What is Sciatica and what causes it?

Sciatica refers to the irritation of the sciatic nerve which starts in your lower back and innervates your hips, buttocks, and the back of your legs. Typically, sciatica affects one side of your body, but it can switch sides and affect the other side of your body. Sciatica is described to feel like sharp, burning, shooting, or stabbing pain. It can be a constant discomfort, or it may come and go. Bremerton Wellness treats sciatica in Bremerton naturally.

Sciatica is caused by 3 major sources:

1. Repetitive trauma to the low back: when low back is put under repetitive stress from lifting, bending, and/or twisting, it can cause the disc space between the vertebra in the low back to decrease. This decrease disc space or height then puts pressure on the nerves in the low back like the sciatic nerve.
2. Piriformis syndrome: when the piriformis muscle, which is a small muscle that is deep in the buttocks, becomes tight or spastic. If the muscle is tight it can put pressure on the sciatic nerve, irritating it.
3. Chronic inflammation: when the low back is under repetitive stress the low back is most often in chronic inflammation. The low back muscles are tight and spastic, and the low back is not motioning as well as it should be. It feels like you have less range of motion in the spine. When there is less motioning in the low back, the fluids in this area are not circulating with new healthy fluids causing stagnation or chronic inflammation.

How Bremerton Wellness is treating sciatica naturally in Bremerton WA

• Adjustments: regular adjustments align the spine to take pressure off the sciatic nerve
• Decompression: alleviates pressure on the spine, specifically the lower back, by adding height to the disc with traction
• Laser Therapy: reduce inflammation and warms the tissues in the targeted area
• Massage: reduces spastic muscles in the low back
• Acupuncture: reduces tension in the low back by the use of needles and cupping

If you suffer from any form of lower back pain, sciatica, or leg pain please call Bremerton Wellness in Bremerton for a consultation.

Dr. Audra Kuoppala