Delighted patients experience sciatica relief in Oklahoma City. Having back pain and sciatica can be a crippling experience for many. Sciatica got its name after the sciatic nerve, the largest single nerve in the body. It is consists of individual nerve roots that spread off from the spinal cord in the lower back area. The smaller nerve roots gather to form the sciatic nerve, which runs from your lower back down through the buttocks and continuing down behind each leg. Warning signs of sciatica differ depending on where the nerve gets pinched. 

Here are some possible causes of sciatica: 

  • Spinal disc degeneration
  • Sitting on your wallet
  • Piriformis syndrome
  • Pregnancy
  • Lumbar spinal canal stenosis (narrowing)
  • Disc herniation

DO’s to Get Natural Sciatica Relief

There are natural options you can try out if you decide to forgo medications and the unwanted side effects that may come with it. Here’s what most people can choose as alternatives for sciatica relief in Oklahoma City. Try these out:

  • Get up and get moving

Sitting for extended periods can shorten ligaments and muscles, which can lead to overall pain and stiffness. Trying out more activities and movements into your daily routine can be beneficial for people with sciatica. Being more active has health benefits for you.

  • Reduce inflammation

Quit smoking. Do regular exercises. Eat a balanced and healthy diet and get enough sleep at night. These are some of the best steps to follow that can help reduce inflammation. Inflammation contributes to sciatic nerve irritation. Thus, having good daily habits, as stated above, will help relieve your sciatic pain.

  • Do some yoga or more stretching exercises

Yoga is excellent for improving flexibility and strengthening the back. Specific exercises are good at targeting the piriformis muscles. Doing stretches while activating these muscles is beneficial, especially for people who are suffering from sciatica.

Sciatica Symptoms

The following symptoms characterize sciatic nerve discomfort and pain:

  • Pain on one side of the lower back, buttock, or leg (can be on both sides but seldom happens)
  • Burning or tingling pain that gets worse when sitting and could become extremely sharp when walking or standing up
  • Radiating pain that originates in the lower back and runs down the leg and into the foot
  • Feeling of weakness or numbness in the leg, causing trouble in moving the whole leg or sometimes just the foot or toes

Sciatica shares one or more of these common symptoms, while the severity and presentation may differ from person to person. A person’s symptoms could even change from this day to the next. Sciatica can be an occasional nuisance, or it can be a constant source of disabling pain.

Learning About the Root Cause of Sciatica

Sciatic nerve irritation does not start in the lower back. At first glance, this statement seems unconventional, but it makes sense. Here’s why it’s logical. The whole spinal column from top to bottom comprises connected joints between each vertebra and soft tissues (ligaments, muscles, tendons) that run the length of a person’s back. These vertebrae are like links in a chain. Meaning if one link is misaligned or weak, it affects how the rest of the chain functions. This concept is valid for the spine. 

The most active area of the spine with most motion and activity is not the lower back. It’s the neck. Even more specifically, an essential part can be located at the uppermost vertebrae in the spine. It is the one supporting the head up and responsible for the majority of its movement. This particular bone is the atlas (C1). Due to its ability to freely move around and hold the head, it is vulnerable to misaligning. 

An atlas misalignment happens due to head or neck trauma or injury (slip and fall, car, or sporting accident). When there is a misalignment in this crucial area of the upper cervical spine, this can set off a domino effect of compensations on your posture. When the head is not supported correctly in its usual position, the hips and shoulders will start to compensate. It puts unequal pressure on one side of your back. The final result is that one leg may look shorter than the other, and then you will start to bear more weight on one side. This series of compensations happen because each area can influence another. 

Now, do you understand how the spine, particularly the upper cervical spine (the neck) is crucial? Are you ready to have sciatica relief in Oklahoma City?

Upper Cervical Chiropractic for Long-Lasting Sciatica Relief

When sciatica attacks, a person’s natural reaction is to focus on the lower back and get medication for back pain. It can be useful but only for temporary relief. It only deals with the symptoms, not the root cause of sciatic pain. 

When your atlas vertebra is misaligned, it can influence how your lower back feels and functions. Over time, this will contribute to the onset of sciatica symptoms if left untreated. 

By correcting the atlas misalignment, we can deal with the root cause of the problem. No more chasing around symptoms. Precision Chiropractic in Oklahoma City is ready to help you. Our upper cervical chiropractors perform a thorough evaluation of each of our patients. We will find out if an atlas misalignment is a crucial factor in your sciatica and back pain problems. If this is the case, then it would be necessary to correct the atlas misalignment to achieve long-lasting relief.

Upper cervical chiropractic adjustments are incredibly gentle, exact, and customized towards each patient’s needs. When the atlas vertebra becomes repositioned to its proper place, long-standing compensations get to balance out and heal properly. When the head returns to its neutral position over the spine, the shoulders and hips will return to their proper balance, relieving excess pressure from the lower back. It can naturally reduce or even altogether remove the irritation from the affected sciatic nerve. Finally, you will get rid of your excruciating sciatic nerve pain.

Come and experience sciatica relief in Oklahoma City. Call us at 405-378-3100, or send us an email.

 

To schedule a consultation with Dr. Sheppard, call our Oklahoma City office at 405-378-3100. You can also click the button below.

If you are outside of the local area, you can find an Upper Cervical Doctor near you at www.uppercervicalawareness.com.