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Sciatica - Osteopathic Treatment
By Roger Kingston
Sciatica - Osteopathic Treatment The term “sciatica” is used very commonly and covers a multitude of symptoms but perhaps the most accurate would involve pain, electrically shooting sensations, numbness and weakness from the buttock, down the back of the leg, into the calf and onto either the top or bottom of the foot. The sciatic nerve is a rope like structure, the largest of all the nerves and is a combination of spinal root nerves from the lower lumbar and sacral spine which then passes through the groin and dives deep into the pelvis and coming out near the back of the hip before passing down into the leg where it further divides below the knee. Sciatica describes pain and functional loss of this nerve and its causes can be difficult to accurately diagnose. When severe it can be absolute agony and only controlled with morphine, more sinister symptoms might include bowel or bladder retention or incontinence, drop foot, wasting and total power loss in the posterior muscles of the thigh and front and back muscles of the leg. Though in most instances people say they have sciatica when they have a pain in their buttuck or thigh. As in all aspects of medicine diagnosis is the key to successful treatment. To be told you have sciatica and simply given painkillers is poor medicine. To differentially diagnose which tissues are causing symptoms and then identify the pathological processes in those tissues is the key to eradicating the pain. Your osteopath will want to take a detailed case history, examine you and possibly require X-rays or an MRI scan to reach an accurate diagnosis. Age is critical; sciatica in a child is worrying sign and needs full investigation as does it in an elderly person as the cause is often serious. When it is present with associated symptoms like weight loss, increasingly painful at night, loss of bowel or bladder control it must not be ignored. However in the vast majority of cases sciatica is usually the result of an injury, deconditioning, or often the most common being an arthritic hip. With the exception of advanced hip arthritis which is hugely benefitted by surgery, most cases can be managed conservatively once a serious pathology has been excluded. In acute sciatica epidurals can be very beneficial combined with strong painkillers to break the pain pattern. This must be followed by mobilisation and physical treatment. Osteopaths are the experts in “hands on”musculoskeletal medicine and are well trained and regulated. They might perhaps look to massage or stretch any contracted or spasmed muscles, apply rhythmic joint movements to “free up” any stuck joint or use manipulation to “gap” a joint thus allowing the nerve that passes through full movement. In most cases a course of treatment will produce resolution of symptoms. Should your osteopath be unhappy with your progress he will ask for an orthopaedic or neurosurgical opinion. Surgery is rarely indicated, but when necessary can be very effective. Do not suffer in silence when your local osteopath can help you. |
http://www.osteopathic.com.au
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Great advice. I have a friend suffering through "sciatica" right now. I'll pass this information on to him. Thanks.
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I know a lady who was a former ballerina, has a herniated disc and is in her 7th month of pregnancy. She speaks often of sciatica. I will share this with her also. Thanks so much.
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Thank you for this very informative intel.
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Hi Roger, Great Intel. After retiring from Canada's national police force, I took a job at a Casino as a game control officer. This entailed ensuring that all the games were running properly, that employees were doing their jobs and that customers were not cheating or causing problems. In May, 1999, I escorted a drunk out and was attacked just ouside the casino doors. In the ensuing struggle, I was pushed through a heavy wooden fence. A large section of my scalp was peeled off by the underside of the top timber; I took the whole centre of the fence out with my shoulders and back and I landed across the bottom timber with the small of my back, with my antagonist on top of me. There was a loud crack when I hit the timber, and I knew it wasn't from the timber. Lumber vertebra 4 was crushed and the disc between L4 and L5 was ruptured. I was paralyzed from the waist down for four and a half hours and spent the next three years in constant pain. I went to every specialist I could find. A discotomy fixed the ruptured disc, but the pain didn't stop. I had never heard of an Osteopath, so I didn't consult one...I'm not even sure if we have any in this province. Anyway, I finally went to an occupational therapist for 6 hour a day, 5 day a week treatment and exercise for a total of 6 weeks. At the end of this I was pain free and provided I don't do something silly, I remain pain free now. After reading your Intel, I'll make sure to check our yellow pages to see if we have Osteopaths here, and keep them in mind if my pain ever returns. gilbertg
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Glad to hear you are ok now.
I believe you have osteopaths in Canada - especially in Ontario and BC.
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