In our experience, patients can live with sciatica nerve pain for a long time. The good news is that you don’t have to, not anymore! Are you ready to get back to doing the things you love? Get back to gardening, running, cycling, traveling, or simply having nice outings with your family. Intouch Chiropractic provides the gold standard of San Diego, CA sciatica treatment and lower back pain relief with non-invasive, non-surgical, and highly effective sciatica treatment options.
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Treating Sciatica
Resolve Sciatica Pain—Fast
How Ryan B. Was Able to Overcome His Sciatica & Low Back Pain
Get Effective Treatment for Sciatica Pain in San Diego
The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in your body. Your sciatic nerve begins in your lower back and branches off into your hip, buttock, leg, foot, and toes on both the right and left sides of your body. Pressure on the sciatic nerve due to a herniated disc, bulging disc, bone spur, or spinal stenosis causes radiating pain. The pain typically occurs only on one side of your body and is often worsened by sitting, standing, walking, and bending your back forward or backward – and that affects the most basic everyday activities.
Sciatica symptoms can be affected by coughing, sneezing, laughing, or straining. Usually, a herniated or bulging disc in your low back is to blame for your sciatica symptoms. In addition to pain, patients report other symptoms like tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness in the affected leg or foot. It is not uncommon for a patient to have pain in one area and numbness in another area of the path of the sciatic nerve. If you relate to these symptoms, you are in the right place to find sciatica pain relief.
NUCCA CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT:
Treat the Source of Sciatica Pain Now
NUCCA Chiropractic care is the most effective and safest form of sciatica treatment and severe lower back pain relief. When patients have a sciatica episode, they report feeling a sharp, shooting pain in their lower back, as well as a dull ache that feels numb or tingly in their leg, foot, or toes. Patients also describe this nerve pain as “pins and needles.” In extreme cases, patients lose bowel and/or bladder control.
When we first meet patients at Intouch Chiropractic, they are often taking over-the-counter or prescription painkillers and muscle relaxants. This is not a long-term solution, as medications don’t cure a biomechanical problem. Additionally, patients share that they have used ice, heat, massage, chiropractic, acupuncture, physical therapy, and even Epsom salt baths to help relieve their symptoms. Unfortunately, they still have their symptoms. Their quality of life continues to suffer from this painful condition, and a lot of time and energy is spent on managing their pain and symptoms.
Our doctors have advanced training and provide San Diego sciatica pain relief. Patients also benefit from successful long-term outcomes. NUCCA Chiropractic care treats the cause of sciatica pain to bring you fast and lasting relief.
NON-SURGICAL SPINAL DECOMPRESSION:
A Lasting Solution for Sciatica Pain in San Diego
Sciatica and lower back pain patients benefit from DRX9000 non-surgical spinal decompression treatment, as it helps stabilize your spine while treating your spinal discs. This treatment slowly relaxes and stretches your lower back by cycling through distraction and relaxation phases.
At Intouch Chiropractic in San Diego, our state-of-the-art computerized system is constantly checking and detecting muscle spasms in your body during a treatment. During your session, downward forces of gravity are removed, creating a vacuum effect at the disc level. This vacuum effect promotes the diffusion of oxygen, water, and nutrient-rich fluids from the outside to flow back into your discs. We frequently provide patients with long-term non-surgical relief from sciatica pain with customized combinations of treatments.
The Causes of Sciatica
The causes of sciatica vary greatly, and each patient experiences symptoms differently. Some patients feel pain in their buttocks, hamstring area, calf, foot, or all the way down to their toes. The most common causes of sciatica include:
- Herniated Disc – When disc material is no longer intact, it causes physical and chemical irritation to nearby structures.
- Bulging Disc – Disc material is still intact, but the disc is bulging and irritating nearby structures.
- Degenerative Disc Disease – This condition refers to the failure of disc material. It worsens over time and is designated by different phases.
- Bone Spurs – Extra bone is deposited naturally by your body in an attempt to stabilize your spine, causing painful spurs.
- Lumbar Spinal Stenosis – This condition causes painful spinal canal narrowing in your low back.
- Spondylolisthesis – This refers to when a vertebra slips forward over an adjacent vertebra causing pain and discomfort.
- Pregnancy – Your center of gravity shifts day-to-day during the different stages of pregnancy, which can lead to sciatica pain.
- Muscle Spasms – The muscles of your back or buttocks can spasm painfully due to stress.
No matter the cause of your sciatica in San Diego, our doctors will evaluate your symptoms and recommend a customized treatment solution to help you get rapid and lasting relief from sciatica pain.
What to Expect During
Your San Diego Sciatica Treatment Consultation
The information you provide during your consultation helps our doctors figure out if you are a candidate for care in our clinic. If you begin treatment with Intouch Chiropractic, you can expect to rapidly observe improved mobility, decreased pain, decreased tingling and numbness in your leg, increased muscle strength, and a better quality of life. Our goal is to provide a long-term solution to your sciatica instead of just treating your symptoms. Our doctors want to empower you to take action to help you prevent future spinal decay.
Please bring radiographs and MRI images, as well as reports from other providers, to your consultation for our doctors to review. This is important, as it helps us put together all the pieces of your health puzzle. We have helped hundreds of patients that have tried and failed other treatments such as pain medications, muscle relaxants, physical therapy, massage, and cortisone injections.
Thank you so much Dr. Tapia and Dr. Young. I had sciatica issues for 19 years. After 3 months of treatments the pain went away. This was 7 years ago. The pain never came back. Now I go to maintain my alignment.
-Chris B.
Get Help for Sciatica Pain Today
Intouch Chiropractic treats many lower back pain and sciatica patients successfully with our advanced DRX9000 spinal decompression technology and NUCCA Spinal Care as a dual approach. If you need sciatica treatment in San Diego, call our office or request an appointment here.
Learn if you are dealing with sciatica or piriformis syndrome at our blog.
Common Questions
Sciatica FAQs
Have More Questions? Visit Our Full FAQ Page.
What Causes Sciatica?
Sciatica happens when something compresses or irritates the sciatic nerve as it exits the lower spine. The most common cause is a herniated or bulging disc pressing on a nerve root. Other causes include spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, and piriformis muscle tightness. Because the cause varies by person, an accurate diagnosis is the first step toward effective treatment.
What Does Sciatica Pain Feel Like?
Sciatica isn't just back pain — it's nerve pain that follows the sciatic nerve from your lower back into the hip, buttock, and down the leg. It can feel sharp, shooting, burning, or like tingling and numbness, usually on one side, and often worsens with sitting, bending, or coughing. Red flag symptoms — progressive leg weakness, foot drop, or loss of bowel or bladder control — require urgent evaluation.
Why Is Sciatica Worse When Sitting?
Sitting increases pressure and tension on the sciatic nerve. Slouched sitting pushes discs backward into the nerve, bent hips and knees stretch and irritate the nerve, poor posture narrows the space around it, and pressure on the piriformis muscle in the glute can further aggravate it.
What Is the Fastest Way to Relieve Sciatica Pain?
Fast relief comes from reducing nerve irritation, not just masking pain. Try changing position, short frequent walks, and avoiding prolonged sitting. Spinal decompression reduces pressure on the disc and nerve root and often brings the fastest change in leg pain. Chiropractic adjustments, laser therapy, and shockwave therapy can further reduce pain and inflammation. Most patients feel some relief within days, with typical cases resolving in 4-12 weeks.
Is Walking Good for Sciatica?
In most cases, yes. Walking is low-impact and helps ease nerve tension, improve circulation, and keep the area moving, which can reduce pain over time. Start slowly and let your pain guide you — avoid pushing through sharp or worsening pain. Seek care right away if you develop numbness, weakness, or loss of bladder or bowel control.
Can a Chiropractor Help Sciatica?
Yes — chiropractic care is commonly used to reduce nerve irritation and address the root cause of sciatica. Spinal adjustments restore joint motion and reduce pressure on nerve roots, spinal decompression creates space for bulging or herniated discs, and laser therapy helps reduce inflammation. Some relief is typically felt within a few visits, with significant improvement in 1-4 weeks for typical cases.
How Many Chiropractic Sessions Do I Need for Sciatica?
There's no single answer — it depends on the underlying cause, how long you've had symptoms, and how your body responds. Some patients feel initial relief within a few visits, with improvement over 1 to 4 weeks for typical cases; more involved cases may take longer. We start with a proper evaluation to build a treatment plan around your actual cause.
Does Sciatica Go Away On Its Own?
Sometimes, but not always. Mild cases with no significant disc involvement may resolve on their own. It usually doesn't resolve without treatment when a disc bulge or herniation is compressing the nerve, pain travels below the knee, or numbness, tingling, or weakness are present. Seek care for persistent or worsening pain, or symptoms not improving within a few weeks.
Can Sciatica Cause Permanent Nerve Damage?
In most cases, no — sciatica improves with time and appropriate care without lasting damage. However, if significant nerve compression is left untreated, it can potentially lead to permanent numbness, weakness, or pain — more likely when red flag symptoms like progressive weakness, foot drop, or loss of bowel or bladder control are ignored. For most patients without those warning signs, sciatica is very treatable.