If you feel lower back pain, we’re glad you found your way to Kosak Chiropractic. Located in Fairfield, Dr. Michael Wilson’s chiropractic practice provides fast pain relief without the use of drugs or surgery, and addresses the causes of pain as well as the symptoms. We believe that the musculoskeletal system is best understood as a complete unit, with each part balancing the others. Lower back pain, for example, may not be a problem of just the lower back, but also of what connects to it. An example of this is piriformis syndrome, a disorder with implications for the pelvic region and the legs as well as the lumbar vertebrae.
The piriformis muscles are located deep within the body. One on each side, they connect the lumbar vertebrae, which make up the lower back, to the top of the femurs, which make up the upper part of the leg. The piriformis muscles help us to rotate our legs outward and are part of the core group that stabilize the lumbar vertebrae. The sciatic nerves, which emerge from the lumbar vertebrae and travel into the legs, also pass through or around them. Like any muscle, the piriformis can be injured and become inflamed. When that happens, a person will likely feel pain in their lower back, particularly when they try to climb stairs or up ramps or when they have been sitting for a long time. But if one of their sciatic nerves is compressed, they may also feel shocks or numbness along that leg.
Piriformis Syndrome, as inflammation of the piriformis is called, is usually diagnosed partly through process of elimination and partly by testing a patient’s range of motion. If it is suspected, a patient may be assigned therapeutic exercises to stretch it out and start rebuilding its strength. We would also be able to make chiropractic adjustments to lumbar vertebrae that may have been pulled out of alignment by a tight piriformis muscle and provide therapeutic massages to assist with additional stretches.
Kosak Chiropractic is located at 1252 Travis Blvd., Suite G, Fairfield, CA, 94533. To schedule an appointment, visit Kosak Chiropractic online or call 707-426-1111.