Sciatica - Not just a pain in the butt

Sciatica pain symptoms are typically numbness, tingling, dull or shooting pain from the hip or low back down one or sometimes both legs. Onset can be gradual or sudden depending on underlying causes, which can be an injury like a fall or other accident (sudden pain) or gradual pain from poor sleep or long periods of sitting or standing at work. Other causes can be herniated discs that put pressure on the sciatic nerve or arthritis or spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal cord), which can also put pressure on the sciatic nerve.

I've worked with many people with sciatica pain over the years, and noticed a spike in cases during and immediately after the pandemic, as people were mostly home bound and doing more sitting in front of a computer than ususal.

I've had the beginnings of sciatica pain myself a couple of times and have found that a combination of massage therapy visits, targeted stretching to relieve tension on the sciatic nerve, and chiropractic care made my pain go away entirely.

When stretching, chiropractic care, and physical therapy don't work, it's often because the muscles of the low back, glutes, hip flexors, and thighs are too tight to allow these other modalities to be as effective. Massage therapy helps loosen tight muscles that are pressing on the sciatic nerve and causing the pain that limits movement as well as restful sleep.

Massage therapy is a safe and effective treatment for sciatica pain and is worth doing first in order to reduce muscle and nerve pain, increase flexibility and circulation, and make other therapies more effective.

Schedule your massage therapy visit today to feel better sooner by calling me at (719) 654-4553 or email me at inspirationhealingarts@proton.me