Sciatica Carrollton, TX

What Does Sciatica Feel Like?

Most patients describe sciatica as a shooting pain that starts in the lower back and travels into the glutes. From there it runs down the upper leg toward the knee, continues into the lower leg, and can end in the toes. Some people feel it at the big toe, while others feel it on the outside of the foot near the pinky toe.

Patients often use the words sharp and shooting, and many also feel numbness and tingling along that same path. It can affect one leg or both legs. When a patient describes back pain that travels down the leg like this, Dr. Nguyen starts looking for a nerve being pinched near the spine rather than a problem in the leg itself.

What Causes Sciatica?

At Dallas Spine Center, the most common cause is a compressed disc. The discs between your vertebrae work as cushions. When one is compressed, it can bulge or herniate outward and pinch the nerve as it exits the spine. With sciatica, that almost always happens in the lower back at the L4, L5, or L5-S1 level.

A bulging disc and a herniated disc are not the same thing, and the difference matters for your plan. These are the disc and nerve problems Dr. Nguyen most often finds behind sciatica when patients come in with shooting leg pain:

• A herniated disc pressing on a nerve
• A bulging disc from gradual wear
• Degenerative disc disease thinning the disc
• A pinched nerve at L4, L5, or S1
• A protruding disc after a fall
• Disc injuries from a car crash

A bulging disc is usually a slow, age-related change where the disc pushes outward without breaking through its tough outer layer, called the annulus fibrosus. A herniated disc breaks through that layer. Protruding discs are more often tied to a sudden event like a slip and fall or a car accident, and all of them can pinch the same nerve.

How Sciatica Is Evaluated at Our Carrollton Office

Dr. Nguyen does not guess at sciatica. Before he recommends any treatment, he wants to see what is happening at the disc and confirm that you are a good fit for care here. This is how the first visit works, from the paperwork you finish at home to the plan you leave with:

• 1You enter your personal information online before you arrive, so the visit starts with a conversation instead of a clipboard.
• 2The team takes your vital signs and goes through your history: where the pain is, when it started, how long it has lasted, how bad it is, and what treatment or imaging you have already had.
• 3Dr. Nguyen performs an orthopedic evaluation to see how your spine and the irritated nerve respond to testing.
• 4If you don’t have recent imaging, digital x-rays are taken in-house to judge how compressed the disc is and how much it is pressing on the nerve.
• 5If the problem is a disc, decompression treatment can be offered that same day.

By the end of that visit, you will know what he found, whether you are a candidate for decompression, and what your plan looks like. If the exam shows something outside what this office should treat, Dr. Nguyen will tell you that directly and point you toward the right kind of care.

Why Dr. Nguyen Looks for a Non-Surgical Option First

The options Dr. Nguyen was offered for his own sciatica would have treated the symptoms or ended in surgery. He wanted something that addressed the cause, and that experience still shapes how he practices. He believes the body can heal itself when it is given the right nutrition, the right information, and the correct alignment.

That belief is why the office invested in technology built for disc problems: the DRX9000 spinal decompression system for compressed discs and shockwave therapy for the tissue around them. Patients say the technology is what they appreciate most about coming here, and it lets Dr. Nguyen match the tool to the problem.

How We Treat Sciatica

Every plan is built around what your exam and x-rays show. For sciatica caused by a bulging or herniated disc, treatment combines decompression with therapies that ease the pain while the disc recovers. Depending on your case, your plan may include the following:

• DRX9000 spinal decompression to gently pull the vertebrae apart, lower the pressure inside the disc, and help it retract off the nerve.
• Shockwave therapy applied where muscles attach to bone along the spine through tendons and ligaments.
• Hako-Med electrical therapy, a TENS unit, infrared, and a heat pad to relieve pain during your plan.
• Home exercises so your progress continues between visits.

You are fitted with a brace, and the DRX9000 table slowly lowers you onto your back with support under your neck and knees. The machine pulls based on your body weight, never more than half of it, and your first session starts at 60 percent of that maximum. Each session runs 28 to 30 minutes, and most patients get so comfortable they fall asleep.

Decompression works best for bulging or herniated discs that have not worn down to the point of bone on bone. Good candidates usually range from their mid-30s to their 80s. If your x-rays show advanced degeneration, Dr. Nguyen will tell you before you start and talk through other ways to manage the pain.

How Long Is a Sciatica Treatment Plan?

Dr. Nguyen follows the published research for the DRX9000 without cutting corners: the full 18 cycles for 28 to 30 minutes per session, over 20 to 28 treatments. Most plans run about two months. Your pain and activity are measured with outcome assessments at the start, halfway through, and at the end, so you both know whether it is working.

One worry patients bring up often is that once you see a chiropractor, you have to keep going forever. That is not how this office works. When your plan is done and you feel better, you can move to a maintenance schedule that tapers to every couple of months or once a year. Patients who continue do so because they like how they feel.

When Sciatica Needs More Than Chiropractic Care

Sciatica caused by a compressed disc is exactly what this office is set up to treat, but some symptoms point to a problem that needs a medical doctor or emergency room first. Dr. Nguyen screens for these during every consultation, and you should get checked right away if you notice any of them:

• New numbness, tingling, or weakness in your legs
• Difficulty walking, loss of balance, or coordination problems
• Loss of bowel or bladder control
• Severe or progressively worsening back pain
• Significant tenderness in the middle of the spine that could signal a fracture
• Severe abdominal, chest, or pelvic pain along with back pain

If he suspects a spinal cord problem, a significant neurological deficit, or a vascular injury, he refers you out immediately. The same is true when care is not producing the progress you both expected, which may mean an MRI, a second opinion, or a different kind of specialist.

Sciatica FAQs