Sciatic Nerve Pain Relief in Edmond Oklahoma
Sciatica is characterized as a painful, electric, knife-like or lancinating pain that travels from your back and or buttock all the way down the back or side of your leg, calf, foot and big toe. Notice you can have sciatic nerve pain with or without back pain. Non-spinal causes of sciatica result from direct irritation to the sciatic nerve itself. This frequently involves compression on the nerve from muscular impingement. The piriformis muscle is a common culprit with an estimated 20% of the population having the sciatic nerve traversing through the muscle belly whereas the rest of us have the nerve underlying the muscle. Spinal sources of sciatica include subluxation, herniated (swollen) disc, bone spurs or space occupying lesions like a tumor or floating disc fragment.
Thankfully, most causes are mechanical sources of pain and respond to conservative care without drugs or surgery. Symptoms from mechanical causes like subluxation and disc herniation are often worse with certain movements. One wrong move and the nerve is compressed by disc material and an electric-like shock is felt along the path of the nerve as described above. The sciatic nerve has sensory and motor functions so in addition to pain many sufferers can experience muscle weakness, numbness and diminished knee and ankle reflexes. If you or someone you love has sciatic or nerve symptoms don’t delay. Seek care from an experienced doctor today. We help people find relief from sciatica and other nerve, muscle and joint related conditions.
Spinal Anatomy
The sciatic nerve is the largest, longest peripheral nerve in the human body. It comprises the nerve roots from three spinal levels L4, L5 and S1. That means there are three potential sources of sciatic nerve root compression. So it is critical that you see the right doctor to receive an accurate diagnosis and the correct treatment. Thanks to the internet many patients present with a working diagnosis of their own. Unfortunately, opinions differ widely and you may be directed to various treatment options including: conservative chiropractic care, medication, physical therapy or even surgery. Finding the right treatment starts with finding the right doctor. Patients deserve an empathetic doctor, who listens and provides hope. Finding a doctor experienced with treating sciatica is critical to your recovery. You deserve a thorough and accurate diagnosis, prognosis and treatment plan. While you do not need to know as much as the doctor about sciatica it might be helpful to read information on the subject like this blog post so you can be better informed about your condition and treatment options.
Sciatic-like Symptoms
Most patients don’t care what the name of the condition is, they just want relief from sciatica now. While it may not be important to the patient it is important to the doctor so that the correct treatment plan can be administered. Some patients with leg pain are surprised to learn that they do not in fact have sciatica. In these instances patients are experiencing referred pain. To better understand this phenomenon let's define some terms below.
Radicular Pain vs Referred Pain
Radicular pain travels the course of the nerve in what is known as a dermatomal pattern. A dermatome is an area of skin innervated by a sensory nerve root. We had to memorize the locations of these dermatomes in chiropractic school. Thankfully, patient educational posters and flyers are readily available nowadays and they describe in great detail the origin and distribution of each spinal nerve and the skin they supply. I’ve found that these educational resources often provide reassurance to patients as they learn of the true source of their symptoms.
I think it’s important to note that there is considerable overlap amongst spinal nerves. This can make locating the exact spinal nerve difficult. Human studies involving the excitation of the sciatica nerve reveal that the L4, L5 and S1 nerve roots do result in a posterior thigh, calf, foot and toe distribution, however, some patients report anterior thigh and calf pain as well. That is why we use a thorough exam which includes thermography and palpation to clinically correlate the patient’s complaints with that of our physical exam and x-ray findings.
Scleratogenous - Joint pain referral
In contrast to radicular pain, referred pain does not follow this dermatomal pattern. Referred pain is defined as pain perceived at a location other than the site of the painful stimulus origin. Complicating things further in your quest to understand the source of your pain is the fact that there are four sources of referred pain including: nerve, muscle, joint (sclerotogenous) and organ pain (think of heartburn). Patients with extremity pain complaints (like myself) often find themselves in specialist offices where high cost and high risk procedures like surgery are recommended before conservative chiropractic care has been provided. If you have extremity pain including: shoulder, elbow, thumb, finger, wrist, hip, knee, ankle or foot pain then you need to have a thorough evaluation to see if chiropractic can help with referred pain.
Muscle Pain & Trigger Points
Muscle pain is usually localized and involves pain felt after exertion from stretching of the perimysium (tissue surrounding each muscle fiber). This is known as delayed onset muscle soreness or D.O.M.S. It is not from lactic acid build up! This myth has been promulgated because acid burns so it makes logical sense, however, it is not the source of pain. Muscles can also be the source of referred pain through active trigger points. Trigger points are hyperirritable muscle knots which when depressed have a well documented referral pain pattern. Dr. Janet Travell and David Simons wrote volumes on the subjects of trigger point therapy. Now there are several apps and patient educational posters which depict the location of referred pain from trigger points. If you have trigger points a palpatory (touch) exam of your muscles should reveal taut and tender muscle fibers. Once depressed if a trigger point reproduces your pain it can be surmised that your pain is indeed from a trigger point. Treatment consists of direct pressure, myofascial massage, active release therapy or dry needling to relax the tight muscle.
How Long Does it Take to Heal?
Obviously, a conservative course of care is preferred but sciatica sufferers want relief fast. They also want someone to allay their fears and tell them when the pain will go away. This last part is particularly challenging because recovery rates vary from person to person. Factors like overall health, age, body type, chronic disease, medication, nutritional status, occupation, sedentary lifestyle, stress and past injury all play a role in the speed of your recovery. If you have had this problem before and attempted only partial rehabilitation; the tissue may not have healed properly. This may also lengthen the time needed for full recovery.
We help people find relief from sciatica and other nerve, muscle and joint problems. Our doctors have extensive training in caring for complex spine and extremity related conditions. We’ll conduct a thorough exam and make individualized care plan recommendations. If you’re looking for sciatic nerve pain relief in Edmond Oklahoma then consider giving our office a call. If you have questions we have answers.
