Centralization

Have you been confused on how to better manage your sciatica?

People often come into the office with the complaint of back pain shooting down their legs or neck pain shooting down their arms. Sciatica and disc issues are frequently very painful conditions that cause sufferers to seek care. The most difficult part of tracking

progress with these issues are that they can be so variable. Pain intensity can change so quickly it can be hard to measure progress. 

The number one indicator of a positive outcome is something called centralization. The nerve pain shooting down your limb is coming from a nerve in the spine. As pressure gets taken off of that nerve the pain will centralize out of the limb in a predictable pattern. First the foot feels better, then the knee, then the hip and finally the low back. Pain will abolish in a distal to proximal pattern. Communicating this clearly can help guide decision in treatment. 

Conversely, if you do an activity that causes increased pain shooting down the limb that is called peripheralization. This is a sign that the activity may be making your symptoms worse. As pain centralizes it is common that the pain level may increase even if you are moving better. Although it feels unpleasant it is a good sign that we are at least moving in the right direction. The location of the pain and your range of motion are more concrete metrics to track progress. 

If you feel like you are lost and confused in your recovery reach out and I can help guide you through this process with custom exercises.