Common Causes of Sciatica in Belmar, NJ
Herniated or Bulging Disc
The most common cause of sciatica is a herniated or bulging disc. A disc acts as a shock absorber in between all the vertebrae, it looks like a jelly doughnut with a tougher outer ring of material called the annulus and a softer more jelly-like core called the nucleus. General wear and tear, abnormal alignment of the spine, obesity, physically demanding careers, can all put abnormal stress on discs and joints. When the discs are under a tremendous amount of stress the outer fibers of the disc begin to wear down and tear allowing for the nucleus to breakthrough. When the nucleus pushes through the outer rings of the disc we call that a bulge. If the nucleus squeezes all the way out to the exterior of the disc, that is a herniation.
A herniated disc can be very painful. If the nucleus exits the disc it will irritate the nerve and can cause shooting sciatica pain through the buttock and down into the leg. The pain can be intense and debilitating. Over time, the nucleus material will be reabsorbed by the body through a process called phagocytosis. Tiny immune system cells break down the material so it’s not taking up space where the nerve should be, but it takes a long time for that to happen.
Chiropractic care, adjustments, flexion-distraction, and therapeutic exercises help to create more space and less nerve irritation, decreasing sciatic pain and strengthening the area so you can live without the blazing, shooting pain of sciatica. If the pain does not respond to conservative chiropractic care, in the worst-case scenarios, surgery may be necessary. That’s why it’s so important to get in and try to correct the problem as soon as you are experiencing pain. The longer you live with sciatic pain, the more difficult it is to correct.
Degenerative Disc Disease
Discs that are dehydrated or nutrient deficient will flatten out and are unable to heal themselves. When discs shrink down and create less space for nerves to operate this is degenerative disc disease. Obesity is a risk factor for degenerative disc disease as well as smoking which enhances the dehydration and breakdown of discs. Physical jobs or manual labor that is hard on the body is also a risk factor for degenerative disc disease and ultimately sciatica.
Degenerative disc disease can be slowed down with conservative chiropractic care and management, but it cannot be reversed. Anytime we see early signs of degenerative disc disease on an X-ray, we make the patient well aware that adjustments are going to help to cease or reduce the progression of the disease but we can’t take away what’s already done.
Spinal Stenosis
Spinal stenosis is a different kind of degeneration where herniated discs, bone spurs, or degenerative joints push into the spinal cord itself. With stenosis pain, back pain isn’t as severe as the intense pain in the buttocks and down into the legs, and sitting and bending usually help to alleviate the pain. Stenosis causes pain, weakness in the legs, numbness and tingling into the legs or feet, and can affect nerve supply causing dysfunction in organs like the bowel or bladder.
Muscles Sprains or Strains
Muscle sprains or strains in the hips, back, or buttocks can also cause sciatica. Muscle strains are usually dull or achy pain localized to either the low back, hips, or butt and are worse with movement. They are usually caused by sudden activity from sports or repetitive motions at work or during manual labor.
Poor posture and a weak core can also give rise to muscle strains or spasms. Muscle spasms usually resolve relatively quickly, but they are something you want to fix as early as possible as they could be a symptom of an underlying problem like a herniated disc, degenerative disc, or stenosis.
SI Joint Dysfunction (Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction)
The sacroiliac joints sit below the bottom lumbar vertebrae, where the tailbone becomes a joint with the pelvis, both on the right and left side of the tailbone. 15 to 30% of lower back cases are actually coming from your SI joint. This joint is a shock absorber between the upper body and the lower body, so they absorb a lot of stress.
SI joint pain usually happens after an accident or fall, though it can often happen during pregnancy as the pelvis expands. Abnormal alignment of the pelvis that causes a leg discrepancy will give rise to SI joint pain. Often the SI joint can become either hypermobile, moving too much, or hypo mobile, not moving enough. With hypermobility SI joint dysfunction strengthening exercises are imperative to try to decrease the abnormal motion and stabilize the joint. When there’s not enough motion in the joint, chiropractic adjustments are very useful to correct that and increase flexibility.
Subluxation
At Kinney Chiropractic, the most common cause of sciatica is subluxation. Subluxations are when the joints don’t move very well, they shift out of alignment, or they become locked, decreasing range of motion and causing abnormal stress, pinching, and pressure on the nerves. This is a common culprit for sciatica pain in the lower back through the buttock and down into the legs. Chiropractors assess for subluxations all the time. There are many different adjustments we can do to correct alignment and improve range of motion to reduce sciatic pain and allow for better function.