Sciatica / Leg Pain
Sciatica can be a severely painful condition. It is caused by
inflammation of the sciatic nerve, a nerve which runs from the
lower back through the hip and down the leg. The sciatic nerve
is the largest nerve in the body, as anyone who has had sciatica
can attest. The most common cause of sciatica is pinching or irritation
of the nerve in the lower spine. Slipping of a disc, slight displacement
of a spinal joint, bone spurs or combinations of all of these problems
are the typical causes of sciatica nerve irritation.
Sciatica is one of the most common conditions for which back surgery
is recommended. Back surgery, however, is only successful about
60 percent of the time and has a fairly high risk of complications.
More recent interest in non-surgical treatments for sciatic nerve
pain
has caused several researchers to look at chiropractic manipulation
as an alternative. Researchers at St. Thomas Hospital in London
recently reported the results of their study of non-surgical treatments
for back and sciatic nerve pain in the British
Journal Of Rheumatology. Comparing traction, spinal injections,
and manipulation, they found chiropractic manipulation to be the
single most effective treatment in the 513 patients studied.
In a similar study, researchers at the California College of Medicine
at the University of California Irvine also found manipulation
to significantly improve clinical signs of sciatic nerve compression.
Clearly, chiropractic manipulation is one of the most effective
conservative treatments in those with sciatic
nerve pain.
Chiropractic manipulation should be one of the first considerations
in those with sciatica. It can prevent the need for spinal surgery
in many patients. There are effective ways of dealing with pain
in the body's largest nerve!
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