Specialised in after stroke recovery, sciatica, insomnia, melancholia/depression, numbness, knee pain, strain of lumbar muscle, sports injuries, frozen shoulders, carpal tunnel syndrome, migraine headache, diabetes, fibromyalgia, PHN, RSD/CRPS, CFS etc

Sunday, 7 October 2012

Dr.Ko Diagnostic Clinic: Sciatica

How Pregnant woman can cope with sciatica without drugs

31 year old pregnant woman felt pain from her waist to her lower left extremity. She could not sit or stand up for extended periods of time, and weakness in her lower legs made it difficult for her to walk. She was recommended by doctor to take bed rest and Enrac CMT. She is now walking normally, and has returned to work.                                                           
-by Chang Po Kuo,M.D.

About 50% -70% of pregnant woman will suffer from lower back pain during their pregnancy. Pain due to sciatica nerve becomes worse during pregnancy. The pain gets worse because of the position of the baby which rests on the abdomen and the lower back of the mother's uterus. The main problem with sciatica nerve during pregnancy is the pain normally begins at the buttocks and starts to spread downwards through the back of the thighs reaching the calves and heels. Sciatica is often caused by damage to a disc leading to inflammation around the nerve or direct pressure from a prolapsed or "slipped" disc. In some cases, it may be due to compression from a ligament or bone.

Clinical case report
A 31 year old pregnant lady, did not have back pain or injury prior to her pregnancy. In fact, there was no discomfort or any abnormalities until week 21 of her pregnancy, when she felt a discomfort around the waistline, then all of a sudden the pain worsened and the numbing pain extended from her waist to her lower left extremity. She could not sit or stand up for extended periods of time, and weakness in her lower legs made it difficult for her to walk. The doctor told her the pain was caused by an acute sciatica nerve inflammation, and she was recommended to take rest and conservative physical therapy.
After she was discharged from the hospital, she decided to receive Enrac CMT. She came in for CMT about once a week, and the pain was greatly reduced (from 8+ to a 4 on VAS pain-level score), but she was still having a twitching pain in her left leg. She continued the treatments and was able to go back to work after 6 treatments in a span of 3 weeks and after a period of proper rest at home. Now she is 34 weeks pregnant, and besides some minor discomfort due to pregnancy, her waist and left side pain has been relieved, she is now walking normally, and has returned to work.

Discussion