Latest / Staying Aligned with Dr. Kevin Hartung / Understanding Sciatica and How Chiropractic Care Can Help

Transcript

Understanding Sciatica and How Chiropractic Care Can Help · Staying Aligned with Dr. Kevin Hartung

• 0:00
  Hey there and welcome back. I'm Dr. Hartung and
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  you're listening to the Family Chiropractic Center
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  podcast coming to you from right here in Robinson
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  Township. Today we're talking about something
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  I hear about constantly in my office and honestly
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  something that affects so many people in our
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  community. We're talking about sciatica. Now,
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  if you've ever felt that sharp shooting pain
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  running down your leg, you already know how miserable
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  it can be. And if you haven't, well, I hope you
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  never do. But I want to help you understand what's
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  actually going on when sciatica strikes and what
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  you can do about it. So, let me break this down
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  for you. The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve
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  in your entire body. It starts in your lower
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  back, runs right through your hips and glutes,
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  and travels all the way down each leg. When something
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  puts pressure on that nerve or irritates it,
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  that's when you get what we call sciatica. And
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  it doesn't always feel the same for everyone.
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  Some people describe it as a burning sensation.
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  Others feel it like an electric shock. Some just
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  notice a dull constant ache running down one
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  side. You might even feel numbness or tingling
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  in your leg or foot. Here's what's interesting.
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  Sciatica isn't actually a diagnosis on its own.
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  It's really a symptom, something telling you
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  that there's an underlying issue putting stress
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  on that nerve. The most common causes are a herniated
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  disc in the lower back, a condition called spinal
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  stenosis where the spinal canal narrows or sometimes
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  even tight muscles in the hip area compressing
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  that nerve. That last one is sometimes called
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  piriformis syndrome and it gets overlooked more
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  than it should. Now here's the thing a lot of
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  people don't realize. They assume sciatica just
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  means surgery or living with it forever and that's
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  simply not true for most people. Conservative
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  care, meaning non -surgical options, can make
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  a huge difference. And that's where Chiropractic
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  comes in. When you come see me, The first thing
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  we do is figure out exactly what's driving your
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  pain. That means a thorough evaluation, looking
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  at your posture, your movement, your reflexes,
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  and really listening to your history. Because
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  where the pain shows up isn't always where the
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  problem is coming from. Chiropractic adjustments
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  help restore proper movement and alignment in
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  the spine. When the joints of your lower back
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  are moving the way they should, it takes pressure
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  off the surrounding nerves and tissues. Over
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  time, that can mean less pain, better movement,
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  and a lot more of your normal life back. We also
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  look at what's happening with the muscles around
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  your lower back and hips. Tight, overworked muscles
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  can pull things out of alignment and keep irritating
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  that nerve. So we often combine adjustments with
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  recommendations for gentle stretching and movement
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  to support what we're doing in the office. Here's
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  some practical advice you can start with today.
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  If you're dealing with sciatica, try to stay
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  as gently active as you can. I know it hurts
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  and your first instinct might be to lay down
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  and not move. But prolonged bed rest tends to
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  make things worse. Short gentle walks can actually
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  help. Also, avoid sitting for long stretches
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  without getting up. Sitting puts a lot of pressure
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  on the lower spine and that can aggravate sciatic
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  symptoms in a hurry. If things are severe, or
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  if you're noticing weakness in your leg or any
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  changes with your bladder or bowel function,
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  please don't wait. That's a situation where you
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  need to be seen right away. For most people though,
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  if you've been dealing with that nagging leg
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  pain, the aching, the burning, the shooting discomfort,
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  getting a proper evaluation sooner rather than
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  later is the smartest move you can make. The
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  longer these things go unaddressed, the more
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  the surrounding muscles and joints compensate.
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  and that just creates more problems down the
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  road. You deserve to feel good and move well.
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  That's what we're here for. If you're in Robinson
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  Township or anywhere nearby and you want to get
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  to the bottom of your sciatica, give us a call
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  at Family Chiropractic Center. We would love
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  to help you figure out what's going on and put
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  together a plan that actually makes sense for
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  your life. Thank you so much for listening today.
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  I hope this gave you a little more clarity and
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  a lot less worry. Until next time, Take good
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  care of yourself and we'll talk soon.