 Back pain is bad enough, but what if your pain also goes down your leg? Is your leg the problem or can it be coming from your back? Where do you go to get effective and lasting relief fast? At City Osteopaths our practitioners are experts in helping back and leg pain. We provide excellent treatment and work with you so you are back to full health quickly. What is sciatica? You’ve probably heard people saying they have sciatica – and if you’ve had back pain, you might have even wondered if you’ve got it yourself. Sciatica is a commonly used (and occasionally abused) term - but what does it actually mean?
· If one of your lumbar discs is bulging or herniated, it can press on and irritate part of the nerve as it exits the spinal cord. · As we get older, our spines often start to exhibit age-related changes, occasionally growing bone spurs, or just starting to narrow and compress the spinal cord, thus pinching and irritating nerves as they exit the spine. · The sciatic nerve passes very close to a muscle at the back of your pelvis, called the piriformis. When the muscle shortens or spasms, it can compress the sciatic nerve, causing symptoms down the leg.  Piriformis muscle shown in pink · During pregnancy, the weight of the foetus can press onto the sciatic nerve. While it’s not harmful to the baby, it can be very frustrating for expectant mothers! · And for the gentlemen, there’s “wallet sciatica”, caused by sitting down with an over-stuffed wallet in your back pocket, thus compressing the nerve as it passes around the back of the pelvis. There’s a simple solution for this one! However, there are a lot of other conditions which can cause very similar symptoms. As osteopaths, we are trained to be able to determine the most likely cause of your symptoms, whether it is something relatively simple, or a more complex condition that might require further specialist attention. At your appointment, we’ll make a diagnosis, then discuss treatment options with you. Treatment will usually involve the application of some gentle and very effective osteopathic techniques to calm the irritation in the area and relieve pressure on the nerve. We can advise you on what you should and shouldn’t be doing, and offer you some simple stretches and exercises to continue the healing process on your own time. We are able to send you for an x-ray if we think it will give us information helpful in the management of your symptoms, and we can refer you for further specialist attention if needed. At City Osteopaths, we are excellent at getting you out of pain quickly. We also regularly collaborate with our on-site acupuncturists and massage therapists to provide a well-rounded healing process. If you have any questions, call us on 04 4991439 to book an appointment or if you would like Lara to give you a call back.  Lara Sanders
M.Ost., B.App.Sc. (Human Biol.)MONZ Reg. Osteopath To read more about Lara and to meet our Osteopathic Team please click here My son developed eczema under his arm and on the left side of his torso about three weeks ago. We had not changed his diet, nor the cleaning agents for our clothes or household. Life was pretty relaxed as we were on school holidays. I suspect the causative factor was some molluscum contagiosum which had recently popped up in the same dermatomal/skin area.
It was typical atopic eczema, very itchy, with rough dry skin. No natural oils or other options from commercial eczema type creams to herbal tincture creams, worked, despite being applied nightly over several weeks. I was loathe to use steroids due to the skin damage it can cause over time. I also wanted to treat the cause if at all possible. Being a mum who is also a Reg. Osteopath, can come in handy at such times so I made time to assess him osteopathically before bed one evening last week. On examination I found his central nervous system was very irritated where the nerves from the eczema affected skin, return to the spinal cord. By calming down these nerves with gentle cranial osteopathic techniques, the itchiness eased about 80 percent overnight. It wasn't completely gone but he was no longer struggling with the discomfort. Over the past week it has slowly eased further and he is now left with just some small molluscums and no sign of eczema and no itchiness. I wanted to share this on here in case it can help another family who have a baby or child suffering from atopic eczema. As it had only been there a few weeks, I suspect it was more easily able to resolve rapidly over less than one week after only one treatment. When eczema has been there a much longer time it is likely to take longer to resolve. However if your osteopath is skilled in this area they will be able to feel what is going on in the central nervous system and be able to give you an idea of how much it should improve after each visit. Thanks for reading. If you would like further information please call our practice 04 4991439 and one of our osteopaths will ring you back when they are available. Melanie Young Reg. Osteopath Director City Osteopaths www.cityosteopaths.co.nz |
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