How Healthcare Specialists Diagnose Sciatica

Call your spine specialist in case you feel you may have developed sciatica. (Should you not already have a healthcare professional who specializes on spine health, you can ask a primary healthcare provider for recommendations).

You may have sciatica in the event that you’re experiencing symptoms,such as shooting pain down one or the two of your legs, or in case you have been experiencing weakness or tingling in your legs.

Through your medical visit, your physician or back specialist will ask you questions and perform some basic exams to try and identify the reason for your sciatica and create a treatment strategy for you—a method to control your pain as well as other symptoms also to help you recover. There are several spinal ailments which may lead to sciatic pain. Your treatment plan will be depending on the cause of your pain, so it’s vital that you get a precise diagnosis.

What to Expect During Sciatica Evaluations

First, your back specialist will ask about your present symptoms and remedies you’ve got already attempted. He or she will even ask some typical questions, like:

• When did the sciatic nerve pain start?
• Where would you sense pain? Is it all the way down your leg? Is it in both? Does it halt at your knee?
• On a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst pain imaginable, rate your pain.
• Are you really experiencing tingling or weakness in your legs and/or feet?
• What actions did you recently do?
• Does walking downhill or uphill increase pain?
• What have you ever done with this sciatic nerve pain? Maybe you have attempted exercises or special drugs?
• Does anything reduce the pain or allow it to be worse?

Neurological and physical examinations will be also performed by your healthcare professional.

In the physical examination, your doctor will find your position, range of motion, and physical state, noticing any movement that causes you pain. Your physician feel for muscle spasm, note alignment and its curvature, and will feel your back.

During the neurological examination, your back specialist will test your reflexes, muscle strength, and other nerve changes.

You will need to have some imaging tests, to diagnose the cause of your sciatica. You could have an x ray or a computed tomography (CT or CAT) scan. When it’s possible you might have a herniated disc or spinal stenosis that is causing your sciatica, your physician may order a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation.

Together, all these various assessments and evaluations will give your doctor a more complete picture of your sciatic nerve pain. Using this information, he or she will most likely be able to make a diagnosis of the underlying cause of your sciatica.

The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 . 
By Dr. Alex Jimenez

Additional Topics: Whole Body Wellness

Following a balanced nutrition as well as engaging in regular physical activity and sleeping properly are all proper lifestyle habits which can help increase and maintain overall health and wellness. Many common complications associated with improper lifestyle habits, such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer, however, the risk of developing these can be prevented with a few lifestyle changes. In addition, visiting a chiropractor and receiving chiropractic care can help maintain and improve the overall health of the spine as well as its surrounding structures.

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