What Sciatica Actually Is
Sciatica describes a set of symptoms — radiating pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness that travels from the lower back through the buttock and down one leg. It is not a diagnosis in itself. It is the signal that the sciatic nerve is being compressed or irritated somewhere along its path.
In the vast majority of cases, that compression originates at the lumbar spine: specifically, a vertebral subluxation at L4, L5, or S1 that creates direct nerve root pressure, or a disc herniation that is itself the consequence of untreated lumbar subluxation.
"Sciatica responds to the removal of what's compressing the nerve — not to drugs that mask the signal the nerve is sending."
Why Most Sciatica Treatment Fails
Anti-inflammatory medications, steroid injections, and pain management reduce the signal the nerve is sending. They do not remove what is compressing the nerve. As long as the structural problem remains, the compression continues, and the symptoms return when medication wears off.
Surgical decompression removes tissue that is pressing on the nerve — but without correcting the underlying vertebral subluxation that caused the disc or joint to compress the nerve in the first place, recurrence rates are significant.
Subluxation-based spinal correction addresses the structural root: the misaligned vertebra creating the nerve compression. When that is corrected, the compression is removed — and the sciatic nerve is free to function normally.
Examination & X-Ray Analysis
Dr. Rochet evaluates sciatica cases through neurological testing, orthopedic examination, and lumbar X-rays. These images reveal the exact vertebral positions, disc spaces, and structural alignment of the lumbar spine — identifying the specific subluxation level creating the nerve compression.
This precision matters. A subluxation at L4-L5 creates different nerve symptoms than one at L5-S1. The correction is different. Applying the right correction to the right segment produces better outcomes than general lumbar manipulation.
Serving Wellington Sciatica Patients
Patients from Wellington, Loxahatchee, and Royal Palm Beach with sciatica regularly make the short drive to our office for subluxation-based care. If you have been managing sciatic pain with medication without structural correction, we encourage you to explore whether the source of your compression can be addressed directly.
- Lumbar X-ray analysis included with new patient consultation
- Specific spinal correction based on individual X-ray findings
- Progress re-examination to track structural change
- No long-term medication dependency