As a child, I can remember the excitement of playing the board game “Operation”. If my aim wasn’t true and the tweezers made contact with the metal edge of the board it would illuminate and Buzz!  I would jump every time with surprise and anticipation.  I was reminded of this game from my childhood as one patient shared how their pain would light them up everytime they made one wrong move. If you’ve ever experienced back and leg pain with certain movements you know it’s no laughing matter. Thankfully chiropractic care can help with sciatica and other back and leg pain conditions. I’m grateful to report that this gentleman found relief from his sciatic-like symptoms. 

So what are sciatic-like symptoms? There are several nerves and sources of back and leg pain which are mistakenly diagnosed as sciatica. I should note that patients care very little what we name their condition, they simply want relief from back and leg pain. However, it is extremely important to arrive at an accurate diagnosis so that the correct treatment plan can be prescribed for back and leg pain relief. 

When lumbar nerves are compressed you can experience back pain, leg pain or both back and leg pain. Additionally, nerve pressure can result in sensory loss or changes like temperature sensitivity, numbness and in severe cases muscle weakness and atrophy (shrinkage). However, in this one patient example he was experiencing back and leg pain from a referred pain source. So what is the difference? 

Nerve pressure results in something called radicular pain. Radicular pain is defined as pain that travels the course or path of a nerve. In contrast, referred pain does not follow this same pattern. As you can imagine this lack of predictability or conformity to standard presentations can make diagnosing the source of your back and leg pain difficult to say the least. This is where a specialist like a chiropractor, physical therapist or orthopedist performs a physical exam where you are taken through a series of tests designed to reproduce your pain. 

I know what you’re thinking. Why would I want someone to give me a test where I might feel pain? This is a helpful tool to better understand the origin of your pain. If your doctor simply ordered an MRI and never examined you, consider getting a second opinion. A thorough history, physical exam and imaging should be ordered and then clinically correlated to arrive at an accurate diagnosis, prognosis (likely outcome) and treatment plan. Where radicular pain is always from an irritated nerve, referred pain can be caused by organs (think heartburn), muscle (trigger points), joints (called sclerotomes) or nerves (autonomous zones).

One of the most common sources of back and leg pain is from lumbar facet and sacroiliac joint pain referral. The fancy word for this is called sclerotogenous pain. This type of Referred pain occurs when the facet joints and sacroiliac articulations are subluxated resulting in swelling, compression and joint jamming. Pressure on joints can result in pain that mimics sciatica. Instead of electric pain this type of pain is frequently described as deep, dull, achy and diffuse. 

Diffuse means it’s harder to pinpoint as it’s spread over a larger area. This presentation can be confusing to both patients and doctors. Patients will often apply ice or topical analgesics to the area of pain instead of the referral source and experience little to no relief. Spinal subluxations frequently result in this type of referred pain. Often these subluxations occurred from previous injuries like: slips, trips, falls, sports or car crash injuries. Subluxations can be silent for years or even decades. As degenerative changes occur symptoms begin to appear and patients rarely connect their past experiences to their present complaints. 

WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW?

If you or someone you love is experiencing any of the symptoms above please seek immediate medical attention as delaying treatment could lead to degenerative arthritis, poor mobility and decreased independence as we age. Regardless of what we name your condition, if you have a subluxation causing symptoms we can help. The scientific literature and our extensive experience concludes that chiropractic helps back pain, leg pain and sciatica. 

Our doctors have extensive post graduate training in the detection and correction of spinal misalignments called spinal subluxations. If you’re looking for a diligent chiropractor in Edmond OK then give us a call! If you have questions, consider scheduling a complimentary consultation. You’ll have an opportunity to share your concerns and interview our gonstead trained chiropractors. You can decide if moving forward with an exam and x-ray makes sense.  We’ll verify your insurance benefits and explain your coverage. You can also see our self-pay prices here.