Sciatica treatment with physical therapy in Chatsworth

With sciatica, Dr. Ed's first question is whether a disc or a tight hip muscle is the one irritating the nerve. He does not start with the sore spot. He watches how you stand, bend, twist, sit and walk, tests the hips, the mid-back and the muscles that are supposed to be holding the spine steady, and checks whether a nerve is involved. Back pain usually has a cause somewhere other than where it hurts, and the evaluation is where he finds it. Then he explains it in plain terms and tells you what the plan is.

Treatment then has three parts:

• Hands-on work to calm the irritated nerve.
• Correcting the movements that keep irritating it.
• Graded strengthening: exercises that get harder in steps as you handle them.

The first visit is the evaluation. It is one-on-one with Dr. Ed, and treatment starts from what he finds.

You get a plan you can follow at home. Treatment is hands-on work in the clinic plus a short home program, and Dr. Ed adjusts it at each visit as you progress.

How long it takes depends on what he finds and how your body responds. The nerve pain often eases first. Working on the cause takes longer. Dr. Ed sets the plan after your first evaluation, not before.

Evening and Saturday appointments are available.

• Back pain therapyThe service page that covers low back pain, sciatica, disc problems and posture.
• Herniated discRead this if a disc turns out to be the cause.
• Neck pain and pinched nerveRead this if your nerve trouble is in the neck instead of the back and leg.
• Is it the disc or the hip?How the evaluation tells the two apart.