Sciatica ... the forgotten cause

Sciatica can be caused by numerous factors. Most of you are aware of the Piriformis muscle that has the sciatic nerve running through or next to it. If this muscle tightens, sciatica occurs. There are also the disc irritations and joints in the lower back that can all help sciatica to occur. However…n

The most common joint to cause sciatica is seldom listed. The joint that allows sciatica to become chronic because it is rarely corrected.n

The joint you use in almost every activity, whether you bend, lift, twist or even turn over in bed. This joint has no disc and hence can become inflamed and cause back pain and sciatica easily. n

In most sciatica cases you are told to stretch to ease muscle tension. You are told that it is a disc and you may need surgery or at least a long rehabilitation. Yet more than 87% of all sciatica cases have this joint involved. The joint is…n

Your Sacro-Iliac Joint.n

The joint that attaches your sacrum (the wedge shaped bone at the base of your spine) to your pelvis. This joint is one of the main gravitational joints, meaning – all the weight of your body goes through these joints.n

It is a joint that is seldom checked and often forgotten about by most practitioners, and rarely treated. Most at home exercises fail to target this joint in sciatica conditions. However if this joint is not corrected effectively, sciatica will commonly become chronic.n

The Sacro-Iliac joint is not a normal joint; the sacrum itself is affected by your occiput (the back of your skull). Both of these joints move in tandem when you breathe. If this mechanism tightens then your entire spine will stiffen and especially the Sacro-iliac joints. Your meninges (the sheath covering your spinal cord) attaches into the base of your skull, has a minor attachment in the spine between your shoulder blades, and then again at the base of the spine at the sacrum/coccyx.n

If this Sacro-Occipital mechanism tightens, so do the meninges. This can lead to aches and pains throughout the spine. The tightness is greatest in the lower back and leads to sciatica.n

nThe main problem is these joints become habitually tight – as you cannot rest them as they are used almost constantly. To change these joints you need to target them at home each day and train them to work better. Treatment by a practitioner will help, but the breaking of habits requires daily, at home, techniques to train these joints to function correctly.n

Something that is seldom taught by structural practitioners. Why? Your sciatica would disappear and not return. Leaving your therapist without a patient to treat for the next few years or longer. The big problem is most practitioners will not even assess this joint as being a problem in sciatica.n

For you to beat sciatica and remain pain free you need to address this joint. You need to relax the tight muscles around your lower back and pelvis, improve the nerve and blood supply to the weaker muscles, improve joint function in your lower back and balance the pelvis. n

However in sciatica the key is to make sure your Sacro-Iliac joints are moving correctly. Fail to do this and your sciatica may very well become chronic. Something you can avoid easily by learning simple ways to get this joint moving now!