Myotherapy North Melbourne
What is SCIATICA, and
how can myotherapy helps?
Most people—if not all—have heard of or perhaps even
experienced sciatica or sciatic pain, but what precisely is it? And how myotherapy north
Melbourne can help. Explore now.
The term "sciatica" is frequently used, although
it's actually fairly nebulous and is used to simply describe any ailment whose
symptoms include discomfort flowing from the lower back down either one or both
legs (potentially all the way down to the foot). Different types of pain might
generate pins & needles, tingling, numbness, pinching, or catching feelings
when moving.
The symptoms that we refer to as sciatica can be caused by a
variety of different causes or illnesses, therefore sciatica actually define a
collection of symptoms
rather than a single condition.
To be more specific, the term "Sciatic" refers to
the name of the nerves that originate in the lower spine/back and branch out
into two Sciatic nerves, one for each leg, innervating the muscles and
structures of the legs in the process.
Sciatica is a condition in which this nerve becomes
susceptible to irritation from pressure exerted on it by other structures.
As was previously mentioned, there can be a number of causes
for this impingement on the sciatic nerves, some of which include pressure from
a tight Piriformis muscle (which the sciatic nerve passes directly through or
beneath), pressure from an intervertebral disc bulge or herniation of the
lumbar spine (lower back), stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spinal canal,
and spondylolisthesis, which is the slipping of one verte
As we can see, there are numerous ways in which the sciatic
nerve can be affected, with the same experience and symptoms that we refer to
as "Sciatica" as the final consequence. While some of these scenarios
may sound frightening, the majority of the time it is simple to manage the pain
while working with a skilled myotherapist who can offer guidance or send you to
another professional if your condition is very acute or severe.
Since pressure of some sort is the cause of the sciatic
nerve irritation, the goal of treatment is to free up more space for the nerve
because nerves also need to be able to slide and move with the rest of the
body.
It's important to note that the course of treatment will
depend on which of the various mechanisms is active, but in general, any
technique used will aim to free up more space for that nerve and will typically
involve working on the muscles in the lower back, pelvis, hips, glutes, back of
the thighs, and possibly even the calves. Some of these methods may involve the
use of your hands, such as therapeutic massage and myofascial release, or they
may use helpful nerve gliding motions that can lessen the sensitivity of those
nerves.
And in cases where the sensations are really acute, recent,
and severe, Myofascial Dry Needling is frequently used to ease the discomfort
and tone everything down without placing undue additional strain on the
nerve/system.
Joint mobilizations are another service that myotherapists
can offer to help the hips and lower back move more freely. Mobilizations are
different from manipulations in that we won't be "cracking your
bones," but instead will gently nudge your joints toward rhythmic mobility
again without any crunches or cracks of high speed.
We would then consider exercises that were specifically
designed for your circumstance, which could range from simple stretches for a
few key tight muscles to a comprehensive programme to assist develop stability
around the spine and support the structure for good nerve activity.
Deep abdominal work, diaphragm "weight-lifting,"
the sphinx, piriformis stretches, and glute and adductor strengthening are a
few popular exercises you might want to try.