It burns, it tingles, and some days your foot goes numb. Sitting makes it worse. Driving makes it worse. You cannot get comfortable in any chair, and you certainly cannot sleep on that side.
One large nerve runs from your low back all the way down your leg, leaving the spine through a small opening. When that opening tightens, the nerve gets compressed. You feel it in the leg, but it started in the back. At Momentum Health Center in Arlington Heights we test what makes it better and what makes it worse, check the low back where that nerve exits, and use our DOC decompression table when the exam points that way. Dr. Matt Eschenbaum lists sciatica among his clinical focuses.
Common Causes of Sciatica
Sciatic pain is a symptom of compression somewhere along the nerve. Common sources include:
- Disc Bulge or Herniation: Disc material pressing on the nerve root is the most frequent cause we see.
- Foraminal Narrowing: The opening the nerve passes through can tighten with degenerative change.
- Piriformis Involvement: Tightness deep in the buttock can irritate the nerve below the spine.
- Lumbar Joint Restriction: When low back segments stop moving, load transfers to the level above or below.
- Prolonged Sitting: Sustained flexion increases pressure on the front of the disc and pushes it backward.
- Previous Injury: A lifting incident or a car accident can set up the pattern years before symptoms arrive.
Symptoms Related to Sciatica
Sciatica is distinctive, and usually presents as:
- Sharp or burning pain running from the low back into the buttock and down one leg
- Numbness or pins and needles in the calf, foot or toes
- Pain that worsens when sitting, driving or bending forward
- Weakness in the leg or difficulty pushing off the foot
- Relief on standing or walking, at least early on
Nerve symptoms that persist deserve a proper examination, and progressive weakness or numbness is a reason to be seen promptly rather than waiting it out.
Services We Provide for Sciatica Relief
Depending on your exam, care may include:
Stop Planning Your Day Around a Chair
Let us find out where that leg pain is actually coming from. Sciatica that keeps returning is usually a correction problem that has been quieted rather than addressed, and the difference shows up in how long relief lasts. If it is something we should not be treating, we will tell you and help you find the right person. Dr. Matt Eschenbaum lists sciatica among his clinical focuses, and the practice has the DOC decompression table on site if the exam points that way.
We are proud to serve Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, Palatine, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Wheeling and Buffalo Grove, from an office one block from the Arlington Heights Metra station.
Book your first visit at our Arlington Heights office.