Sciatica can develop over time or come on suddenly. You might have sciatica if you experience pain that radiates down your leg and makes sitting and standing uncomfortable. Sciatica is often due to issues in your spine or tight muscles in your buttocks that compress the large sciatic nerve. You don’t have to endure this pain. Come see Dr. David Berkower at Berkower Pain and Spine Rehabilitation, located in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Dr. Berkower offers physical therapy and injections to relieve sciatica pain so you can return to normal function quickly. Call the office to schedule or use the online booking agent.
request an appointmentWhat is sciatica?
Sciatica is a symptom of compression of your sciatic nerve. A disc herniation, tight piriformis muscle, spinal stenosis, and spondylolisthesis are all possible reasons you’re suffering from sciatica.
Dr. Berkower evaluates your particular symptoms and does a clinical exam in combination with imaging—including MRIs and X-rays—to get an accurate diagnosis on what is causing your sciatica, so that he can treat it in the most effective ways possible.
What are the symptoms of sciatica?
Sciatica pain can range from dull and aching to extremely painful, shooting sensations. It usually originates in your buttocks and radiates down your leg, sometimes all the way to the foot and toes. Your pain may intensify when you sit or cough and might also become excruciating when you first stand up. Walking aggravates sciatic pain, too. You may even experience numbness or pins and needles in your leg. Your lower back may ache, but not as bad as your leg.
Sciatica usually affects just one side. Where you feel the symptoms, and their severity can give Dr. Berkower a clue as to the cause.
How is sciatica treated?
Once Dr. Berkower has an idea as to what’s causing a pinch or compression of your sciatic nerve, he offers treatment. Physical therapy exercises that strengthen your spine and lower body help to alleviate the pain from sciatica. You’ll learn stretches that you can perform at home to alleviate pain and loosen a tight piriformis. His ultimate goal is to decrease your pain and increase your mobility.
Dr. Berkower also provides epidural steroid injections that reduce inflammation in the painful area around the sciatic nerve. These injections reduce acute pain but don’t get at the root of the cause of your sciatica. They can give you the relief necessary to start performing exercises that will help in the long-term, however. Dr. Berkower can also provide an intramuscular injection of either steroid or Botox® to treat buttocks pain and sciatic nerve impingement.
What is the prognosis for sciatica?
Dr. Berkower can help reduce your acute pain, so you feel better almost immediately. He also offers long-term solutions that prevent sciatic pain from becoming chronic or repeating in the future.