Have you ever woken up and had burning pain going down the back of your leg. As a chiropractor, I see this everyday. You are going along, everything is great, and then BAM, your leg is killing you and you feel like it will never go away.
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A brief review of anatomy is in store here. The sciatic nerve begins in the low back, travels through your buttocks and heads down the leg. If anywhere in the course of the nerve, pressure is put on it, pain and numbness can occur. The most common form of pressure is swelling from a misalignment. As the pressure builds up, the nerve compresses and WHAM, you have sciatica.
What to do when I get sciatica.
Once we have it, the key is getting rid of it quickly. Here is where ice and Dr. Harrington are your best friend. If the sciatica is from the spine being out of place a few adjutments will go a long way to helping you reduce the pressure on your nerves. While we are reducing the pressure on your nerves by putting your spine in place, ice will help calm the swelling down thereby taking pressure off the affected nerve.