Sciatica Treatment & Chiropractic Care
Natural care to help manage or eliminate sciatica.
Updated August 2025 by Dr. Lloyd Fielder, D.C.
Sciatica is a form of nerve pain that radiates from the lower back, past the knee, and often into the calf, foot, or toes. It develops when the sciatic nerve – the longest nerve in the body – becomes irritated or compressed. This can cause sharp, shooting pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness that affects daily activities, from walking and sitting to sleeping comfortably.
If you are reading this then chances are that you have been diagnosed with sciatica or are currently experiencing symptoms that are associated with sciatica. Either way, you are dealing with something that is affecting your lifestyle, comfort and causing concern. Let’s cover a few basic things and see if we can get you back on the right track so that you can feel better and understand what might be going on.
Most importantly, true sciatica is different from general lower back pain. For a condition to be classified as sciatica, discomfort must travel beyond the knee. Many people are misdiagnosed with sciatica when their pain is actually caused by another lower back issue. That’s why a clinical assessment is essential before beginning any sciatica treatment.
Common sciatica symptoms include radiating leg pain, tingling in the foot or toes, and weakness that can make walking or standing difficult. Some patients may even notice a muscle spasm or experience their foot “catching” on the ground, a sign of nerve-related weakness.
For those seeking a non-invasive approach to sciatic pain, chiropractic care – like what we provide at Evolve Chiropractic – offers a safe and effective option for sciatica pain relief, often reducing symptoms without surgery or long-term medication use.
What Causes Sciatica & Related Symptoms?
Many times, the cause of sciatica is a compression on the specific nerve roots coming out of your lumbar spine otherwise known as a “pinched nerve.” This pinched nerve or nerves is usually caused by a herniated disc from your lumbar spine. The cause of the herniated disc in your lumbar spine can be overuse, spinal misalignments, poor posture, trauma or degenerative joint disease that we usually call arthritis.
Sciatica can start with pain in your lower back or buttock and radiate into the thigh, calf or foot. Most people will complain of a dull achy pain similar to a toothache in their leg and others report a sharp pain like an electrical shock. This pain can travel in a continuous line or it can be in your back and just in your calf as well. This can be confusing to patients sometimes because you think it is just calf pain and do not realize it is sciatica.
Pain can be an absolutely debilitating symptom and some people have it worse in the morning while others have the greatest pain from sciatica at night even disturbing their sleep. Some people might be able to find a more comfortable position while others cannot seem to get relief no matter what position they try.
Numbness and tingling are another very common symptom in sciatica and the distribution of the sensation or lack of sensation is usually the same. It can be in your buttocks, hip, thigh, calf or foot. Many times, a person will feel numbness and tingling into the foot and toes, usually the big toe. The feeling is that your leg or foot is falling asleep. Sometimes, patients say that they think their cell phone is buzzing in their pocket only to realize it is their leg.
The last and not always the most obvious symptom is weakness of the foot or toes. The proper terminology is “drop foot.” The person who does not realize that they have drop foot might start to notice that they catch their foot on the carpeting or while they are walking. Usually, one might not even think twice about it until a chiropractor asks them about it. You can test this yourself by standing on the affect leg and attempting to stand on your tippy toes. One leg at a time, test the affect side and the non-affected side, is there a noticeable weakness? Is there any difference at all? If there is weakness or loss of muscle strength this is a sure sign of sciatica and a pinched nerve in your back.
Common Misconceptions About Sciatica
First and foremost, not all leg or back pain is sciatica. True sciatica always involves pain that extends beyond the knee, often accompanied by neurological symptoms such as tingling or weakness. Calf pain alone, for example, may have another cause entirely.
Another misconception is that sciatica always requires surgery. In reality, many cases improve with conservative care such as chiropractic treatment, physical therapy, and targeted lifestyle changes. Surgery is typically considered only when severe nerve compression causes lasting weakness or when other treatments have not provided adequate results.
Some believe sciatica will simply go away on its own. While mild cases can improve naturally, untreated symptoms can persist or return if the underlying cause isn’t addressed. Misdiagnosis or delayed care can also extend recovery time, which is why seeking professional evaluation is so important.
How Chiropractic Care Helps Treat Sciatica
Chiropractors address sciatica by identifying the root cause and relieving pressure on the affected nerve. At Evolve Chiropractic, this begins with a thorough spinal assessment to locate misalignments, disc issues, or posture imbalances contributing to sciatic nerve pain.
Using proven chiropractic techniques, we perform targeted spinal adjustments and spinal manipulation to correct misalignments and improve spinal function. Specific methods like the diversified technique or flexion-distraction can gently restore movement, while spinal decompression helps relieve nerve pressure and promote healing.
Our care plans may also include massage therapy to reduce muscle tension, home exercise guidance to strengthen supporting muscles, and ergonomic coaching to improve posture. These drug-free approaches can reduce inflammation, restore mobility, and improve overall spinal health.
Many patients describe euphoria at just starting to get relief from sciatica after suffering for a long period of time. Our goal is to get you out of pain and symptom-free as quick as possible so that you can return to the life you want and doing the things you enjoy whether it is playing golf, working out or rolling around on the floor with the kids.
One patient recently shared that after a sciatica chiropractic adjustment, their pain decreased significantly within the first week, allowing them to sleep through the night for the first time in months. This kind of progress is why we are passionate about offering personalized, non-invasive solutions.
It is for this reason that our initial examination is only $21 in all of our offices. This is so that a person like yourself can find out if you actually do have sciatica, why you might have it, what is the cause and what is the best solution for you as a unique individual. If you have any questions please send us an email anytime and thank you for reading!
What to Expect During Sciatica Treatment at Evolve
Your first visit will include a detailed consultation, physical exam, and any necessary imaging to confirm the diagnosis and pinpoint the exact source of your sciatica pain. This allows us to create a care plan tailored to your needs.
In many cases, patients receive their first chiropractic adjustment on the same day as their exam, along with recommendations for home care to start supporting recovery right away. Treatment plans vary, but most patients begin with more frequent visits – gradually reducing as symptoms improve and stability returns.
Your care may combine spinal adjustment techniques, decompression therapy, gentle stretching, and strengthening exercises. We also provide ongoing education so you understand each step of your sciatica pain treatment journey.
Our goal is lasting pain relief and function improvement, helping you get back to the activities you enjoy without discomfort holding you back.
New Patient Special Offer - $21
New Patient Special Offer - $21
- Consultation & Health History
- Thorough Exam
- Spinal X-rays (if needed)
- Report of Findings