What If Physical Therapy Hasn’t Helped My Sciatica? | San Diego, CA

If you've spent weeks or months in physical therapy for sciatica and you're still dealing with pain, numbness, tingling or burning down your leg, it doesn't necessarily mean you didn't work hard enough or that physical therapy was the wrong place to start.

It may mean the problem needs another look.

Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC sees patients who tell him they did the stretches, worked on their core, strengthened their hips and legs and followed their home exercises—but the sciatica never really went away.

Some got stronger while the leg pain stayed the same. Others improved initially and then plateaued. And some noticed that certain exercises repeatedly sent the pain, tingling or numbness farther down the leg.

After more than 22 years treating disc injuries and sciatica, Dr. Boelk pays close attention to those differences.

The question isn't simply whether physical therapy “worked.”

It's why the nerve symptoms are still there.

Dr. Boelk has performed more than 100,000 spinal decompression treatments. The Spinal Decompression & Chiropractic Center of San Diego has seven DRX9000 systems and is the largest known Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression clinic in Southern California.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I Could Get Back to Surf, Jiu Jitsu and Work”

“I tried many different non invasive treatments, pain killers but relief was just temporary.”

“When I first came here I was suffering from sciatica pain for several months non stop. I tried many different non invasive treatments, pain killers but relief was just temporary. I heard about Dr. Boelk on social media and after reading other people testimonials about him I decided to try. It felt better since my first session. After 12 I felt I was improving a lot but still had room to get better so we decided trying 12 more. After 36 sessions I felt I was back to normal. I could get back to surf, jiu jitsu and work after 6 months away. Doctor helped me through the whole process, leaving me free to decide the next step and being honest about expectations. I totally recommend for all my friends that suffer from sciatica pain. It’s worth 100%.”

— Yuri Fresia

Yuri had been dealing with sciatica for several months and had already tried other non-invasive treatments and pain medications. What stands out is how much the problem had affected his life—he had been away from surfing, jiu jitsu and work for six months.

That's something Dr. Boelk looks at closely. If you've been treating the problem for months, are you actually getting your life back?

---

Physical Therapy Didn't Get Rid of Your Sciatica. What Should You Do Next?

Before jumping from PT into another treatment, Dr. Boelk believes it makes sense to reassess the problem.

That's why the office offers a No-Charge Consultation with Dr. Boelk personally.

You're not coming in because you've already decided to start spinal decompression. You're coming in to find out whether Dr. Boelk believes he may be able to help and whether another non-surgical approach makes sense for your particular condition.

During the consultation, Dr. Boelk will:

• Listen to how your sciatica started and how it has changed.

• Go over exactly where the pain, numbness, tingling or burning travels.

• Discuss which PT exercises helped, which didn't and whether any consistently aggravated the leg.

• Ask how long you can sit, stand or walk before symptoms begin.

• Review weakness or other neurological changes.

• Discuss medications, chiropractic care, injections and other treatment you've tried.

• Review your actual MRI images and report if you have them.

• Compare what appears on the MRI with the symptoms you're actually experiencing.

• Discuss whether further examination or imaging may be appropriate.

• Determine whether Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression may be an option.

• Tell you if he doesn't believe you're an appropriate candidate.

• Answer your questions and explain what he believes makes sense next.

No MRI yet? That's okay. You can still schedule the consultation.

There is no charge and no obligation to begin treatment.

The purpose is to get another experienced look at the problem before simply moving on to the next treatment.

Dr. Boelk personally performs these consultations while also treating the patients already under his care. Because he sets aside the time himself, only a limited number of No-Charge Consultation appointments can be accommodated in the clinic schedule.

When those appointments are taken, new patients are offered the next available openings.

Call 619-298-0800 and ask about the next available No-Charge Consultation with Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC.

---

Getting Stronger and Taking Pressure Off a Nerve Aren't Always the Same Thing

Physical therapy can be extremely valuable.

Strength, mobility, movement control and gradually returning to normal activity can all be important parts of recovery.

But Dr. Boelk also sees patients whose main problem appears to involve continued irritation or compression of a spinal nerve.

For example, an L4-L5 or L5-S1 disc problem may affect a nerve that travels into the leg. Foraminal narrowing can reduce the space available around a nerve as it exits the spine. Spinal stenosis can produce leg pain or numbness that becomes worse with standing or walking.

In those situations, getting stronger can be helpful without necessarily resolving all of the nerve symptoms.

That's why Dr. Boelk doesn't assume that someone who finished PT but still has sciatica simply needs more strengthening.

He wants to know what's still irritating the nerve.

Look at What Happened During Physical Therapy

Your response to PT provides useful information.

Maybe you started therapy with back pain and sciatica, and now the back feels considerably better but the pain down the leg hasn't changed.

Maybe the pain isn't as severe, but your foot is still numb.

Perhaps you can perform the exercises much better than when you started, but standing for 15 minutes still produces burning down the leg.

Or maybe certain exercises repeatedly cause symptoms to travel farther into the calf or foot.

Those details are more useful than simply saying, “PT didn't work.”

Dr. Boelk wants to know what changed and what didn't.

Your MRI Should Be Compared With Your Symptoms

An MRI by itself doesn't determine treatment.

It's common for an MRI report to contain several findings. A patient may have disc degeneration at multiple levels, a bulge at one level, a herniation somewhere else and different degrees of foraminal or central narrowing.

The important question is whether those findings correlate with the patient's actual symptoms.

If your pain travels into a specific part of the leg or foot, if you have numbness in a particular area, or if certain positions consistently reproduce the symptoms, Dr. Boelk wants to compare that clinical history with the actual images.

That's one reason he prefers to review the MRI images themselves when they're available rather than relying only on the written report.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I Was One Step Away From Back Surgery”

“For the first time in 10 years, I am completely pain-free.”

“For the first time in 10 years, I am completely pain-free. My sciatca is gone, and I no longer have back pain.

Before finding Dr. Boelk, I tried chiropractic care, acupuncture, pain medications, and several other therapies that simply didn't work. I was one step away from back surgery when I discovered spinal decompression treatment at The Spinal Decompression & Chiropractic Center of San Diego.

The results have been incredible. Every visit was comfortable, relaxing, and completely pain-free. Dr. Boelk and Patty always took the time to explain everything and made me feel genuinely cared for throughout the process.

They are warm, welcoming, and truly dedicated to helping their patients.

Thank you, Dr. Boelk and Patty!”

— Toni H., San Diego, CA

Toni had lived with sciatica for 10 years and had already tried chiropractic care, acupuncture, pain medication and other therapies before coming to the office.

Her story doesn't mean someone should keep trying conservative treatments forever. It does show why persistent symptoms after previous treatment don't automatically mean there are no other options to evaluate.

Could Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Be an Option After PT?

For an appropriate patient, it may be.

Dr. Boelk commonly evaluates patients with:

• Lumbar disc bulges.

• Lumbar disc herniations.

• L4-L5 and L5-S1 disc injuries.

• Degenerative disc disease.

• Disc-related sciatica.

• Foraminal narrowing.

• Selected cases of spinal stenosis.

The clinic uses the DRX9000 exclusively for Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression.

But having sciatica—and having already tried physical therapy—doesn't automatically make someone a candidate.

Dr. Boelk looks at your history, symptoms, neurological findings, imaging when available, spinal stability, bone health, previous surgery and response to prior treatment before recommending care.

Don't Judge Progress Only by Your Pain Number

This is especially important after you've spent several months treating sciatica.

Ask yourself what you can actually do now compared with when you started.

Can you walk farther?

Can you sit through a meal without constantly changing positions?

Can you drive longer?

Are you sleeping better?

Is the pain traveling less distance down the leg?

Is the numbness happening less frequently?

Have you returned to the gym, golf, surfing, hiking or whatever you stopped doing?

If your pain went from an 8 to a 5 but you still can't walk more than 10 minutes, that's important.

On the other hand, if the pain isn't completely gone but you're walking twice as far and gradually returning to normal activities, that's meaningful improvement.

The trend matters.

When Another Conservative Treatment May Not Be Appropriate

There are situations where continuing to search for another non-surgical treatment isn't the right next move.

Rapidly progressing weakness, significant neurological loss, new bowel or bladder dysfunction, difficulty initiating or controlling urination, or numbness involving the groin, inner thighs or saddle region requires prompt medical evaluation.

There are also patients whose examination, imaging or structural condition makes a surgical opinion appropriate.

Dr. Boelk doesn't believe every case of sciatica should be treated with spinal decompression.

★ Sometimes Dr. Boelk Says No to Treatment

“But I'm glad I took the time to meet with him.”

“Very nice Dr. and Honest ! I would definitely recommend anyone who hasn't had metal put in there back in a surgery to go to him and give his program a shot. I believe it would definitely help. Just not in my personal case. As I have a lot of hardware in my back. But I'm glad I took the time to meet with him. It was very informative all around.”

— Toni W., Lake Elsinore, CA

Toni came in hoping treatment might be an option, but the amount of hardware in her back meant Dr. Boelk did not consider her an appropriate candidate.

That's why the consultation comes first.

The goal isn't to take every patient who hasn't improved with PT and put them on a DRX9000.

It's to determine whether the treatment actually makes sense.

More Than 22 Years Focused on Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression

Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC has more than 22 years of experience with Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression and has performed more than 100,000 spinal decompression treatments.

His professional background includes:

• Doctor of Chiropractic

• Certified Spinal Decompression Doctor

• Certified Pain-Free Performance Specialist (PPSC)

• Founder, Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Training Academy

• Trains other doctors in spinal decompression protocols and techniques

• Founding Member, American Spinal Decompression Society

• Member, International Disc Education Association

• California X-Ray Radiation Supervisor & Operator

Dr. Boelk also understands spinal injury personally. He suffered an L5 compression fracture at age 16 and later dealt with disc injuries and sciatica himself.

If PT Hasn't Helped Your Sciatica, Find Out Why Before Simply Trying More

Physical therapy helping some aspects of your condition but not eliminating the sciatica doesn't necessarily mean you're out of options.

It also doesn't automatically mean spinal decompression is the answer.

The next step should be figuring out why you're still having nerve symptoms and whether another approach makes sense.

Bring your MRI images and report if you have them. Tell Dr. Boelk what you did in physical therapy, which movements helped, which made things worse and what you still can't do because of the sciatica.

Then let him determine whether he believes he can help.

The consultation is personally performed by Dr. Boelk. There is no charge and no obligation to begin treatment.

Because Dr. Boelk performs these consultations himself while continuing to treat his existing patients, only a limited number can be accommodated in the clinic schedule.

Call 619-298-0800 and ask about the next available No-Charge Consultation with Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC.

The Spinal Decompression & Chiropractic Center of San Diego
5095 Murphy Canyon Road, Suite 300
San Diego, CA 92123

619-298-0800
SanDiegoBackCare.com

Live 24/7 Answering Service • Hablamos Español

Related Articles

Why Is My Sciatica Not Going Away? | San Diego, CA

Can Spinal Decompression Help Sciatica Nerve Pain? | San Diego, CA