Sciatica is a fairly common diagnosis for Low Back Pain. It should describe low back pain due to irritation to low back nerve roots (usually those between L3and L4 and between L4 and L5. Unfortunately doctors usually don’t take the time to palpate the low back to confirm their diagnosis. Why do I say that? Because I have seen many patients with that diagnosis that had no low back pain! Their pain was in their butt. Too treat someone I need to know exactly what the problem is or at least exactly where it is. With a sciatica diagnosis, I often don’t get the information I need just by the diagnosis. I have to figure it out on my own by palpating to find where the pain is. When the pain is in the back, it usually is coming from L4 and L5 nerve roots (although it sometimes also can involve nerve roots farther up the back) and usually also from the SI (Sacroiliac Joint, where the weight from the trunk transfers to the hips). At these points there is inflammation. This is best treated by a method I invented that works like a cortisone shot but uses electricity instead of chemistry and doesn’t have the limitations of cortisone – I can do it as much as needed. Usually there will be initial pain relief and then 2-3 hours later, as the inflammation goes down, more pain relief. And it usually only takes 1-3 treatments to get rid of the inflammation. And getting rid of the inflammation is important because if it is not adequately treated, over time it can cause a degenerative process in the adjacent disk. Doctors won’t tell you that because they don’t know the cause. It is a basic electrical phenomena. Basically inflammation is negatively charged. Like charges repel each other so the negative charge at the inflamed nerve root causes the electrons at the nearby disk to be pushed away causing the part of the disk nearest the nerve root to become positively charged. The electrons are what holds the molecules together so the lack of electrons causes that side of the disk to begin to fall apart or degenerate. A sign that that process has begun is tenderness at the disk. I always palpate for this because it is easily treated and stopped. I’m not sure if I can repair the damage that has already been done but I do have techniques I can try that might help. At the very least it would help treat any chronic pain that might persist.
Now if the pain is in the butt, there are several location that it usually shows up at. The butt pain usually appears later and is a result of the low back pain causing the upper band of the Gluteus Maximus muscle to get tight. This then pulls on the attachments at the sacrum and the great trochanter which then get inflamed and tender. My anti-inflammation treatment works great here too.
Another place you can get butt pain is at the piriformis muscle. Since it lies directly above your hip joint. So it can be confused with hip pain. You can tell the difference by palpation. If it is the piriformis muscle, the attachments will be tender also. The treatment here is to treat the inflammation at the attachments and to needle the belly of the muscle to relax it. I also use a frequency for the inflammation treatment that also helps relax the muscle and stimulate the release of endorphins which helps with the pain as well.
Occasionally true sciatica will cause the low back muscles to get tight as well. This will cause pain and inflammation at the attachments. Again I treat the attachments and relax the muscle. Here though the upper attachment is at the floating (12th) rib. So we also have to look at the attachment of the rib to the vertebrae and at the end of the rib to see if those areas are also irritated and may need treatment also.