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New York, NY
Sciatica
12/03/2017
Hip Pain and the Lower Back….are they connected?
Solutions for Hip and Back Pain
Ever had hip pain that occurred without any trauma? Do you experience hip discomfort when sitting for a long time? Does your hip still feel weak and painful even after performing exercises to strengthen the hip muscles? Do you experience some mild aching and stiffness in the lower back?
If so, then your lower back can contribute to your hip pain and weakness. Your lower back is a series of joints that move on top of one another to enable you to bend backwards, bend forwards, and shift your hips from side to side. Stiffness in the lower back will affect some of these motions and may affect the nerves that exit from the lower back and innervate the leg. Some signs of nerve irritation are pain, burning, numbness/tingling, and weakness in the muscles that are innervated by that nerve.
Hip Pain Accompanied By Low Back Pain
When you experience stiffness in the lower back along with hip pain, you may notice that you will have difficulty bending forward to pick up an object and/or have discomfort returning upright. This lower back stiffness can affect the nerves that innervate your hip and contribute to your pain. Improving the motion of a stiff lower back can alleviate the nerve irritation.
Once the nerve irritation is alleviated, the discomfort should subside and your hip strength will improve. People with hip discomfort when sitting for a long time may notice their symptoms decrease once they sit in an upright posture or get up to move around.
A number of my patients are surprised how much their hip pain and strength improves after I address their lower back stiffness in addition to treating their hip. They may complain of minor aching and stiffness in the lower back, but will focus more on the limitations and pain in their hip since it notably affects their daily activities.
Diagnose and Treat Hip Pain
In addition to a movement assessment of the lower back, you will undergo a weak link assessment on the Red Cord system. A Redcord weak link assessment is a series of tests to identify weakness/dysfunctional movement patterns in the core stabilizers and legs that may contribute to your hip pain. The combination of hands on therapy to get your back moving and weak link corrections with the Redcord system will have you moving pain free again.
Come in for a lower back and weak link assessment and we will create a treatment plan to have you back to your favorite activities pain free.
03/25/2017
No relief in sight for those suffering from sciatica
A drug increasingly being prescribed for treating sciatica has been revealed to be no better than placebo, in new research from The George Institute for Global Health.
The study in the New England Journal of Medicine also found people taking the drug pregabalin reported nearly twice as many adverse effects than those receiving the placebo.
Associate Professor Christine Lin from The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, said: “We have seen a huge rise in the amount of prescriptions being written each year for patients suffering from sciatica. It’s an incredibly painful and disabling condition so it’s no wonder people are desperate for relief and medicines such as pregabalin have been widely prescribed.
Commonly Prescribed Drug Ineffective For Sciatic Nerve Pain
“But, until now there has been no high quality evidence to help patients and doctors know whether pregabalin works for treating sciatica. Our results have shown pregabalin treatment did not relieve pain, but did cause side effects such as dizziness.”
Sciatica is pain, tingling or numbness along the distribution of the sciatic nerve, most commonly caused by irritation of the nerve roots. Pain is mostly felt in the lower limbs but can be accompanied by back pain.
Since its first approval in 2004 pregabalin (sold as Lyrica) has become the most widely prescribed medicine for neuropathic pain globally, with worldwide sales of between $3-5 billion annually.
At any one time around 12% of the world’s population has low back pain. It is estimated that around 5 to 10% of people with low back pain will have sciatica.
Researchers Dig Deeper Into Drugs Benefits for Sciatic Nerve Pain Relief
Researchers from the Musculoskeletal Division at The George Institute undertook the study after being increasingly concerned about the rise in the use of pregabalin, limited data on its effectiveness and fears over the drug’s safety. One of the possible serious side effects is suicidal thoughts or actions. Pregabalin is used for a number of painful conditions that include neuropathic pain.
The research team at The George Institute followed 209 patients with sciatica in Sydney, Australia, who received pregabalin or a placebo capsule. After eight weeks there was no significant difference in pain intensity between the group taking pregabalin and those receiving the placebo and over one year no significant difference in the amount of days lost from work.
Despite the findings almost two thirds of patients on the study reported being very satisfied or satisfied with their drug regimen.
No Better Than Placebo for Sciatica Relief
Associate Professor Christine Lin, of The George institute, said: “Over the course of eight weeks the levels of pain that patients experienced did decrease but the drop in pain was the same for both those taking the drug and those on placebo. It seems people associate a drop in pain being due to taking a capsule, rather than something which would happen naturally over time. GPs who are prescribing pregabalin should take note of these findings, and talk with their patients about other ways of managing and preventing pain.
“Unfortunately there are no drugs proven to work for people with sciatica and even epidural injections only provide a small benefit in the short term. What we do know is that most people with sciatica do eventually recover with time. It’s also important to avoid bed rest and to stay as active as possible.”
The team found no increase in the risk of self-harm, however the trial was not set up to detect risk of suicide so GPs are advised to exercise caution when prescribing.
This study was led by researchers from The George Institute in collaboration with researchers from The University of Sydney, University of New South Wales and Macquarie University.
Article: Trial of Pregabalin for Acute and Chronic Sciatica, Christine Lin, Ph.D. et al., New England Journal of Medicine, doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1614292, published 23 March 2017.
03/10/2017
Everything You Need To Know About The Sciatica Relief NYC Professionals Provide
Sciatica is an incredibly uncomfortable and all-too-common condition that causes radiating pain down through the lower back, buttocks and hips. This pain can travel down the back of the leg as well, however, it only affects one side of the body. This is typically caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve. This can be the result of bone spurs on the spine, disc herniation or spinal stenosis (spinal narrowing). Each of these issues causes nerve compression, inflammation, tingling, numbing and other issues. If any of these symptoms sound familiar, you should learn more about the options in sciatica relief NYC chiropractors are offering.
Although nerve compression is the overarching cause of this condition, it is important to identify the underlying problem that is responsible for the compression. For lasting relief, it is important to start by resolving the problems that are causing pressure on the nerve. This is done by applying therapies that are specific to the cause of the pain, whether this is stenosis, bone spurs or disc herniation.
Surprisingly, sciatica can actually affect bowel and bladder functioning, particularly when it is severe. Thus, adults who are suffering from both sciatic pain and light bowel or bladder leakage may need a more aggressive form of care. These issues are often the result of overcompensation in the surrounding muscle groups, particularly in instances in which the sciatic pain is not resolved within a reasonable amount of time and the underlying problem is allowed to spiral out of control.
Discomfort radiating from the lumber or lower spine to the buttocks and legs is almost always identified as sciatica. Discomfort, however, can be experienced at any point along the sciatic nerve pathway. It can be a dull, annoying ache or it can manifest as an excruciating, burning feeling that makes it impossible to stand erect or walk.
Some people liken this sensation to an electric jolt or shock. Involuntary actions such as coughing or sneezing can cause it to worsen. These movements may affect the way in which the sciatic nerve is compressed. Many doctors also assert that prolonged periods of sitting can also cause the symptoms intensify.
Tingling, numbness and weakness in the surrounding muscles is also common. Some of the feelings are directly related to the sciatic nerve and its compression. It is vital to note, however, that injuries such as these often force other parts of the body to work harder than they have to. This can in turn result in a host of secondary, stress-injuries.
It is important for people to seek medical care if this pain has occurred as the result of an automobile accident. This is critical for having this injury and the resulting inconveniences and expenses documented as part of the claims report. This can actually be a latent personal injury in that changes in mobility and overall comfort will often take several days to manifest.
Severe weakness and pain are other, important reasons to seek medical help. This is especially true when these symptoms are paired with bladder weakness. Sciatica affecting the functionality of the bladder and bowels is perceived as being the most severe type and should be properly addressed right away.
There are other potential causes of sciatica. These include the development of a tumor or tumors that place pressure on the sciatic nerve. Those who suffer from uncontrolled diabetes may develop the symptoms of sciatica as well. Thus, seeking medical care can be about far more than mere pain relief. Medical intervention may be necessary in some instances for identifying and addressing underlying causes that are potentially life-threatening.
03/10/2017
Everything You Need To Know About The Sciatica Relief NYC Professionals Provide
Sciatica is an incredibly uncomfortable and all-too-common condition that causes radiating pain down through the lower back, buttocks and hips. This pain can travel down the back of the leg as well, however, it only affects one side of the body. This is typically caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve. This can be the result of bone spurs on the spine, disc herniation or spinal stenosis (spinal narrowing). Each of these issues causes nerve compression, inflammation, tingling, numbing and other issues. If any of these symptoms sound familiar, you should learn more about the options in sciatica relief NYC chiropractors are offering.
Although nerve compression is the overarching cause of this condition, it is important to identify the underlying problem that is responsible for the compression. For lasting relief, it is important to start by resolving the problems that are causing pressure on the nerve. This is done by applying therapies that are specific to the cause of the pain, whether this is stenosis, bone spurs or disc herniation.
Surprisingly, sciatica can actually affect bowel and bladder functioning, particularly when it is severe. Thus, adults who are suffering from both sciatic pain and light bowel or bladder leakage may need a more aggressive form of care. These issues are often the result of overcompensation in the surrounding muscle groups, particularly in instances in which the sciatic pain is not resolved within a reasonable amount of time and the underlying problem is allowed to spiral out of control.
Discomfort radiating from the lumber or lower spine to the buttocks and legs is almost always identified as sciatica. Discomfort, however, can be experienced at any point along the sciatic nerve pathway. It can be a dull, annoying ache or it can manifest as an excruciating, burning feeling that makes it impossible to stand erect or walk.
Some people liken this sensation to an electric jolt or shock. Involuntary actions such as coughing or sneezing can cause it to worsen. These movements may affect the way in which the sciatic nerve is compressed. Many doctors also assert that prolonged periods of sitting can also cause the symptoms intensify.
Tingling, numbness and weakness in the surrounding muscles is also common. Some of the feelings are directly related to the sciatic nerve and its compression. It is vital to note, however, that injuries such as these often force other parts of the body to work harder than they have to. This can in turn result in a host of secondary, stress-injuries.
It is important for people to seek medical care if this pain has occurred as the result of an automobile accident. This is critical for having this injury and the resulting inconveniences and expenses documented as part of the claims report. This can actually be a latent personal injury in that changes in mobility and overall comfort will often take several days to manifest.
Severe weakness and pain are other, important reasons to seek medical help. This is especially true when these symptoms are paired with bladder weakness. Sciatica affecting the functionality of the bladder and bowels is perceived as being the most severe type and should be properly addressed right away.
There are other potential causes of sciatica. These include the development of a tumor or tumors that place pressure on the sciatic nerve. Those who suffer from uncontrolled diabetes may develop the symptoms of sciatica as well. Thus, seeking medical care can be about far more than mere pain relief. Medical intervention may be necessary in some instances for identifying and addressing underlying causes that are potentially life-threatening.
03/10/2017
Everything You Need To Know About The Sciatica Relief NYC Professionals Provide
Sciatica is an incredibly uncomfortable and all-too-common condition that causes radiating pain down through the lower back, buttocks and hips. This pain can travel down the back of the leg as well, however, it only affects one side of the body. This is typically caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve. This can be the result of bone spurs on the spine, disc herniation or spinal stenosis (spinal narrowing). Each of these issues causes nerve compression, inflammation, tingling, numbing and other issues. If any of these symptoms sound familiar, you should learn more about the options in sciatica relief NYC chiropractors are offering.
Although nerve compression is the overarching cause of this condition, it is important to identify the underlying problem that is responsible for the compression. For lasting relief, it is important to start by resolving the problems that are causing pressure on the nerve. This is done by applying therapies that are specific to the cause of the pain, whether this is stenosis, bone spurs or disc herniation.
Surprisingly, sciatica can actually affect bowel and bladder functioning, particularly when it is severe. Thus, adults who are suffering from both sciatic pain and light bowel or bladder leakage may need a more aggressive form of care. These issues are often the result of overcompensation in the surrounding muscle groups, particularly in instances in which the sciatic pain is not resolved within a reasonable amount of time and the underlying problem is allowed to spiral out of control.
Discomfort radiating from the lumber or lower spine to the buttocks and legs is almost always identified as sciatica. Discomfort, however, can be experienced at any point along the sciatic nerve pathway. It can be a dull, annoying ache or it can manifest as an excruciating, burning feeling that makes it impossible to stand erect or walk.
Some people liken this sensation to an electric jolt or shock. Involuntary actions such as coughing or sneezing can cause it to worsen. These movements may affect the way in which the sciatic nerve is compressed. Many doctors also assert that prolonged periods of sitting can also cause the symptoms intensify.
Tingling, numbness and weakness in the surrounding muscles is also common. Some of the feelings are directly related to the sciatic nerve and its compression. It is vital to note, however, that injuries such as these often force other parts of the body to work harder than they have to. This can in turn result in a host of secondary, stress-injuries.
It is important for people to seek medical care if this pain has occurred as the result of an automobile accident. This is critical for having this injury and the resulting inconveniences and expenses documented as part of the claims report. This can actually be a latent personal injury in that changes in mobility and overall comfort will often take several days to manifest.
Severe weakness and pain are other, important reasons to seek medical help. This is especially true when these symptoms are paired with bladder weakness. Sciatica affecting the functionality of the bladder and bowels is perceived as being the most severe type and should be properly addressed right away.
There are other potential causes of sciatica. These include the development of a tumor or tumors that place pressure on the sciatic nerve. Those who suffer from uncontrolled diabetes may develop the symptoms of sciatica as well. Thus, seeking medical care can be about far more than mere pain relief. Medical intervention may be necessary in some instances for identifying and addressing underlying causes that are potentially life-threatening.