Sciatica Treatment
That shooting pain down your leg? It has a name, a cause, and a fix.
You Googled It at 2am. We Get It.
Sciatica is compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve — the longest nerve in the body, running from the lumbar spine through the buttock and down each leg to the foot. The most common cause is a herniated disc at L4-L5 or L5-S1, where displaced disc material presses directly on the nerve root, producing the burning, electric, or shooting pain that patients describe radiating down one leg.
Other causes include bone spurs narrowing the nerve canal, piriformis muscle spasm compressing the nerve in the gluteal region, and spinal stenosis reducing the available space in the lumbar spine. The American Chiropractic Association reports that approximately 90% of sciatica cases resolve with conservative care — without surgery — when the structural source is properly identified and treated.
At our Jacksonville and Orange Park offices, treatment combines spinal decompression to relieve disc pressure on the nerve, chiropractic adjustments to restore lumbar and pelvic alignment, and targeted soft tissue work to address the muscle imbalances that sustain the compression.
Does This Sound Like You?
Sciatica has a pretty distinct pattern. If you're nodding along to more than one of these, your sciatic nerve is likely involved.
Lightning Down Your Leg
That searing, electric pain that shoots from your low back through your hip and all the way down one leg. Sometimes to your toes.
Numb or Tingling Leg
Pins and needles in your calf or foot. Or that weird dead feeling where your leg just doesn't respond like it should.
Weak Leg
Your leg gives out on you. Stairs feel unsafe. You don't trust it to hold you up the way it used to.
Can't Sit Through Anything
Meetings, car rides, dinner with friends -- sitting makes it worse. You're constantly shifting, trying to find a position that doesn't hurt.
Getting Up Is the Worst Part
That moment going from sitting to standing. You brace yourself every time because you know what's coming.
It's Only One Side
Left leg or right leg -- almost never both. That one-sided pattern is the calling card of sciatic nerve irritation.
Why Your Leg Hurts When the Problem Is Your Back
Sciatica is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Something is compressing or irritating that nerve -- and figuring out what that something is changes everything about how we treat it.
- Herniated disc -- the #1 cause by a wide margin
- Bone spurs narrowing the nerve exit
- Spinal stenosis in the lumbar spine
- Piriformis syndrome (a tight muscle in your glute compressing the nerve)
- Degenerative disc disease
- Spondylolisthesis (a vertebra that's slipped forward)
How We Fix Sciatica in Jacksonville
We go after every layer -- the compressed nerve, the structural issue causing the compression, and the muscle imbalances that let it happen in the first place. No guesswork. No cookie-cutter plan.
Spinal Decompression
This is the big one for sciatica. Gentle traction opens up space between the vertebrae, creates negative pressure in the disc, and encourages herniated material to pull back off the nerve. It's the closest thing to an "undo button" for disc-related sciatica.
Chiropractic Adjustments
Realigning the lumbar spine and pelvis takes direct pressure off the sciatic nerve. Most patients feel a noticeable change after the first few visits -- less shooting, more mobility.
Rehab Exercises
Core and low back strengthening that stabilizes everything long-term. We're not just chasing the pain -- we're making sure your spine can handle your life without flaring up again.
Dry Needling
When the piriformis and glute muscles are part of the problem, dry needling releases those deep trigger points that stretching alone can't reach. Patients who've had sciatica for months often feel immediate relief.
How Long Until You Feel Better?
Most patients notice real improvement within 4 to 6 weeks. Some feel a difference after the first session. We track your progress at every visit -- you'll always know exactly where you stand and what's next.
Related Conditions
Done Dealing With Sciatica?
Get a clear answer on what's causing it -- and a real plan to fix it. No surgery required.