A common type of pain in the lower back is sciatica. This is pain that occurs when inflammation or a condition in your lower back puts pressure on the sciatic nerve running from your back into your legs.
Sciatica pain is typically a burning, tingling pain that stems from the lower back into one or both or your legs. It can make both sitting and standing uncomfortable and can limit your range of motion. Fortunately, there are many treatment options for sciatica that can help reduce and prevent sciatic nerve pain.
Treating sciatica with chiropractic care
Chiropractors use their hands and special tools to manipulate the position of your spine and joints. These adjustments can reduce pain caused by conditions like sciatica and help improve your range of motion.
Chiropractic care for sciatica may include a variety of different adjustments, electrical stimulation, hot and cold therapy, and other conservative forms of treatment.
Treating sciatica with interventional spine care
Interventional spine care is a form of treatment that uses minimally invasive procedures to treat spinal pain when conservative treatments aren’t strong enough and when surgery is not necessary.
Interventional treatments usually involve the use of needles to administer corticosteroids, nerve blocks, and small bursts of electricity to prevent the nerves from transmitting pain signals from the spine to the brain.
Treating sciatica with minimally invasive spinal surgery
Some conditions that cause sciatica are best treated with minimally invasive spinal surgery. When conservative treatments and interventional care are not effective enough for treating your sciatica, your doctor may consider surgery.
Frequently performed operations for treating sciatica include:
- Laminectomy — In this procedure, the surgeon removes the portion of the vertebrae that covers your nerves, which is known as the lamina. This can reduce pressure in your lower back that is causing nerve pain.
- Microdiscectomy — If your sciatica pain is caused by a herniated disc, you may need microdiscectomy. This procedure removes a portion of the herniated disc to reduce pressure off the nerves.
Visit the iRISE Spine and Joint Institute for sciatica treatment
Our team at the iRISE Spine and Joint Institute can treat sciatica pain with all three of these major treatment methods. Contact our team today to learn more about sciatica treatment or to schedule an appointment.
