Dr Davis' Back & Wrist Pain Blog

Sciatica Treatment San Francisco: A Patient Review

We have been providing treatment for Sciatica in San Francisco for over 21 years. Every week we profile a patient that has achieved outstanding results at our clinic. This week is very special as Harper not only lost 150 lbs but she also lost her low back pain and sciatica along with it. Listen to her tell her story of what life was like before and after her sciatica relief treatment.

  

Can a Chiropractor Help Sciatica?

We have been providing treatment for Sciatica in San Francisco for 20 years.

Sciatica is a term which is used to describe pain in the buttocks, thigh, leg, and/or foot. The pain is usually of a burning, numbing, or stinging nature. There may or may not be any back pain.

Sciatica is usually the result of a herniated or bulging disc that puts pressure (aka: pinched nerve) on one of the delicate nerve roots in the lower back that form the sciatic nerve (branches of L4,L5,S1). Tears inside the disc can also cause chemical leaks which can irritate nerves attached to the disc as well as the sciatic nerve roots. Nerve root pressure can also result from spinal and disc degeneration resulting in stenosis.

So can a chiropractor help sciatica?

YES...sometimes. Actually, most of the time in my experience...especially if the chiropractor has a nonsurgical spinal decompression machine and uses Class IV deep tissue laser.

Unfortunately...most of the time when a patient presents with sciatica, the underlying problem has been around for a long time and the sciatica symptoms are the "red siren" something needs attention.

Other times, the sciatic nerve becomes irritated early in the disease process and is easier to treat.

Either way, chiropractic adjustments can help, as well as massage, exercise, deep tissue laser therapy, and spinal decompression.

Our San Francisco Chiropractors and spinal decompression team spend quite a bit of time on a daily basis working with patients that present with sciatica secondary to pinched nerves in the low back.

A patients diet can actually influence the healing process. The Typical American Diet is "pro inflammatory"...meaning it causes inflammation...which is the last thing you want with sciatica. A Plant-based diet is "anti-inflammatory" which means it reduces inflammation which is exactly what you want.

To what extent we achieve compliance with this just depends on the patient, and to be quite frank, on the doctor they end up with at our clinic. As far as I know I am the only vegan doctor at our San Francisco chiropractic and decompression clinic, but everyone is supposed to use plant based therapy as a recommendation to reduce inflammation naturally. Our best resource for information on plant-based nutrition is Dr. John McDougall, MD. I have seen this be the difference many times.

Chiropractic adjustments have been known to promote healing in injured discs and to slow down the progression of the degenerative process. So this is always what we try first. Of course, if the patient has already tried chiropractic adjustments we go right to spinal decompression with the DRX9000. We also include muscle stimulation, ice, laser, and massage.

Some sciatica patients have so much pain and muscle spasms that we are unable to perform chiropractic adjustments...so we start with deep tissue laser...then spinal decompression when things cool off. 

The success rates are very high when you have advanced technologies at your disposal. Heck...success rates are good with just "hands-on" chiropractic...but a lot depends on the experience of the doctor and their manual adjusting skills.

Having both great "hands-on" skills and modern technology along with it...with proper "anti-inflammatory" nutrition, really increases the odds of a favorable outcome...though it may take some time.

How long it takes just depends on the nature and severity of the problem, the age of the patient, whether or not there are any complications, and the patients over-all health.

It can be anywhere from a few weeks to several months to get sciatica (and it's causes) under control.

We understand you have a choice when you choose a health-care provider for your sciatica...and we certainly appreciate you choosing us.

To schedule an appointment with one of our Sciatica Doctors in San Francisco to discuss your sciatica symptoms...please call 415-392-2225.

Dr. Eben Davis

What is a slipped disk in the back?

San Francisco Spinal Decompression Doctor Comments:

The spinal disks (or discs) are protective shock absorbing pads in between the spinal vertebrae. Though the spinal disks do not actually slip out of place, they do have a gelatinous center (nucleus pulposus) that can rupture, bulge, or herniate through the outer fibrous containment walls of the disk (annulus fibrosus).

Disk herniation, ruptured disk, bulging disc, slipped disk, and prolapsed disk, are all terms used to describe an injured disk that is no longer able to function properly, and has lost the ability to contain the jelly-like substance in it's center where it belongs. This is usually confirmed by cervical or lumbar MRI.

This can happen all at once from an injury, such as a car accident, sports injury, or slip and fall...or over time as a result of degenerative disk disease from poor posture at home or work, chronic misalignments of the spine, hormonal imbalances, or hereditary factors.

When the disks rupture or herniate it can put pressure on the spinal nerve roots resulting in a "pinched nerve". Pinched nerves in the neck can cause pain down the arm. A pinched nerve in the low back from a bulging or herniated disk can cause sciatica or pain down the leg.

There are varying degrees of disk herniations (see herniated disk nomenclature). Depending on the severity of a ruptured or slipped disk, back surgery may be indicated. But this is rare. There are nonsurgical options for bulging and herniated spinal disks such as spinal disk decompression, physical therapy, and chiropractic.

Many herniated disks in the spine simply heal on their own. And some people live and die with disk herniations and never even knew they had them.

However...there is a sub-set of herniated disk patients that develop chronic back pain or chronic neck pain. Some become severely disabled. It just depends on the age of the patient, the degree of spinal degeneration, and the severity of the disk pathology, and how many spinal disks are involved.

Nonsurgical spinal decompression is the new gold standard as far as natural treatments for disk herniations goes. Disk decompression helps the disk to heal by helping to restore normal inter-vertebral disk position, enlarging the disk space, elongating the spine, and absorbing the herniated disk fragments back to the center of the injured disk by creating a "negative pressure".

Does nonsurgical spinal decompression make sense for you? You need to decide that for yourself. The first step is to locate a disc decompression doctor and find out if you qualify medically...not all herniated disk patient do.

The good news is...spinal decompression is safe and it's gentle. And if it doesn't help you can explore other treatment options. If you have spinal fusion you are automatically disqualified from spinal decompression. It's something to think about.

If you live or work near downtown San Francisco and would like to find out if spinal decompression at Executive Express Chiropractic makes sense for you, call 415-392-2225 and ask for a complimentary consultation.

Directions to our San Francisco Spinal Decompression Center

Reviews of Spinal Decompression in SF

Low Back Pain and Spinal Fusions

San Francisco Chiropractor Comments:

You may think it’s odd to discuss low back pain (LBP) from the perspective of spinal fusion because as chiropractors, we do not perform surgery...so why discuss it?  We feel it's very important that we discuss research such as this so we can help our patients make informed treatment decisions.  Now, there are certainly times when a surgical procedure for back and leg pain is necessary and appropriate for some patients, but the problem is, there are also some patients who have been told they need spinal surgery,  when in fact, they may be better off NOT proceeding with surgery. So, the question is, what happens to those patients who elect not to have surgery vs. those who do choose to proceed with surgery?

            That question was addressed in a study where a total of 1450 patients injured at work were followed over a 2-year time frame. There were a total of 725 patients who proceeded with the fusion surgery and the other 750 elected NOT to have the surgery. A fusion surgery can be described as when two or more vertebra are fused together, usually because there are neurological problems such as shooting leg pain, weakness and/or numbness in one or both legs.  The conditions treated in this study included herniated disks, degeneration of the disk, and radiating leg pain. There were primarily 3 factors that were compared between the two groups, namely, 1) ability to return to work,  2) disability (the inability to work), and 3) opiate (narcotic) drug use. Other factors compared included the need for re-operations, complications, and death.

            The results showed, in general, those who proceeded with surgery had significantly more problems compared to those who did not have surgery.  For example, only 26% returned to work, compared to 67% returned to work.  The total number of days off work were 1140 vs. 316 days, respectively.  There were 17 vs. 11 deaths, respectively and, 27% of the surgical group required re-operations with a 36% complication rate. Also, there was a 41% increase in the use of narcotic medication with 76% continuing the use after surgery.

            Again, there are times when surgery is absolutely the right choice.  Those times include when there is a loss of bladder or bowel control, progressively worsening neurological symptoms in spite of non-surgical care, and of course, unstable fractures, cancer/tumor and infections, but that’s about it! In other words, if you don’t have one of the before mentioned conditions which do require surgery, don’t be too quick to jump at the chance of “getting it fixed” with surgery. As the study suggests, the post-surgical results favor those who elected NOT to have surgery.  Also, when in doubt, don’t trust the opinion of only one surgeon – always get a 2nd or even 3rd opinion.  It is also very important to consider your current level of function or, your ability to do your desired tasks...and unless there is a significant loss in that ability, consider additional time with non-surgical treatment.  The non-surgical treatment you can expect to receive from chiropractic includes (but may not be limited to) spinal manipulation, spinal disc decompression, exercise training, physical therapy modalities (ice, heat, electrical stimulation, ultrasound, traction, etc.), deep tissue laser therapy, dietary counseling, and job modification information.

            We realize you have a choice in who you choose to provide your health-care services.  If you, a friend or family member requires care for low back pain or sciatica in San Francisco, especially if back surgery is being considered, we would sincerely appreciate the opportunity to discuss your options.

To schedule an appointment for a complimentary low back pain assessment, call Executive Express Chiropractic in San Francisco at 415-392-2225.

Reviews and directions to our SF Chiropractic Clinic

Source: Nguyen, Trang H. MD, PhD*; Randolph, David C. MD, MPH*; Talmage, James MD†; Succop, Paul PhD*; Travis, Russell MD‡ Long-term Outcomes of Lumbar Fusion Among Workers' Compensation Subjects: A Historical Cohort Study. Spine: 15 February 2011 - Volume 36 - Issue 4 - p 320-331.

 

Sciatica Pain Relief in San Francisco

San Francisco Spinal Decompression Doctor Comments:

Sciatica describes leg pain, numbness, or weakness in the legs, that is caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve in the low back or buttocks. The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body. In some people the sciatic nerve is the diameter of a quarter at it's largest point.

Sciatica is usually caused by a pinched nerve in the lumbar spine from a herniated disc or a bulging disc. Degenerative disc disease and Facet syndrome can also cause sciatica...as can Piriformis syndrome. There is a muscle in the buttocks called the Piriformis muscle that the sciatic nerve passes through on it's journey down the leg to the feet.

Some people that sit a lot like truck drivers or office workers are prone to Piriformis muscle irritation, especially if they have a wallet in their back pocket which can cause postural imbalances and piriformis muscle spasms.

Spinal stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spinal canal or nerve root channels (secondary to disc degeneration or bulging or herniated disc pathology) can also cause sciatica symptoms.

Sciatica is usually an indication that your back condition is advancing and getting worse.

So what's the best treatment for sciatica pain?

Well, it depends who you talk to. Many orthopedic surgeons will want to either to cortisone injections to get the inflammation down...then physical therapy. Or, if the disc herniation in the low back is severe and the spine is unstable and has a lot of degeneration, they will want to perform back surgery.

A chiropractor will probably want to try a short course of spinal adjustments, massage, and exercise rehabilitation.

A spinal decompression doctor may want to do a combination of any of the above, or simply try spinal decompression as a stand alone treatment for your herniated disc, stenosis, bulging disc, or facet syndrome.

At our spinal decompression clinic in San Francisco, we incorporate spinal disc decompression with the DRX9000, deep tissue laser therapy, massage, Graston method, and spinal core rehabilitation to achieve favorable outcomes for sciatica related neurovascular compression syndromes.

We work with Medical doctors, Physical Therapist, Physical Medicine doctors, and acupuncturists as needed.

Degenerative Disc Disease in the lumbar spine is a process that usually unfolds over many years...ultimately leading to bulging discs, herniated discs, and sciatica.

Spinal decompression machines are designed and built to treat the causes of sciatica and not just the symptoms like pain medications and cortisone injections.

Can you do spinal decompression at home or hang on an inversion table for sciatica?

I would not do it...you could make your back problem worse.

Hey...don't get me wrong...inversion tables and home decompression systems work fine for some people and feel pretty good for low back stiffness...but don't take the chance with sciatica.

So anyway, if you have sciatica and you want to find out if spinal decompression treatment makes sense for you, I would find a chiropractor, physical medicine doctor, or orthopedist, that incorporates nonsurgical spinal decompression into their treatment programs for chronic low back pain.

To find out if you are a candidate for spinal decompression in San Francisco, call 415-392-2225 and ask for a complimentary consultation.

Spinal decompression reviews

Directions to our SF Chiropractic and Spinal Decompression Center