What is Sciatica?

Sciatica is a term widely used to describe shooting or dull leg pain, but its meaning is often misunderstood. Sciatica is actually a group of symptoms involving the sciatic nerve. This nerve is the longest and largest in our body with a diameter roughly the size of a thumb.

Causes of Sciatica

Sciatica is commonly caused by a herniated or bulging disc in our lumbar spine, which can compress or irritate one of the five nerve roots that make up the sciatic nerve. Pain can be mild to severe with tingling, numbness and sometimes weakness in the buttocks, legs and feet.

As we age, there are other causes of sciatica, such as degeneration, spinal stenosis and also from a tight muscle in your buttocks called the piriformis, which can squeeze and compress the sciatic nerve.

Relieving Sciatic pain

IDD Therapy

At Osteopath West we aim to relieve your sciatica by using a number of techniques to take the pressure off the nerve and gently restore movement in the spinal segments.

In the majority of cases a reduction of symptoms and pain and restoration of function can be achieved with a combination of hands-on osteopathic techniques and an exercise programme.

If your sciatic pain is severe or has not responded to manual techniques and you would like to avoid strong medication, injections or even invasive surgery we offer a course of IDD Therapy. IDD is an innovative and progressive treatment programme to treat the discs that may be pressing on the nerve and helping to restore mobility of the spine by reducing stiffness in the soft tissues around the targeted spinal segments.

For more details on how IDD Therapy could help relieve your sciatica or disc issues.

IDD therapy treatment testimonial

Patient testimonial after IDD Therapy & Osteopathy success provided by Osteopath West.

Suffering with sciatica and not responding to other treatments?

If you have been suffering with sciatica and it has not responded to other treatments then we are here to help. We offer a 15 minute free IDD therapy phone consultation to discuss your needs, or you can book an initial consultation with one of our osteopaths via our online booking form or by calling us on 07943 730386.