Where Sciatica Can Stem From
Hi, my name’s Dr. David LeClerc. I’m a chiropractor at Corrective Care Chiropractic right here in Westford, Massachusetts. And I’m gonna be talking about how we get to the root cause of your sciatic pain, okay?
Now, sciatica can stem from three main areas. It could be from your lumbar spine, mainly the third, fourth, and fifth lumbar vertebrae, or from the discs in between those bones. Secondarily, it can be from the sacrum. The sacrum is the foundation of the spine, that triangular bone at the base that we sit on. And lastly, it could be from your sacroiliac joints. It could be from the right or left sacroiliac joint.
How We Find the Problem
So how do we find out if it’s your lumbar spine, your sacroiliac joint, or your sacrum that could be causing your sciatic pain?
As Gonstead chiropractors, first, we’re gonna use instrumentation. When we use an instrument, it’s gonna help us detect exactly where that inflammation is coming from. The needle will actually make a reflection, and we’ll mark the area where that problem is.
Once we find out where that problem could be, we’re gonna use static palpation. Static palpation can show us edema, like swelling, that tells us there’s a problem there.
And secondarily to static palpation, we’re gonna do motion palpation. We’re gonna motion out either the sacroiliac, the lumbar, or the sacrum joint to see if it’s working properly. If it’s not, it’s probably the one that’s causing our problem, okay?
And lastly, we’re gonna use full digital X-rays to actually make sure that is the problem. They tell us how to make a good correction to the pelvis, lumbar spine, or sacrum.
