Why Does My Sciatica Get Worse at Night? | Chula Vista, CA
A lot of people with sciatica expect the worst pain to happen when they're on their feet.
Sometimes it's exactly the opposite.
They get through the day fairly well, come home, finally lie down and that's when the leg starts.
Maybe it's an ache deep in the buttock at first. Then it starts running down the thigh. Twenty minutes later the calf is burning or the foot is tingling and they're turning from side to side trying to find a position that works.
Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC has had patients tell him they sleep better on the couch than in their own bed. Others end up in a recliner. Some get up several times a night because walking around for a few minutes is the only thing that settles the leg down.
If that sounds familiar, don't automatically assume you need a new mattress.
The mattress may affect your comfort, but Dr. Boelk is much more interested in why changing your position changes the leg symptoms in the first place.
Where does the pain travel?
Does bending the knees help?
Does straightening the leg make it worse?
Can you sleep on one side but not the other?
Does the foot go numb?
What happens when you get up and walk?
Those are the kinds of details that help him start sorting out what may be irritating the nerve.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “For the First Time in 10 Years, I Am Completely Pain-Free”
“My sciatca is gone, and I no longer have back pain.”
“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 lived with sciatica for years.
You don't need to wait that long to get an opinion about what's going on.
If you're losing sleep several nights a week, changing the way you work or exercise, or planning your day around how bad the leg might feel later, the problem is already taking something away from you.
That's a reasonable time to have it looked at.
You Can Start by Sitting Down With Dr. Boelk
The point of that appointment is not to convince you to start treatment.
It's to figure out whether he thinks you're someone he can help.
Dr. Boelk performs the consultation himself. If you have an MRI, he'll review the actual images with you rather than simply looking at the impression on the report.
He'll also want to hear what has been happening in your own words.
The consultation gives you a chance to go through:
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How the problem started.
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Where the pain actually travels.
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What happens when you get into bed.
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Which positions help and which make the leg worse.
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Whether you have numbness, tingling, burning or weakness.
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What happens when you sit, stand or walk.
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What you've already tried.
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Your MRI images and report, if available.
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Whether the MRI findings make sense with your symptoms.
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Whether further examination or imaging may be appropriate.
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Whether Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression may be an option.
If Dr. Boelk doesn't think you're a candidate, he'll tell you.
There is no charge for this consultation and no obligation to begin treatment.
You also don't need an MRI before scheduling.
The office does intentionally limit these appointments. Dr. Boelk personally performs them while also treating his existing patients, and there are only so many consultation openings that can be placed into the clinic schedule.
When the available appointments are taken, new consultations are scheduled into the next openings.
If you'd like Dr. Boelk's opinion, call 619-298-0800 and ask about the next available No-Charge Consultation.
Why Would Lying Down Make Your Leg Hurt?
Think about how many different positions your lower back and legs go through when you're trying to sleep.
You lie flat.
You bend the knees.
You roll onto one side.
You straighten one leg.
You pull the other leg up.
If a lumbar nerve root is already irritated, some of those positions may be much more comfortable than others.
Dr. Boelk may have one patient tell him, “As soon as I straighten my right leg, I feel it all the way into my foot.”
Another says, “I can lie on my back, but I can't lie on my right side.”
Another is fine lying down but gets a sudden electrical pain when rolling over.
That doesn't automatically tell Dr. Boelk exactly what's wrong.
But it gives him something useful to work with.
It's very different from simply saying, “My leg hurts.”
Sometimes the Problem Builds During the Day
A patient may blame the bed because that's where the pain finally becomes bad enough to get their attention.
But consider what happened before bedtime.
Maybe you sat for most of the day.
Maybe you drove from Chula Vista to work and back and spent another six or seven hours sitting at a desk.
Maybe you felt good enough to go to the gym after work.
Maybe you were bending, lifting or working around the house.
By 10:00 at night, the nerve may already be irritated.
Then you lie down, the position changes and suddenly the symptoms are much harder to ignore.
This is why Dr. Boelk asks about the whole day, not just what mattress you own.
What Can You Do to Get More Comfortable Tonight?
Keep it simple.
If you're more comfortable on your back with the knees slightly bent, you can try putting support underneath them.
If you're a side sleeper, a pillow between the knees may help you find a more comfortable position.
But pay attention to your leg.
If something makes the symptoms settle down, that's generally more useful than forcing yourself into a position because someone online said it's the best way to sleep with sciatica.
And if a position makes burning, tingling or pain travel farther down the leg, don't keep forcing it.
Some people spend weeks trying different pillows, stretches and mattress positions when the more useful question is why the nerve keeps getting irritated in the first place.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I Was Able to Sleep Mostly Pain-Free for the First Time in Months”
“Honestly, I wasn't sure I would ever heal.”
“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
Being able to sleep again was obviously important to Michael.
That's one of the things people sometimes underestimate about sciatica.
It's not only the pain itself.
It's what the pain starts preventing you from doing.
Sleeping is often one of the first things to go.
Then it may be walking, working out, traveling, sitting through a dinner, playing golf or simply getting through a workday without constantly thinking about the leg.
What If Your Back Doesn't Hurt?
That's common enough that Dr. Boelk specifically asks about it.
A patient may come in saying:
“My back is fine. It's my leg.”
That doesn't rule out a lumbar disc problem.
If a nerve root in the lower back is irritated, you can feel symptoms farther down the pathway of that nerve without having severe pain directly over the lower back.
Some people mainly feel it in the buttock and thigh.
Others feel it in the calf.
Some have tingling or numbness in the foot.
A few barely have back pain at all.
None of that proves a disc herniation is the cause. Dr. Boelk still needs to evaluate the entire picture.
But it is absolutely possible for a lower-back problem to present primarily as leg symptoms.
Don't Ignore a Leg That's Becoming Weaker
Pain gets your attention.
Weakness concerns Dr. Boelk even more.
If the leg is progressively getting weaker, you're having difficulty lifting the front of the foot, you're stumbling more often, or your foot starts slapping the ground when you walk, don't just keep experimenting with sleeping positions.
Increasing numbness matters too.
Rapidly progressing weakness, new bowel or bladder dysfunction, difficulty urinating, or numbness around the groin or saddle area requires prompt medical evaluation.
Severe unrelenting nighttime pain along with unexplained fever, significant unexplained weight loss, a history of cancer or other concerning medical symptoms should also be appropriately evaluated rather than automatically assuming it's a disc problem.
Does Nighttime Sciatica Mean You Need Spinal Decompression?
No.
Dr. Boelk has been working with disc injuries, sciatica and Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression for more than 22 years, and one of the most important parts of that experience is knowing that not everybody belongs on a decompression table.
The Spinal Decompression & Chiropractic Center of San Diego uses the DRX9000 exclusively.
Dr. Boelk evaluates patients with disc bulges, disc herniations, degenerative disc disease, disc-related sciatica, foraminal narrowing and selected cases of spinal stenosis.
But the diagnosis alone isn't enough.
He considers the history, examination findings, neurological symptoms, imaging when available, spinal stability, bone health, medical history and previous surgery.
Significant osteoporosis, an unhealed fracture, unstable spondylolisthesis, abdominal aortic aneurysm, pregnancy for lumbar decompression, certain malignancies and other medical or structural problems may make treatment inappropriate.
Previous spinal surgery also needs to be reviewed carefully, especially when fusion or metal hardware is present at the level that would need treatment.
★ An Honest Consultation Can End With “No”
“We both determined that surgery was my only option to correct my back issues.”
“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
Jeff wasn't sold a treatment plan.
He wasn't a candidate.
He got an opinion and left knowing what direction he needed to go.
That's what the No-Charge Consultation is supposed to accomplish.
Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC
Dr. Boelk has spent more than 22 years working with disc injuries, sciatica and Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression and has performed more than 100,000 spinal decompression treatments.
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Doctor of Chiropractic
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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's interest in spinal injuries is personal as well. He suffered an L5 compression fracture at 16 and later dealt with disc injuries and sciatica himself.
If This Is Becoming Your Normal Night, You Don't Have to Keep Guessing
One bad night is one thing.
Waking up night after night because your leg is burning is different.
If you're already arranging pillows every night, sleeping in another room, getting out of bed to walk around or waking up exhausted because you haven't slept for more than two hours at a time, waiting isn't really doing nothing.
You're giving the problem more of your sleep and more of the next day.
That doesn't mean you should rush into treatment.
It means getting an experienced opinion may make more sense than continuing to guess.
The No-Charge Consultation is designed to make that first step easy.
You aren't committing to a treatment program.
You aren't required to have an MRI.
And you aren't paying to find out whether Dr. Boelk thinks you're someone he can help.
If you already have an MRI, bring the actual images and report.
Dr. Boelk will sit down with you personally, go through what's happening and tell you what he thinks.
There is no charge and no obligation.
There is, however, a limit to how many of these appointments Dr. Boelk can personally perform while continuing to treat the patients already under his care.
Once the consultation openings in the schedule are taken, the office moves new patients to the next available dates.
So if you're already losing sleep to sciatica, there isn't much benefit in waiting for it to take more away from you before getting an opinion.
Call 619-298-0800
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
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