Sciatica & disc pain
We confirm the source with an exam first, then dose traction and loading to it.
Sciatica is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Pain down the back of the leg can come from a disc pressing a nerve root, from the joints at the back of the spine, or from tissue in the buttock, and the three want different work. The exam is what tells them apart, and it happens before anything is dosed.
c-06 / in your words
Where does yours travel?
- 01Pain that travels past the knee rather than stopping in the buttock
- 02Pins and needles or numbness in a strip down the leg or into the foot
- 03Sitting and driving are the worst positions, standing is a relief
- 04Coughing or sneezing sends a jolt down the leg
c-06 / how it is worked
The nerve pain protocol
phase 01 / find the direction
Test which way the leg pain retreats
Neurological screening by level, straight leg raise and slump testing, then directional preference testing. Some presentations centralise with extension and some with flexion, and the two want opposite work. This is what decides whether traction is even the right tool for you.
phase 02 / dose it
Traction and positioning, priced per session and reviewed
Where decompression is indicated it is dosed to the finding and reviewed at session six against your own leg symptoms. If nothing has moved by then, more of the same is not the answer. We change the plan or refer, and we say which.
phase 03 / load the spine
Get the back tolerant of sitting and lifting again
Graded loading in the direction you tolerate, then out from there. Sitting and driving are usually the last things to come back, so they are trained deliberately rather than waited on.
what we test first
Neurological screening, straight leg raise and slump testing, reflexes and strength by level, plus the directional preference testing that decides whether traction is even the right tool for you.
how many visits
Where decompression is indicated it is priced per session and reviewed at session six. If nothing has moved by then, more of the same is not the answer and we change the plan or refer.
when this is not ours
Progressive weakness in the leg, foot drop, numbness in the saddle area, or any change in bladder or bowel control means stop and go to an emergency department. That is cauda equina until proven otherwise.