Sciatica Diagnosis
Sciatica diagnosis is the most problematic part of the entire treatment process. It is during this crucial time when the fate of the patient is truly decided. With one cast of the dice, a doctor can create the ideal circumstances for health or the descent into pain, functional limitation, depression and even utter
disability.
Sciatica Diagnosis Process
A patient develops a pain or neurological symptom and goes to the doctor for help. Maybe they had an obvious accident and suffered an injury, or maybe the pain just came out of nowhere. Regardless, the pain exists...The doctor will examine the patient and might even take some tests, such as
x-rays
or an
MRI.
The doctor will then weigh the evidence and come to a diagnostic conclusion. In the vast majority of cases, some spinal abnormality will be discovered and blamed for the
radiculopathy
symptoms. It might be a
herniated disc
or what is often called
degenerative disc disease.
Maybe the doctor does not like the look of some spinal
osteoarthritis
and speculates that there is a bone spur pressing on a nerve root, enacting
foraminal stenosis.
This condition is also sometimes diagnosed as a
pinched nerve.
Learn more about the common diagnostic blunders associated with nerve root compression. Maybe the discovery of
spondylolisthesis
or facet joint syndrome is the theoretical causation.
Spinal stenosis
is a common diagnosis in older patients. If somehow there is no spinal condition found, the symptoms might be attributed to
sacroiliac pain
or even a
piriformis pain
syndrome… The least fortunate patients might be diagnosed with
cauda equina syndrome,
which can become an immediate medical emergency. There is certainly no shortage of diagnosed conditions blamed for causing sciatic nerve pain. Trust me; this is just a very short list of some of the most common… Read more about the diagnosis of sciatica neuropathy and neuralgia conditions.
Sciatica Diagnosis and Treatment
Ok, so now you know what is wrong with your spine. You are worried, but at least you understand what is causing your pain. The doctor comes up with a treatment plan and you are sure that you will be on your way to recovery in no time. SOUND FAMILIAR? Yeah, to me too… Well, you do everything the doctor tells you, but you still have pain. You try some other recommendations from this doctor, but the pain remains and has actually gotten worse. Finally, you have endured enough and try a new doctor or maybe the doctor has had enough of you and refers you away to a colleague. SOUND FAMILIAR? Yeah, to me too… Well, after what has now become months or even years of trying everything to treat your
sciatica pain,
nothing has worked. What started as a moderate amount of pain has grown progressively worse and now you have extreme pain virtually everyday. Why has the pain gotten worse, especially after all these attempts at treatment? What is going on here? SOUND FAMILIAR? Yeah, to me too…
Sciatica Diagnosis Reality
The most common reason for a failure of ANY treatment to resolve ANY
back pain
condition is not due to ANY problem with the treatment itself. Instead, the problem lies way back in time with the original diagnosis. The vast majority of chronic sciatica patients have been misdiagnosed from day one and have been on a fool’s errand ever since. It is a sad fact, but completely true.
Misdiagnosed sciatica
is virtually impossible to cure, since treatments are directed at a mistakenly identified source. Speaking of misdiagnosis, read my article about a
herniated disc pinching the sciatic nerve.
My Sciatica Diagnosis
This was my reality, dating back to the tender age of 16. My first
chiropractor
blamed my pain on
scoliosis
and degenerative disc disease in my lumbar spine. Other doctors added to this diagnosis and eventually most were sure that the main concerns were my DDD and 2 herniated discs at L4/L5 and L5/S1. My entire young adult life was spent in agony and torment, full of painful memories and unfulfilled dreams. I wasted tens of thousands of dollars trying to ease my recurrent acute and chronic back pain and found nothing but disappointment and financial hardship.
I was a mess…However, just like you, I never once questioned my diagnosis. I became enraged that the
treatments
did not work, but never once thought maybe they were trying to treat the wrong source… The thought just never even occurred to me. This was until I met
Dr. John Sarno
and discovered his
Tension Myositis
diagnosis. He explained that all these typical structural diagnoses basically amount to nothing but smoke and mirrors. Sure, I had herniated discs, but so what? Lots of people do and they are not normally symptomatic. Ditto for my other conditions, especially the DDD…
Sciatica Diagnosis Advice
I learned that in order to fully
recover
from some forms of back pain, you must be able to understand the
facts about sciatica.
You need to recognize the inconsistencies in the diagnostic process and be able to refute the theory of structurally induced pain. Once you can do this, you WILL be pain free. FOREVER. In order to accomplish this task, you require the simple treatment known as
knowledge therapy.
The best part is that the treatment has no risks at all and is completely free (or very low cost). It has worked for millions including this humble author. Will it work for you? Only one way to find out…
Sciatica Diagnosis to Sciatica
6/28/08 Revised 9/27/11
|
