Are you constantly experiencing lower back pain? Do you ever wonder why you need to take ibuprofen for lower back pain? Did you know that sitting on your wallet can cause back pain? If you are experiencing back pain radiating through your lower back, buttocks, and leg area, you might have a sciatica condition.
The sciatic nerve, composed of smaller nerves, extends from the lower back down to both legs, making it the single largest nerve in the body. This nerve is responsible for delivering messages and signals from the brain to the parts it connects to and vice-versa. The sciatic nerve is mainly the reason for the sensations felt and movement in the legs. Sciatica is a chronic or acute condition that results from a pinched or compressed sciatic nerve.
As we mentioned before, sitting on your wallet can cause sciatica pains in your lower back or even down on your legs. The scientific term for this compression is “wallet neuritis,” or nerve inflammation caused by sitting on your wallet. Some people refer to this condition as hip pocket syndrome.
When you sit on your wallet or any other bulky item in your back pocket, your spine becomes subjected to unnecessary strain and tension. This added tension can lead to the compression of the nerves and nerve roots, which can manifest as painful sensations. This practice, especially when done constantly and continuously, can lead to irreparable damage to the spine. Not even taking ibuprofen for lower back pain can minimize the pain brought by severe damage to the spinal column.
Depending on where the pinch or compression occurs in your sciatic nerve, the severity of sciatica symptoms may differ for each case. However, many patients suffering from this condition experience similar symptoms.
Here are some common symptoms that are observed on people who have sciatica:
The leading cause for sciatica is the compression of the sciatic nerve, which can result from the following:
Sciatica episodes can last for a long time. Because of this issue, sufferers often look for ways to get relief from this condition. However, there are cases when pain medications do not work as much as you want them to. As a result, people with sciatica pains check out alternative methods to reduce the painful sensations.
Here are two of these alternative methods that do not require taking medication, like ibuprofen for lower back pain:
Adopting an active lifestyle— You might think that resting can help get rid of sciatica pains. However, resting too much can hinder recovery and make your muscles feel more stiff, resulting in more painful sciatica episodes. If you have sciatica, you might want to exercise daily and always be on the move for faster recovery. Many people with sciatica report that stretching exercises, like yoga, significantly reduces the pains they experience.
Adopting a healthy lifestyle— When talking about a healthy lifestyle, people assume that this only includes regular exercises and a balanced diet. However, a healthy lifestyle encompasses every aspect of your daily routine, including your sleeping habits. Make sure that you sleep enough hours at night and that you sleep comfortably. Also, if you tend to smoke or drink alcohol regularly, cutting out on these habits can significantly improve your lower back pains and overall health.
Several reasons can be behind the development of sciatica, including a spinal misalignment. You might ask, “What does the neck have to do with the spine?” It may be bewildering for some, but the neck is still a part of the spine. The spine is divided into regions: cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral. The cervical region consists of the seven spinal bones located in the neck.
Given that the spine is one whole group of bones and other connected elements, it is safe to assume that an issue in one region of the spine can impact the normal functions of the other different areas. For example, if you look down on your smartphone, you add more tension to your neck. So, when you crane your head down, your neck will also adjust to support your head and the rest of your spine to support your neck. Hence, the irritation in the sciatic nerve in the lower part of the spinal column may originate from a different point in the spine.
Your neck bones are the most mobile areas in the spine, supporting and stabilizing the head and allowing the head to move from left to right and up and down freely. The first two bones in the neck—the atlas (C1) and the axis (C2) are the most vulnerable to misaligning.
Misalignments in these two bones, which make up the upper cervical spine, result from many reasons, including car accidents. Some of which are shared with sciatica pains, like smoking, drinking alcohol, and disc degeneration. Since misalignments are common in this area, they can lead to a domino effect on the spine, putting excess pressure on the lower back region. As a result, the affected person might experience sciatica pains.
Suppose you recall experiencing heavy trauma to your neck or head, even though it’s been years since, and you suddenly experience sciatica pains. In that case, it might be possible that the pain you are experiencing is from a neck misalignment. Most patients only focus on treatment where they can experience the symptoms. However, this method can only give temporary relief and comfort since the root of the problem still exists. So, if you think that the real reason for your sciatica pain lies in your upper cervical spine, the best path for you to take is with upper cervical chiropractic care.
Upper cervical chiropractic care is a natural method that can provide surprisingly long-lasting relief for sciatica pains. Upper cervical chiropractors focus on the correction of misalignments in the uppermost bones in the neck. Practitioners in this field use gentle and accurate repositioning techniques to realign the spine to its natural position, allowing the body to heal better from sciatica symptoms. Once the misalignment is corrected, there’s no need for you to take ibuprofen for lower back pain.
If you want to discover more about upper cervical chiropractic care and what it can offer you, contact a practitioner near you today.
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The content and materials provided in this web site are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to supplement or comprise a medical diagnosis or other professional opinion, or to be used in lieu of a consultation with a physician or competent health care professional for medical diagnosis and/or treatment. All content and materials including research papers, case studies and testimonials summarizing patients' responses to care are intended for educational purposes only and do not imply a guarantee of benefit. Individual results may vary, depending upon several factors including age of the patient, severity of the condition, severity of the spinal injury, and duration of time the condition has been present.
