“What happens if sciatica is left untreated?”
I am a 48 year old female with sciatica. What happens if sciatica is left untreated?
14 Answers
Most of the time it gets unbearable
It will get worse, get an MRI to know for sure what is going on in there and research piriformis muscle stretching, that will help too and ice.
The first step would be determining the exact cause of your sciatica. Untreated sciatica could be come more painful over time, making it even more difficult to treat.
Joe Mazzeo, DC
Owner/Chiropractor
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It will only get worse and will eventually start radiating all the way down your left leg to your feet and may even start going down your right leg.
It creates a pain cycle: the muscles tighten up and cause more pain, which causes more sciatic pain.
Happy New Year!
Like any health condition, Leaving sciatica unattended can result in prolonged adverse affects on the body. It is always best to determine the cause of the sciatic, ie, degenerative disk disease, lumbar disc syndrome, piriformis syndrome, etc. and to treat it accordingly. Pain, possible degenerative changes, muscle imbalance, low back pain, and the entire kinetic chain resulting in imbalance and discomfort. This is because the biomechanics of the spine and joints are being affected and compromised. And, if the cause is not addressed early on and properly, the cause itself may worsen, which in turn can worsen the corresponding symptoms as well as create new problems.
It is always best for patients to be evaluated and treated as early as possible is that future problems don’t begin and persist.
Hope this helps....
Yours in good health,
Angie Skokos, DC, MS
Like any health condition, Leaving sciatica unattended can result in prolonged adverse affects on the body. It is always best to determine the cause of the sciatic, ie, degenerative disk disease, lumbar disc syndrome, piriformis syndrome, etc. and to treat it accordingly. Pain, possible degenerative changes, muscle imbalance, low back pain, and the entire kinetic chain resulting in imbalance and discomfort. This is because the biomechanics of the spine and joints are being affected and compromised. And, if the cause is not addressed early on and properly, the cause itself may worsen, which in turn can worsen the corresponding symptoms as well as create new problems.
It is always best for patients to be evaluated and treated as early as possible is that future problems don’t begin and persist.
Hope this helps....
Yours in good health,
Angie Skokos, DC, MS
It depends what's causing the pinched nerve. If you have sciatica, I'd go get it checked by a good chiropractor. The same pinched nerve causing sciatica could potentially cause numbness, tingling, and weakness which left untreated could become permanent.
Dr. Jonathan Donath, DC, MS
Dr. Jonathan Donath, DC, MS
In many cases the pain causes you to misalign even more, causing more problems. The pain in that nerve may decrease over time, or may worsen to a debilitating level, depends on the person and circumstances.
The body is compensating for the weaker muscles and in turn that over works other muscles further rotating your pelvis increasing the pressure on your sciatica. It worsens over time and pain will increase and mobility decrease.
If the nerve is being pinched, if it's not being treated then it will get worse. A chiropractor can adjust it and get you out of pain.
The longer it is left untreated, the longer it will take for numbness and weakness to go away, and they may become permanent.
It depends on the cause, but the short answer is: a life with sciatic pain, and possible nerve damage to the sciatic nerve. When nerves are compressed or compromised, they cannot move nutrients through the cell as they should, and therefore not function in an optimal manner. The sciatic nerve controls many sensory and motor unctions – so if the nerve is compromised, so too are these functions. See your chiropractic physician to correct this condition if possible.
If the cause of your pain is narrowing of the spinal canal, putting pressure on your spinal column, you should have imaging to determine the extent of the condition. Sciatic nerve pain can also be caused by disc issues in your lumbar spine, or by compression of the nerve from the piriformis muscle. Your physician can test that indicate which is the cause for your pain.
If the cause of your pain is narrowing of the spinal canal, putting pressure on your spinal column, you should have imaging to determine the extent of the condition. Sciatic nerve pain can also be caused by disc issues in your lumbar spine, or by compression of the nerve from the piriformis muscle. Your physician can test that indicate which is the cause for your pain.
Sometimes it goes away on its own, then returns.
Sciatica is more of a symptom than a condition. If the cause of sciatica is left untreated the dysfunction could last years and cause other problems in the future.
