Treating Radicular Pain With Chiropractic
Radicular pain, Radiculopathy or the more common term Sciatica, is pain that radiates down along the spinal nerve usually due to inflammation or irritation of this nerve. There can be many initial causes of this pain including: injury, repetitive activity, sleeping positions, etc. Radicular pain may be felt as a numbness, tingling, burning sensations, sharp pain, or constant tenderness usually down your leg sometimes including your calf and foot.
Radicular Pain: Common Causes
The most common causes of Radicular pain can be:
- Herniated disc (also known as slipped disc) – happens when the gel-like cushion which is between the discs of the vertebral column start to leave that safe area and put pressure on the nerves. This pressure causes inflammation and pain in the arms and legs.
Tingling in the affected body parts, weakness during movement and continuous pain in peripheral limbs are warning signs that you may have a slipped disc or herniated disc and that immediate treatment is necessary.
- Cervical Radiculopathy – this occurs when the nerve roots of a cervical vertebra is squeezed due to external pressures like an injury. The pain extends from the nerve roots to the affected organs and symptoms are quite similar to a slipped disc condition (numbness, tingling etc.).
Treatment:
Treatment for radicular pain can be helped with:
- Typical medical procedure: The more conventional form deals with radiculopathy in a systematic way where medications like Ibuprofen and spinal injections are prescribed for an amount of time. If medications don’t work during this observation period, an invasive non-reversible surgical procedure is suggested to help alleviate the pressure from the spine.
- Chiropractic treatment: The better approach to treating radicular pain is chiropractic care. Chiropractic care is a non-invasive, non-medicated method that works with your body and not against it. A chiropractic adjustment helps the body fix its’ own problems instead of suppressing the information with drugs.
While each case is different, the usual Radiculopathy treatment includes:
- Supervised massages in the affected region
- Spinal traction
- Stretching and muscle exercises specific to the patient’s body type and needs.
More than 80% of radiculopathy pain problems can be helped through Chiropractic care with Dr. Scott Jutte in Dickson, TN. Visit our site to learn more: www.dickson-chiropractic.com
