How a Musculoskeletal Practitioner can help relieve your Sciatica Pain

If you’re experiencing sciatica pain, it might seem like there’s no end in sight. Not only do you have to live with the pain, but you also may need to find ways to manage it as well as possible.

Sciatica affects 40% of the population in their lifetime and the incidence increases with increasing age.

Luckily, there are treatments available from experienced musculoskeletal practitioners that can help relieve your sciatica pain while also improving your overall health and wellness. Here’s how it works!

What Are the Typical Symptoms of Sciatica?

The symptoms of sciatica are predominantly felt in the lower back, buttocks, legs and feet these symptoms can include

• Dull pain
• Sharp burning pain
• Worsening pain when sitting
• Tingling and numbness
• Difficulty in moving legs and feet

What Causes Sciatica?

The basic cause of sciatica is poor posture.  Sitting with the angle between our thighs and our trunk at around 90 degrees causes our hip flexors to shorten.

In our modern desk-bound lives working at a computer for many hours on end, sitting watching television, gaming, and driving a car all contribute to creating the bad posture which is a perfect recipe for developing sciatica.

As a consequence of the postural misalignment of the body, pressure is applied to the sciatic nerve by other parts of the body. We have two sciatic nerves, a left one that passes from the lower back down the left leg and into the left foot, and a right sciatic nerve that passes similarly down the right leg and foot.

The body parts that most commonly put pressure on the sciatic nerves are misaligned vertebrae in the lower back, bulging (or ruptured) disks between these vertebrae, or tight piriformis muscles which apply pressure upon the sciatic nerve as it passes across the buttocks.

All of these nerve pressure scenarios can result in severe pain shooting anywhere down the affected sciatic nerve as it passes down the lower back, buttocks, leg and foot, together with possible numbness or tingling in the affected leg.

Sciatica may occasionally resolve itself without treatment but, for the comfort of the patient, it is usually necessary to see an appropriately qualified practitioner as soon as possible. 

I have successfully treated numerous sciatica patients who have been in hospital for days or weeks without relief, because all the patients have been given in hospital has been pain-killers that have not relieved the pain! 

What Sciatica Treatment Does a Musculoskeletal Practitioner Offer?

Musculoskeletal practitioners have specialized skills and training to provide relief for sciatica.   The treatment of sciatica can bring relief to many other conditions, including neck pain, low back pain, and muscle spasms.

Michael Butler can treat your sciatica by using a combination of a wide range of different therapies, including:

• Musculoskeletal & Postural Correction
• SCENAR Therapy
• Bowen Therapy
• Emmett Technique
• Homotoxicology
• Remedial Massage

Some natural pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory medication may be prescribed, together with recommendations of ways for you to modify your daily activities to make your recovery as comfortable as possible.

Exercise Therapy as Part of Treatment

A remedial exercise therapy program is an important component of the treatment of many conditions, such as sciatica.

A Musculoskeletal Practitioner can incorporate some helpful therapeutic exercises and stretches as part of the treatment to educate you and your body on how to reduce pain, inflammation and improve mobility.

Your therapist will work with you to develop an exercise plan that can teach you how to position yourself in such a way as to alleviate pressure on your sciatic nerve best

These activity routines can be particularly helpful when working with individuals who are sedentary and have limited daily activity.  The body needs to re-learn how to activate itself for comfortable daily living.  Appropriate activity will be achievable, enjoyable and successful.

Musculoskeletal interventions I have used for sciatic pain

I make use of many interventions when treating sciatica pain, including mobilizations and stretches as well as therapeutic exercises.

These can be particularly helpful when working with individuals who are sedentary and have limited daily activity.