Sciatica Relief in Racine, WI

By John Daniels, DC, CCSP — Daniels Chiropractic, Racine, WI

If you're comparing chiropractors in Racine for sciatica or lumbar radiculopathy, here's what's probably useful to know upfront: our family has taken care of Racine families since 1948, we have five providers on staff, including Dr. Marissa Kaul, who is certified in dry needling, and patients have left us more than 800 reviews with a 5.0 rating on Google. We've also been voted Best of Racine 13 times since 2009, including each of the last five years. None of that tells you whether we're the right fit for your specific case, though, so here's how we actually approach sciatica, including when we think you should be seeing someone else entirely.

What Is Sciatica?

A fair amount of the confusion around sciatica starts with the name itself. Patients often come in assuming sciatica and a herniated disc are two different problems, when they're usually the same thing described from two different angles. Sciatica is the symptom, pain, numbness, or tingling running down the leg, and a herniated lumbar disc pressing on a nerve root is typically the cause. The word people tend to find more alarming is "herniated disc," and it usually doesn't need to be. Disc herniations are common, they tend to be episodic rather than constant, and most of them don't require surgery. The large majority can be managed conservatively.

If you're dealing with general low back pain without leg symptoms, our back pain page covers that separately.

Common Signs

• Low back pain, sometimes fairly mild at first, that runs down through the buttock and leg
• Numbness, tingling, or a burning sensation along the back or side of the leg, often following a specific pattern depending on which nerve root is involved
• Pain that tends to worsen with sitting, bending forward, or certain movements
• In more advanced cases, noticeable weakness, such as trouble lifting the toes or foot

When to Seek Immediate Medical Attention

Most sciatica responds well to conservative care, but there are a handful of signs we take seriously and refer out for right away. The most common one we watch for is progressive weakness, meaning strength that's getting worse rather than staying the same or slowly improving. We also screen for numbness in the groin or inner thighs and any new problems with bowel or bladder control, since those can point to a condition called cauda equina syndrome, which needs emergency evaluation. If conservative care isn't producing improvement over roughly the first two to four weeks, that's typically when we move toward imaging and bring in an orthopedic referral alongside continued care, rather than in place of it. We go into this in more depth, including what referral actually looks like in practice, in When Sciatica Needs More Than a Chiropractor.

What Causes Sciatica, and What Mimics It

Sciatica happens when a nerve root in the lower back gets irritated or compressed, most often by a bulging or herniated disc, though narrowing of the spinal canal and muscle-related referral patterns, particularly from the gluteus medius or minimus, can look similar enough to be mistaken for it. Telling these apart is a meaningful part of the exam, since the right treatment depends on which one is actually going on.

Your First Visit

A fair amount of the first visit is spent figuring out what's actually going on, since several different problems can produce very similar leg symptoms. We check for the pattern that points to a specific nerve root, as well as ruling out spinal stenosis and glute-related referral pain. From there, care typically focuses on restoring pain-free movement first. Depending on what we find, that can include:

• Chiropractic adjustments
• Class IV laser therapy, mainly to help bring down inflammation
• Dry needling, which Dr. Marissa Kaul is certified in, for muscle spasm and pain control
• Shockwave therapy (ESWT), which we tend to reach for on more chronic cases to help restart the healing process
• Exercise therapy, to help rebuild strength and restore movement as symptoms allow
• Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS), for additional pain control

Not every case needs all six. What we recommend depends on what the exam finds, and we reassess as you progress.

A Recent Case

One recent patient came in with right low back pain that started after washing his dog, which is a pretty ordinary example of how these things often begin: nothing dramatic, just an awkward movement. Over the following days it progressed from pain confined to the back itself (axial low back pain) into numbness and tingling down his right leg, and then into weakness lifting his toes. He'd already been working with occupational and physical therapy through his employer's on-site clinic, which helped somewhat with the low back pain itself, but the leg symptoms weren't improving, which is when he came to see us.

On exam, his pain increased with forward bending, his right knee reflex was diminished, and he had numbness following the L4 and L5 nerve distribution, along with some weakness in the gluteus medius muscle. Kemp's test and the slump test both reproduced his radiating leg symptoms, which pointed fairly clearly toward true nerve root involvement rather than a muscular mimic. We talked through the plan, including watching closely for the signs of cauda equina syndrome, and agreed that if a trial of care didn't move things in the right direction, we'd order a lumbar MRI.

We started with adjustments and home exercises, including nerve flossing, and because of the weakness in his leg, we also referred him to orthopedics so he could be co-managed rather than waiting to see if things resolved on their own. The back pain itself improved fairly early on, though the leg weakness and stair-climbing difficulty took longer. As care progressed, his pain intensity kept trending down, and he gradually noticed he could walk and manage stairs for longer, and tolerate sitting much better. Given the weakness and the disc-related symptoms, we went ahead with the lumbar MRI, which confirmed nerve root compression at L4 from disc involvement at L3-4 and L4-5.

Over the following weeks, his strength kept improving, and his radiating leg symptoms became mild and intermittent rather than constant. By the time he was ready for discharge, he had minimal symptoms left in his leg, his home exercises were helping, his strength had continued to progress, and he was tolerating stairs, sitting, and sleep with only minor irritation.

What You Can Do at Home

Between visits, the emphasis is usually on staying as active as pain allows rather than resting completely, along with specific movement work, such as nerve flossing, when it's appropriate for the case. What helps varies quite a bit from person to person, so this is really something we tailor once we know what we're dealing with rather than a one-size-fits-all list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is sciatica the same thing as a herniated disc?

Usually, yes, just described from two different angles. Sciatica refers to the leg pain and other symptoms, while a herniated disc pressing on a nerve root is typically what's causing them. Disc herniations are common, tend to come and go rather than staying constant, and most don't require surgery.

Do I need an MRI before starting chiropractic care for sciatica?

Not usually. Most cases can be evaluated with a physical exam and a trial of conservative care first. We tend to move toward imaging when there's significant weakness, when certain red-flag symptoms show up, or when conservative care isn't producing improvement.

How long does it take to feel better?

That depends on what's actually going on and how involved the nerve root symptoms are. Straightforward cases without much weakness often respond fairly quickly to adjustments and movement-based care. Cases with more significant nerve involvement, like the one described above, usually take longer and often benefit from working alongside another provider rather than chiropractic care alone. We reassess as you go rather than working toward a fixed timeline.

When should I see a doctor instead of, or in addition to, a chiropractor?

If you notice progressive weakness, numbness in the groin or inner thigh area, or any new problems with bowel or bladder control, that needs prompt medical evaluation rather than conservative care alone. Short of those red flags, if conservative care isn't helping after the first few weeks, that's typically when we bring in imaging and a referral alongside continued care.

What treatments do you use for sciatica?

It depends on what the exam finds, but options include chiropractic adjustments, Class IV laser therapy, dry needling, shockwave therapy for more chronic cases, exercise therapy, and electrical muscle stimulation. Dr. Marissa Kaul is certified in dry needling specifically.

Sources

1. Whalen WM, Hawk C, Farabaugh RJ, Daniels CJ, Taylor DN, Anderson KR, Crivelli LS, Anderson DR, Thomson LM, Sarnat RL. Best Practices for Chiropractic Management of Adult Patients With Mechanical Low Back Pain: A Clinical Practice Guideline for Chiropractors in the United States. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2022;45(8):551-565. PMID: 37341675
2. Evidence-Based Conservative Treatment Strategies for Lumbar Radiculopathy: A Systematic Review. Cureus. 2026. PMID: 42434659
3. Ghasabmahaleh SH, Rezasoltani Z, Dadarkhah A, Hamidipanah S, Mofrad RK, Najafi S. Spinal Manipulation for Subacute and Chronic Lumbar Radiculopathy: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Am J Med. 2021;134(1):135-141. PMID: 32931763
4. Ahmed I, Bandpei MAM, Gilani SA, et al. Effectiveness of Low-Level Laser Therapy in Patients with Discogenic Lumbar Radiculopathy: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial. J Healthc Eng. 2022. PMID: 35265302
5. Wu Z, Zhou T, Ai S. Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy for Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2023;102(52):e36596. PMID: 38206739