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Question:
"I have sciatica (with pain running down the back of my right leg). Why did my doctor suggest that I go to see a chiropractor for this problem?"
Dr Joe's answer:
First of all I have great respect for your orthopedist for properly refering you to a chiropractor for help. She probably understands that we chiros are dedicated to helping patients get relief and to improve their lives through natural means of therapies and manipulative expertise while avoiding drugs, injections, or surgery as much as possible. She has probably determined through consultation and examination of your condition that your leg pain is the result of a nerve which is being irritated in your lower back, sending painful impulses along its pathway through your butt and down your right leg. The thing that is irritating the nerve is most likely a disk that is bulging or herniated in your lower back. That diagnosis would be determined through consultation, orthopedic testing and ultimately with an MRI scan of your lower back. These are routinely the steps I would follow if I were her. What I would do to help you would be to explain what you're experiencing, what's causing it and what we can do to help. For example, I use very advanced therapies to relax muscle spasms and reduce inflammation in your lower back and counsel you on how to do these things at home. In my office I use a highly advanced table to stretch your body in such a was as to decompress your joints, create vacuum between the bones and joints of your lower back in an effort to draw moisture into the disc material for greater lubrication, making the cartilage pad (disk) more flexible and slippery and ultimately drawing the disk itself back into the joint space where it belongs, away from the nerve. I would also show and instruct you on ways you can exercise your discs back into place to relieve the pressure on the nerve when you're at home or at work. So, again, my compliments to your medical doctor. It is indeed a wonderful thing to be able to work together as a team, with a caring medical professional, for the ultimate benefit of the patient.
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Dr. Joe Nunnari of Germantown is dedicated to helping you achieve your wellness objectives.
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