Can You Have Sciatica Without Back Pain? | Kearny Mesa, CA
Yes. You can have sciatica even when your lower back doesn't hurt.
This is actually something Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC sees quite often. A patient comes in because of pain in the buttock, burning down the leg, numbness in the calf or tingling into the foot—but when asked about the lower back, the answer is:
“My back feels fine. It's my leg that's killing me.”
That doesn't rule out a problem in the lower spine.
The nerves that eventually form the sciatic nerve originate in the lower back. If one of those nerve roots becomes irritated or compressed, you may feel most—or sometimes nearly all—of the symptoms farther down the nerve.
Some people have back pain and sciatica together. Others have very little back pain and significant leg symptoms.
After more than 22 years treating patients with disc injuries and sciatica, Dr. Boelk doesn't assume the problem isn't coming from the lower back simply because the lower back itself doesn't hurt.
Where the pain travels, whether there is numbness or weakness, what makes it better or worse, and what the MRI actually shows can tell us much more.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Patient Experience
Jayson Yavorsky had severe sciatica for more than a year before coming to Dr. Boelk.
“There isn't enough room to fully explain the relief Dr. Boelk has brought to me and my family.
I found him after suffering from severe sciatica for more than a year. The pain shot from my hip all the way down to my left foot and became almost unbearable. I could no longer enjoy the activities I loved, including hockey, golf, and surfing.
Over the years, I had seen numerous chiropractors and experienced only temporary relief. Acupuncture helped somewhat, physical therapy was difficult to tolerate, and nothing seemed to provide lasting results. I couldn't sleep well, and my quality of life was steadily declining.
Then I met Dr. Boelk.
Through a structured treatment plan, adjustments, rehabilitation exercises, and lifestyle modifications, my life completely changed.
To this day, I tell people that Dr. Boelk saved my life.
Since my own recovery, I have referred my wife, daughter, mother, father, numerous friends, and many clients to his office. Every one of them has thanked me for the recommendation. Most recently, a firefighter friend of mine who was suffering from severe sciatica began treatment and is now making tremendous progress.
If you are considering surgery, I strongly encourage you to have Dr. Boelk evaluate your condition first.
What I respect most is his honesty. If he believes you are not a candidate or that another option would be better, he will tell you.
I trust him with my life and with my back.”
— Jayson Yavorsky, San Diego, CA
Jayson's description is a good example of why Dr. Boelk wants patients to be specific about where they feel their symptoms. The fact that your lower back doesn't hurt doesn't tell the whole story.
No-Charge Consultation With Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC
If you're dealing with unexplained leg pain, sciatica, numbness or tingling, you don't have to figure this out on your own before making an appointment.
Patients from Kearny Mesa and throughout San Diego can start with a No-Charge, No-Obligation Consultation personally with Dr. Boelk.
During the consultation, Dr. Boelk will:
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Listen to how your problem started and how it has changed.
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Map where your symptoms travel through the buttock, thigh, calf and foot.
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Discuss any numbness, tingling, burning or weakness you're experiencing.
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Review what makes the problem better or worse, including sitting, standing, walking, bending, driving, coughing or sneezing.
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Discuss treatments you've already tried and what helped, what didn't, and how long any improvement lasted.
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Review your actual MRI images and report, if you have them.
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Compare your MRI findings with your actual symptoms.
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Discuss whether further examination or imaging may be appropriate.
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Determine whether Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression may be an option.
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Tell you if Dr. Boelk doesn't believe you're a candidate.
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Answer your questions and explain what the next step may be.
Don't have an MRI? That's okay. You can still schedule the consultation.
There is no charge and no obligation to begin treatment.
Why are the No-Charge Consultations limited?
Because Dr. Boelk personally performs them.
Your consultation isn't handed off to someone whose job is simply to sign you up for treatment. Dr. Boelk takes the time to hear what's happening, review your history and look at your available imaging himself.
At the same time, he is continuing to care for the patients already undergoing treatment in the office.
That leaves only a limited number of appointments in the clinic schedule that can be reserved for these No-Charge Consultations.
If you've already spent weeks or months hoping the leg pain will disappear—and you're still changing how you sit, sleep, walk, work, exercise or travel because of it—it may be time to at least find out what's going on.
Call 619-298-0800 and ask about the next available No-Charge Consultation with Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC.
How Can Your Back Cause Sciatica When Your Back Doesn't Hurt?
The easiest way to understand this is to think about where a nerve starts and where it travels.
The nerve roots that contribute to the sciatic nerve come from the lower spine. If one of those nerves becomes irritated near the spine, the symptoms can be felt farther along the nerve.
That's why one patient may have lower-back pain that travels into the leg while another patient primarily feels pain in the buttock, calf or foot.
It also explains why repeatedly treating the spot that hurts doesn't always solve the problem.
If your buttock hurts, you may assume you have a problem in the buttock.
If the back of your thigh feels tight, you may think you need to stretch your hamstring.
If your calf burns, you may focus on the calf.
Sometimes that's exactly where the problem is.
Other times, those symptoms are being produced by a nerve that's irritated closer to the spine.
Figuring out which situation you're dealing with is the important part.
Where Does Your Sciatica Actually Go?
When a patient tells Dr. Boelk, “My leg hurts,” he usually needs more information.
For example:
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Does the pain start in the buttock?
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Does it travel down the back or outside of the thigh?
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Does it go below the knee?
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Is there pain or burning in the calf?
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Is the top, bottom or outside of the foot numb?
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Are certain toes tingling?
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Does one leg feel weaker than the other?
Different lumbar nerves are associated with different areas of sensation and different muscle functions.
That doesn't mean Dr. Boelk looks at a diagram, sees that your big toe is numb and immediately diagnoses an L5 nerve problem. People don't always follow textbook patterns perfectly.
But the location of the symptoms gives him another piece of information to compare with the rest of the examination and, when available, the MRI.
The MRI Needs to Match the Patient
A lumbar MRI may show several things at the same time.
You might have degeneration at one level, a disc bulge at another, a herniation somewhere else and narrowing around one or more nerves.
That doesn't mean every finding on the MRI is causing pain.
Dr. Boelk wants to know whether what he sees on the images makes sense with what you're actually experiencing.
For example, if you're having pain and numbness in a particular area of the leg and the MRI shows a disc problem affecting a nerve that corresponds with those symptoms, that finding becomes much more meaningful.
This is why Dr. Boelk prefers to see the actual MRI images, not just the radiologist's written report.
The MRI is one part of the picture. Your symptoms and history are another.
They need to make sense together.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Patient Experience
Michael Langsdale had previously tried spinal decompression elsewhere without meaningful improvement before coming to Dr. Boelk.
“I have had an outstanding experience with Dr. Boelk and his staff at The Spinal Decompression & Chiropractic Center of San Diego.
They follow a very structured treatment protocol and utilize the best spinal decompression equipment available. I've been treated elsewhere using lower-quality decompression systems and never experienced meaningful improvement.
Dr. Boelk is attentive, professional, and genuinely cares about every patient. You can see it in the way he interacts with everyone who walks through the door.
After about 12 treatments, my sciatica was gone and I was nearly back to normal. Honestly, I wasn't sure I would ever heal. What surprised me most was that after my very first treatment, I experienced significant relief and was able to sleep mostly pain-free for the first time in months.
The improvement has allowed me to get back to hiking, traveling, and enjoying life again.
This treatment was one of the best investments I've ever made.
Thank you, Dr. Boelk and your entire team.”
— Michael Langsdale, San Diego, CA
There's an important part of Michael's review that has nothing to do with a pain score.
He got back to hiking and traveling.
That's something Dr. Boelk asks patients about because people often underestimate how much they've changed their lives around sciatica.
Maybe you're still functioning, but you've stopped exercising.
Maybe you can work, but the drive there is miserable.
Maybe you can walk, but not nearly as far as you used to.
Maybe you're sleeping, but only if you stay in one position.
Maybe you're avoiding a vacation because you don't want to sit on an airplane for several hours.
It's easy to keep saying, “I'll give it another couple of weeks.”
Meanwhile, another month goes by.
The question isn't only how much your leg hurts today.
It's also what the problem is already taking away from you.
Pay Attention to Numbness and Weakness
Pain gets most of the attention with sciatica, but Dr. Boelk also wants to know what's happening with sensation and strength.
Tell him if:
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Part of your foot or leg feels numb.
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Tingling is spreading into the foot or toes.
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One leg feels noticeably weaker.
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Your foot starts slapping when you walk.
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You're catching your toes.
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You're having difficulty lifting the front of your foot.
If the pain decreases but numbness or weakness is progressing, don't automatically assume the problem is getting better just because it hurts less.
Most cases of sciatica aren't emergencies. However, rapidly progressing weakness, new bowel or bladder dysfunction, difficulty urinating, or numbness involving the groin or saddle region requires prompt medical attention rather than waiting for a routine spinal decompression consultation.
Could Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Help?
Possibly.
First, Dr. Boelk has to determine whether you're actually a candidate.
He evaluates patients with conditions including:
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Lumbar disc bulges and herniations
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Degenerative disc disease
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Disc-related sciatica
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Foraminal narrowing
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Selected cases of spinal stenosis
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Chronic disc-related lower-back and leg pain
The Spinal Decompression & Chiropractic Center of San Diego uses the DRX9000 exclusively.
But having an MRI that says “disc bulge” doesn't automatically qualify someone for treatment.
Dr. Boelk also considers previous surgery, spinal stability, bone health, neurological findings, medical history and whether the symptoms actually correspond with the imaging.
Some conditions may make decompression inappropriate, including an unhealed fracture, significant osteoporosis, unstable spondylolisthesis, abdominal aortic aneurysm, pregnancy for lumbar decompression, certain malignancies and other medical or structural conditions.
Previous spinal surgery must also be evaluated carefully, particularly when fusion or metal hardware is present at the level that would need treatment.
★ An Honest Consultation Matters Too
Jeff J. traveled from Tucson, Arizona to meet with Dr. Boelk.
He didn't end up becoming a spinal decompression patient.
“I found this terrific practice on social media. I followed up and did my own research so I decided to pay them a visit. The place is clean, well organized and run by a very efficient receptionist. I met with the doctor and after a honest and forthright conversation, we both determined that surgery was my only option to correct my back issues. I will return as a customer when the time is right.”
— Jeff J., Tucson, AZ
That's worth mentioning because a consultation isn't very valuable if everyone is automatically told they need treatment.
Dr. Boelk does turn patients away when he doesn't believe they're appropriate candidates.
The purpose of the consultation is to find out whether he believes he can help.
Why Patients Choose Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC
Dr. Boelk has focused on Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression for more than two decades.
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22+ years working with Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression
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100,000+ spinal decompression treatments
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Certified Spinal Decompression Doctor
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Certified Pain-Free Performance Specialist (PPSC)
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Founder, Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Training Academy
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Trains other doctors in spinal decompression protocols and techniques
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Founding Member, American Spinal Decompression Society
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Member, International Disc Education Association
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California X-Ray Radiation Supervisor & Operator
Dr. Boelk also understands spinal injuries from the patient's side. He suffered an L5 compression fracture at age 16 and later dealt with disc injuries and sciatica himself.
Your Back Doesn't Have to Hurt for Sciatica to Be a Real Problem
If you're dealing with pain, burning, numbness, tingling or weakness down one leg, don't dismiss it simply because your lower back doesn't hurt.
And don't think scheduling a consultation means you've already decided to undergo treatment.
The first step is finding out what's going on.
Your No-Charge Consultation Includes:
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A one-on-one consultation with Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC
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Review of your symptoms and how the problem started
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Discussion of pain, numbness, tingling and weakness
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Review of what makes the symptoms better or worse
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Discussion of previous treatments and your response
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Review of your actual MRI images and report, if available
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Comparison of your imaging with your symptoms
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Discussion of whether additional evaluation or imaging may be appropriate
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An assessment of whether Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression may be an option
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An honest answer if Dr. Boelk believes you're not a candidate
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Time to ask questions and understand your options
No MRI is required to schedule.
No charge. No obligation to begin treatment.
The appointments are limited because Dr. Boelk personally performs the consultations while continuing to treat the patients already under his care.
If you've already spent weeks or months changing how you sleep, sit, drive, walk, exercise or travel because of your leg, waiting longer isn't necessarily doing nothing.
You're giving the problem more of your time.
You don't have to wait for your back to start hurting too.
Call 619-298-0800
Ask for the next available No-Charge Consultation with Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC.
Bring your MRI images and report if you have them. If you don't, that's okay.
Come in, let Dr. Boelk review what's going on, and find out whether you're a candidate.
The Spinal Decompression & Chiropractic Center of San Diego
5095 Murphy Canyon Road, Suite 300
San Diego, CA 92123
619-298-0800
SanDiegoBackCare.com
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