of the lower spine are irritating nearby nerves. Why does this happen? Because sometimes, joints slip out of place. When joints “slip out of place,” or become misaligned, they become a problem for the body. Not only are they not doing their job of holding up the body’s structure properly, but they are also interfering with the function of neighboring processes. In this particular case, they are interfering with the function of the sciatic nerve.

The purpose of the sciatic nerve is to transfer energy and sensory/motor information to/from the brain and the lower half of the body. When this process is interrupted by misaligned nerves, pain is just one of the symptoms that can result! You may have noticed that in addition to sciatic pain, sometimes it feels like your leg (or legs) are going to “give out” underneath you. This is because the motor/sensory information that is supposed to travel through this nerve is being interrupted.

It’s important that we allow the energy of the nerve to flow freely and uninhibited. This is where decompression therapy enters the equation. Decompression therapy literally helps to move the joints that are impeding nerve flow off of the sciatic nerve, so that it can return to its normal function, without pain, and without impediment.

“How does decompression therapy work?” you may ask. It’s very simple and highly effective. At Newport Center Family Chiropractic, we use decompression therapy to relax and create space between the joints. Decompression therapy removes pressure from the joints and nerves by gently expanding the spinal canal and relieving compression in the spinal discs.

What does it feel like to get decompression therapy?

Decompression therapy is an extremely gentle, painless therapy that allows the body to relieve stress and pressure on the joints and nerves. One of the greatest benefits of decompression therapy is that it can provide significant pain relief without being invasive or requiring surgery.

When a patient arrives for decompression therapy, they first receive a comprehensive consultation to determine what conditions and symptoms they’re experiencing, details about their lifestyle, and a brief overview of their medical history and any injuries they’ve faced.

After speaking with each patient, Dr. Digrado develops a personalized plan for treatment that may include decompression therapy. If your unique plan of treatment includes decompression therapy, then you will get to experience the decompression table!

At the decompression table, you will be gently seated or laid down in the appropriate position for your spine and unique needs. Your spinal area will be lightly extended with the help of straps and directed pressure, and as you relax into the stretch, your discs and joints will be suspended in a comforting, rejuvenating, decompressed state. This allows circulation to flood back into areas that have previously been constricted and compressed and can alleviate the inflammation in nerves that were being pinched by misaligned joints.

If you’re ready to experience the transformational benefits of decompression therapy, a simple and effective treatment, then book your consultation today! Dr. Mike Digrado is excited to support the health and well-being of all of his patients with gentle, non-invasive therapies that provide life-changing results.