Sciatica is a symptom that affects the sciatic nerve, creating pain that travels down the leg.

We specialize in helping the Bay City area find out what’s causing their sciatica so that we can help them correct this issue and prevent it from returning, using a safe and nonsurgical alternative.

As many as 40% of people will get sciatica at some point in their life. Sciatica is a symptom caused by an injury to the sciatica nerve.

If you are in Bay City, Michigan do not let sciatica keep you down!

Sciatica can make normal activities hard and even unbearable.

This is where we come in!

We believe that you deserve to be pain free. We want to get to the root of what is actually happening.   Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it will ever go away.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, it is time to contact us.

Check this out!

Watch one of the ways we treat SCIATICA!

Common sciatic nerve symptoms experienced:

  • Numbness or Weakness in legs or feet
  • Pins and Needles
  • Leg pain
  • Disc Bulge
  • Low back pain
  • Herniated Disc
  • Arthritis
  • Pinched nerve
  • Ruptured discs (Herniated)
  • and many more!

Why do I experience sciatica?

You may experience back pain from a number of different reasons, most commonly we find these to be the biggest culprits:

  •  Poor Posture
  • Overuse injuries (repetitive motions)
  • Job demands
  • Working out
  • Lifting weights improperly
  • Old injuries

How to treat sciatic pain?

We use a variety of approaches depending on the patient, the injury, and what creates that best response for **you**!!

Chiropractic Adjustments: The goal of a chiropractic adjustment is to mobilize the joint fixation to increase the range of motion, reduce nerve irritability, and improve mobility.  

PulStar (low force chiropractic adjustments): If you are uncomfortable with the more traditional manual adjustments, the PulStar is an amazing option for light force, gentle chiropractic adjustmentsAlso, if you are experiencing extreme levels of pain this is a great tool to use in the early phases of recovery.

Active Release Technique: Active Release Technique (ART) is a soft tissue therapy designed to rid injured areas of scar tissue.   

Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Manipulation (IASTM): Graston/ FAKTR- The goal is to trigger an inflammatory healing response. This will stimulate the production of new collagen and proper, functional, pain-free healing.

Therapeutic Exercise: Different but specific exercises will be given at the proper time to support your care, from early acute pain care through maintenance and wellness care.

Class IV Medical Laser: Improved healing time, pain reduction, increased blood circulation and decreased swelling are the major effects of laser energy.  Summus Medical Lasers are designed to treat pain and accelerate the healing process. 

McKenzie Method (MDT): The McKenzie method is a standardized assessment tool, defining and classifying movement problems and recommending appropriate treatment. More simply, if applicable we teach you to continue treatment at home between visits!

When should I see a chiropractor for my sciatica?

This is an important question to ask and to answer!

Chiropractic care can be tailored to many scenarios of traveling or radiating leg pain.  Whether it’s acute pain, angry and very flared up, or it is more chronic pain and you’ve been dealing with it for years, chiropractic is applicable!  

It excites us to have new patients who have had other chiropractic experiences, what we do at Lake Effect Chiropractic is target the source of the problem and try to extinguish it! Getting the body moving, from the joints to the muscles, we find MOVEMENT IS MEDICINE!   

Even though leg pain is fairly common, the level of severity and the conditions responsible differ. What we do is different, your treatment is always individualized and we are here to help.   

We work together with the medical community to make sure you receive the proper care no matter what your condition may be, new or old, minor or serious, we want you to get back to a pain free life and enjoy it!

How can chiropractic care help my sciatic pain?

Chiropractic care helps many kinds of sciatic leg pain.  Pain can be generated from joints, muscles, or nerves. Through a thorough history and exam, we identify which structures are the primary pain generators and which structures are affected due to poor structural function. 

Fixing the source of the pain is what we do.  By restoring function to each of the named structures above, we help your body take time for it to HEAL and function at 100%. The body is a unique mechanical system and all structures need to be treated to return to 100%. This is true health!

We don’t just treat the joints here at Lake Effect Chiropractic, as mentioned above, leg pain can, and most likely will, involve multiple structures which we will identify and correct during your healing journey.

What causes sciatica?

There are a few common culprits for causing that radiating pain into your leg...

Degenerative disc disease (DDD)

  • Most often there are problems in the low back due to degenerative changes involving the L4, L5, or S1 intervertebral discs.  When the disc degenerates, it loses flexibility, leaving your more susceptible to injuring the structure.
  • Disc injuries are typically worse first thing in the morning, cause difficulty moving from seated to standing, make it hard to bend over, and pain typically increases when seated.  These are just a few examples of how disc injuries present.
  • This “environment” can irritate the nerves and create sciatic pain.

Sciatica

  • Sciatica is a symptom that affects the sciatic nerves. These nerves run throughout a person’s legs. This often causes pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness in the legs.
  • Caused from a variety of reasons, sciatica may be one of the top symptoms we address in our office.

Stenosis

  • Narrowing of the spinal canal puts pressure on your spinal cord or nerve roots, you may have numbness, weakness, cramping, and pain in your legs. Some of these symptoms can mimic sciatic nerve pain/ irritation
  • Usually, the narrowing is caused by osteoarthritis, or “wear and tear” arthritis, of the spinal column and/ or by bulging of the discs between the vertebrae (the bones of the back). It may also be caused by a thickening of the ligaments that hold the spine together.
  • Management of this condition is best accomplished with a proactive and preventative approach utilizing chiropractic and strengthening rehabilitative care.

Arthritis

  • For the first time in history, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has recommended that manual therapy (what we do as chiropractors), if added to exercise or rehabilitation, may further benefit osteoarthritis.
  • Arthritis typically presents with stiffness in the AM when you first get moving. However, when you get moving, maybe take a hot shower, much of the symptoms improve.
  • Arthritis responds very well to chiropractic care because we are aiming to improve movement in the body. We firmly believe movement is medicine!

Piriformis Syndrome

  • Piriformis syndrome usually starts with pain, tingling, or numbness in the buttocks. Pain can be severe and extend down the length of the sciatic nerve (called sciatica).
  • Diagnosis of piriformis syndrome is made by the patient’s report of symptoms and by physical exam using a variety of movements to elicit pain to the piriformis muscle. In some cases, a contracted or tender piriformis muscle can be found on physical exam.
  • Often, there is a history of trauma to the area, repetitive, vigorous activity such as long-distance running, or prolonged sitting.

Disc Herniation

  • When a disc herniates or “slips”, the nearby nerve can become extremely sensitive and irritated.  This is a severe example; however, you may experience severe symptoms when in reality your condition may only be a minor injury.  This is why a conservative evaluation and treatment to begin is beneficial.
  • This can be a true “pinched nerve” rather than common “sciatica”.

Failed Back Surgery

  • Pain after back surgery is more common than we would like to see. We have ways of working on your low back and spine even after surgery. Our Class IV Medical Laser has been a great addition to our practice specifically when treating patients with prior back surgery.
  • Often times surgery addresses a specific problem, we can still work on the muscles and surrounding structures in the area improving scar tissue formation and strengthening this tissue around the surgery getting you back to functioning at 100%.
  • Movement can be extremely helpful in controlling pain even after surgery. It is most beneficial when it consists of the proper movements which we can help you find and perform them properly!

Testimonials

I just have to say a huge thank you to the Drs and the staff at Lake Effect Chiropractic. I was in such pain from sciatica and in just two weeks my leg and I are doing great. The laser treatment was amazing.  You all are a blessing to our town. Keep up the great work.

-       Anastasia B., // Saginaw, Michigan    

 

Man, I was scared to come in for my first time but o boy was I glad I came in. Ashley adjusted me and helped my back pain so much I swear on these ladies they are absolutely amazing.

-       Chris C. // Auburn, Michigan    

 

I have been having issues with my right leg for quite some time and working with Dr. Brittany she has gone above and beyond trying to find the right treatment for me. I truly appreciate her hard work and dedication on my behalf. Dr. Ashley and Dr. Brittany I would recommend to anyone.

-       David J. // Bay City, Michigan  

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