Rehab for the lower back pain or sciatica patient should include natural, safe therapies such as chiropractic care, spinal decompression, muscle massage, low back stretches, and lower back strengthening exercises. Along with that, ice, heat, electrical muscle stimulation, endurance exercises, balance/proprioceptive exercises, nutitional advice, and support or postural improving products should be utilized.
At often times with the initial chiropractic care we use muscle therapies such as trigger point massage, heat or ice, and tens. We also will give recommendations on support belts or low back and/or neck pillows or cushions to use.
After the initial chiropractic care or spinal decompression for acute back pain or sciatic pain, we often start with some simple low back stretches and exercises. This helps rehabilitate the back quicker and gets you back to your usual daily routine.
Initially using ice on the low back helps alleviate pain and decreases inflammation. When pain is less often, or to loosen up the back before physical activities, heat can be recommended.
The most common muscles I find patients need to stretch are the low back, glut muscles, hamstrings, and the calves. Stretching the low back and leg muscles helps increase flexibility, balance, musculature from one side of the body to the other, and gives pain relief.
Muscle massage or electrical muscle stimulation helps retore blood flow, decrease inflammation, and break up muscle knots (in other words- trigger points) to balance out the lower body and speed recovery as well.
Most often, once we heal the back significantly, we want to strengthen the core to help prevent future injury. Your core region is the mid-section of your body. If you put a hula hoop around your waist, this is your core. Start with walking, which actually helps build lower back muscle endurance and helps strengthen the core. Gradually work up to light back extensions and planks.
Building proprioception or the proprioceptive muscle is also key to healing and rehabilitating the back. These are smaller muscles that we don’t always think about but help with balance. Doing some light cardio with combined movements, standing on one foot or using a balance board helps with this.
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CT Spine and Disc Center is located in central Connecticut- Specializing in patients who suffer from sciatica, disc degeneration, bulging disc or herniated disc in the lumbar spine. Call us at 860-633-8756 to see if you are a candidate for non surgical spinal decompression
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Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Dear Doctor, I have Butt and Leg Pain. Can you Help me?
Pain starts in my left rear-end and travels down my leg. Sometimes I even get numbness. I don’t really have much back pain. Is it back-related?
Over and over we see patients with pain in the legs and buttocks or numbness and tingling in the legs, but no back pain. Most often the problem still comes from the lower back.
The reason is that nerves have specific referral patterns, measuring pressure on one part of the nerve may refer or send symptoms to another area.
In the low back the lower nerve roots form together to create your sciatic nerve which travels down near your sacrum (or tailbone region) and exits out the buttock on each side and sends nerve innervation to the legs.
Depending where the pressure is and how severe it is will determine your symptoms. The nerve roots that branch off the spinal cord are a bundle of nerves; depending which fibers in those nerve roots are irritated will determine where your symptoms may occur- leg pain, foot numbness, back pain, shooting pain down the leg starting at the base of your rear-end, muscle cramping in your calves. . .
Some symptoms are more common for certain conditions or a disc problem at a specific level often causes similar symptoms. This is specifically why we do specific exam tests or lab tests, or take pictures of the spine and/or discs.
So, to answer your question in the title- the answer is often: yes! However, our consultation and exam with you will give us a clear yes or no.
If you suffer with symptoms in your lower extremity such as leg pain and tingling/numbness in the legs, call our office for a free, no obligation consultation right away.
CT Spine and Disc Center is located in Glastonbury, CT- Serving patients in central CT and MA. If you suffer from sciatica, disc degeneration, bulging disc or herniated disc in the lumbar spine, we can help you. Call us at 860-633-8756 to see if you are a candidate for non surgical spinal decompression.
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