Sciatica

http://www.spineworks.eu/
Sciatica is another of those syndromes whose name tells us little. It refers to the sciatic nerve which runs from the lower spine, deep through the pelvis and down the centre of the leg all the way to the toes. But there is also another nerve, the femoral nerve, that comes from the lower spine and passes though the pelvis, but more laterally and then down the outer side of the thigh, stopping at the knee. So, depending upon where you feel your pain it could be either of these nerves that is implicated - or neither.
So, what is causing your sciatic pain? Well, once again it could be anything from a whole list which makes it difficult to diagnose and treat - in fact only rarely will a diagnosis give you a CAUSE, all it gives is a LABEL. If your system of treatment relies on the diagnosis of symptoms and you do not know the cause then how do you treat? If you want to understand your pain a bit then get hold of a few pictures of the nervous system and just look at the many branches and links in the sciatic and femoral nerves.
From a Spineworks viewpoint, most of our problems are caused, supported by or maintained by tight muscle. Even where there has been an obvious trauma, it is the muscle reactions that will hold the traumatised and damaged area in its stable position. Your body is very good at what I call compensations - something goes wrong so your body finds a way to keep you going even if it means constant pain. I guess this is part of our survival instinct where life is the ultimate goal. We have just 'civilised' it a bit.
Let's return to the sciatic nerve; if it is sending a pain signal to your brain then something is damaging or irritating it. This could be bone or tight muscle. So if there is tight muscle in your low back (go on, have a quick feel) it is pulling the vertebra together squashing the disks and could be trapping the nerve. Through the deep pelvis there is much muscle and tightness here can squeeze, squash or irritate the nerve as it passes through, possibly by trapping it against the pelvic bones or hip joint - stand up and have another feel. There can also be tight muscle down your leg though we generally think this is less likely to be the cause of 'sciatica' per se but can be the cause of local pain in the same nerve.
So, once again, the Spineworks approach begins by releasing the tight muscle. In most cases I will start with the lower back and spine to ease the pressure on the disks but in the first session I will also want to start work on the pelvis and gluteal tissue. Once we start to release tight muscle there will be a knock-on effect as other tissue finds itself under less pressure so in a first session I often like to release over a wide area. At the next session I can see what has changed and how the client feels as a result. In this video I have only given a brief look at the techniques I would use with the client face down and how I would go about these initial muscle releases.
I would proceed to work on the sacro-iliac (SI) joint, the L5/S1 joint as it will almost certainly need more work and releasing the abdominal muscles and iliopsoas. I would use some muscle energy techniques to assist in these releases and to move (gently) the SI joint.
There are also exercises that will greatly help.
I am developing a video course where you can learn the techniques discussed here whether you want them in the home or as a professional therapist. Look at my website for more details and contact me to register your interest.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Sciatica
• pain
• massage
• muscle
• back pain
• sciatica
• strains
• sprains
• tight muscle
• health
• therapy

[SpineworksBodywork]

Thank you for your comment, Arty5600. It is good to be able to share good thoughts around the world. I hope you enjoy some of the others - doing this has been a new experience for me and I am planning a full video and skype based course. Do keep an eye on my website if you are interested as these are necessarily only previews.

[amdnovello]

Wow this was fantastic!

[arty5600]

I'm a Massage Therapist in training, and i find your work very insightful. Thank you for your time all the way from Northern California.