Antonio Vivaldi , osteopath and chiropractor, treats sciatica and low back pain in depth.
What is meant by sciatica and low back sciatica?
General considerations, holistic view, remedies and prevention
Pain that radiates back down the leg and affects the gluteal area, thigh and leg in their entirety or in specific areas, is defined as Sciatica (or sciatica). Usually this pain starts from the lumbar area and is more properly a symptom rather than a disease, often causing weakness and / or numbness of the affected limb.
In this article we will evaluate the various mechanical and physiological causes but also those that are defined as ideopathic (whose origin is unknown).
Sciatic nerve
The sciatic nerve is the largest and is one of the longest nerves in our body. It comes out of the spinal cord at the level of the last two lumbar and sacral vertebrae and has motor and sensory functions .
Sciatica or sciatica is pain in the lower extremities caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve . It is typically felt in the lower back (lower back), behind the thigh, and can radiate below the knee to the foot. You may feel a burning sensation, numbness, weakness, or general pain.
Causes of Sciatica
Sciatica pain is caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve: this is often due to the formation of a herniated disc , or when the fibrous ring of the intervetrebral disc (the disc present between one vertebra and the other that acts as a shock absorber and joint of vertebral movement) breaks creating a fissure . If unfortunately the hernia touches the nerve and comes into direct contact, it irritates it and stimulates the onset of inflammation . It can also be caused by trauma, infections, arthritis and genetic diseases.
The most common symptoms with which sciatica presents are:
- pain that starts from the back and runs to the back of the leg passing through the buttock,
- feeling of numbness , tingling radiating down the leg, often reaching the foot, weakness of the calf muscles or the muscles that move the foot and ankle.
It is important to always keep the Holistic view in mind. Sciatica , although painful and in some cases very demanding and worthy of specialist medical evaluation, is still a symptom that most of the time comes from causes completely different from those identified through the processing of the symptom itself.
Causes of hernias
What are the possible real causes that lead to a possible presence of discopathies or hernias from different points of view:
- From silent to chronic inflammation
Due to our lifestyle we are induced to have a state of silent inflammation , which can lead to a chronic condition of altered cell functions.
This condition first of all arises from the intestine : if it is not able to assimilate the correct nutritional substances , the general cellular system goes into suffering, and we find ourselves in a dysfunctional state , creating inflammation.
- Acid / Base balance and organic interactions
An excess of acidity can lead to a subtraction of minerals from the bones to buffer the pH and bring it to a balanced situation. The primary causes are an unbalanced diet and intense stress.
It also has an inflammatory origin , the cause of which is a mix of intestinal imbalance (with dysbiosis and increased permeability ) , combined with intense acidity and oxidation with high production of free radicals and cellular aging.
In addition to inflammation and acidity , back pain also results from the suffering of other organs and systems, such as the kidneys , digestive system and breathing. Other areas of the back are connected to the diaphragm and lungs and others to the intestine, liver, pancreas and stomach; therefore we can help ourselves by improving the functionality of these organs.
The postural aspect, but the causes are precisely the positions?
Back pain can be due to incorrect posture : this is governed by involuntary muscles under input from the autonomic nervous system, which receives information from postural receptors responsible for maintaining posture and walking. A careful postural evaluation and an addressing to the rebalancing focus of the postural system or receptor undoubtedly leads to a systemic decrease in the incorrect distribution of forces that fall on the muscles and intervertebral discs.
Mental elasticity = vertebral elasticity
Our back hurts and the spine becomes stiff when our mind becomes stiff . The emotional loads , if not properly elaborated, can induce the column to find positions of release to allow us to continue to "function". Our body-mind system has an exceptional mode of adaptation.
How nature comes to our aid
The way to limit joint pain and reduce the risk of back pain and fiscal degeneration is to rebalance eating habits by eliminating the causes of acidity and replenishing lost minerals , working on correct posture and being able to find strategies to decrease stressed emotional loads.
Integrating minerals does not mean it is not synonymous with calcium intake, but it means rebalancing the mechanism of absorption and distribution of minerals, especially in the intestine, improving their absorption.
How?
By eliminating the consumption of foods such as
- gluten
- milk
- sugar
- alcoholic
- coffee
Omega 3 fatty acids with anti- inflammatory properties and Vitamin D which improves calcium absorption are essential.
Useful molecules are those containing Sulfur (Glucosamine, MSM and Condoitina), Magnesium and Copper.
In the vegetable world we find Boswellia , Devil's Claw , Blackcurrant , Fig and Maple bud extractives, and Perilla oil . Furthermore, a good practice of intestinal purification (with herbs such as Artemisia, Green Walnut husk, Cloves, Burdock ...) can support the functionality of the back, being the intestine in direct contact with it.
Ph. Antonio Vivaldi