Sciatica Treatment
To effectively treat sciatica- its root cause must first be determined. This is the diagnostic process. A full medical history will be taken including physical tests. The results of these tests may illuminate the source of your sciatica.
Other diagnostic tests may be performed or requested by the osteopath depending on what he or she finds in the physical examination. Such tests may include:
X-ray to look for fractures in your spine
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) or Computed Tomography (CT) scan. These machines give much more clarity of detail of your spine, not only of te bones but soft tissues as well. They’re great for confirming the presence of a slipped disc.
Nerve Conduction Studies can tell us how well your sciatic nerve is conducting impulses. If you’ve got a kink in the garden hose the water doesn’t travel through, right? Well same is true if you have an obstruction on your sciatic nerve. No impulses can travel, therefore you can potentially expect numbness, tingling, and weakness of the muscles and skin that the pinched nerve supplies.
A Myelogram involves the process of injecting dye between the vertebrae to determine if a vertebrae or disc is causing the pain. Not used mush due to the favor of MRI and CT.
You may or may not be requested to have these tests- and you can still have sciatica treatment without them. Such tests are of no therapeutic value, only diagnostic. Read More