Why Does My Sciatica Get Worse at Night? | Tierrasanta, CA

Some people with sciatica have a strange pattern.

They actually feel better when they're up and moving.

They get through work. They walk around. They may even exercise without too much trouble.

Then they go to bed and the leg starts.

Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC has had patients describe lying there for 20 or 30 minutes before the aching starts in the buttock. Then it works its way down the thigh. The calf starts burning. The foot starts tingling. They roll over, pull their knees up, straighten them again and eventually get out of bed because nothing seems comfortable.

A few minutes of walking around may even make them feel better.

Then they get back into bed and start the whole process over again.

When someone tells Dr. Boelk that story, he doesn't immediately blame the mattress.

He wants to know why the symptoms are changing so much with position.

He also wants to know what's happening during the rest of the day, because sometimes what you're feeling at midnight started building hours earlier.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I Couldn't Sleep Well, and My Quality of Life Was Steadily Declining”

“The pain shot from my hip all the way down to my left foot and became almost unbearable.”

“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

The part about not sleeping is important.

Sciatica may begin as something you notice in your leg, but once it's waking you up every night it starts affecting everything else.

You're tired the next morning. Work is harder. You don't feel like exercising. Maybe you're skipping activities because you know you'll pay for them that night.

After a while, people start planning their lives around the problem.

If that's where you are now, getting an opinion doesn't mean you have to start treatment.

It means you stop guessing.

Dr. Boelk Sets Aside a Limited Number of No-Charge Consultations

For people in Tierrasanta and throughout San Diego dealing with sciatica or a possible disc problem, Dr. Boelk offers a No-Charge, No-Obligation Consultation.

He performs these consultations personally.

You're not sitting down with a salesperson, and the purpose isn't to sign everybody up for spinal decompression.

Dr. Boelk wants to hear what's actually happening.

Where does the pain start?

How far down the leg does it go?

What happens when you lie down?

What makes you get out of bed?

Is there numbness or weakness?

What have you already tried?

If you have an MRI, bring the actual images and the report. Dr. Boelk can look at what's on the images and compare it with what you're describing rather than assuming every finding on the MRI is causing your symptoms.

Your consultation can include:

• A review of how the sciatica started.

• Where your pain, burning or tingling travels.

• Which sleeping positions bother you.

• What sitting, standing and walking do to the symptoms.

• Review of numbness or weakness.

• What treatment you've already tried and how you responded.

• Review of your MRI images and report, if available.

• Discussion of whether additional examination or imaging may be appropriate.

• Whether Dr. Boelk thinks Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression may be an option.

• An honest answer if he doesn't believe you're a candidate.

You don't need an MRI to schedule.

There is no charge and no obligation to start care.

The appointments are limited because Dr. Boelk does them himself while continuing to treat his existing patients. The office only sets aside a certain amount of his schedule for new-patient No-Charge Consultations.

When those openings are taken, the next appointments move to the next available dates.

If you'd like to find out whether Dr. Boelk thinks he can help, call 619-298-0800 and ask what consultation appointments are currently available.

What Happens When You Change Positions?

This is something worth paying attention to tonight.

Don't overthink it.

Just notice what happens.

If you're lying flat on your back and the leg starts burning, what happens when you bend the knees?

If you're on your side and the foot starts tingling, does rolling to the other side change it?

Does standing up make the symptoms better?

Does walking around help?

Or are you the opposite—standing and walking make the leg worse, while lying down gives you relief?

Dr. Boelk sees both.

That's why two people can both say they have sciatica and need very different evaluations.

The behavior of the symptoms is part of the story.

The Problem May Have Started Long Before Bedtime

Suppose you spend most of the day sitting.

You drive to work, sit at a computer for hours, drive home and then sit down for dinner.

Or maybe your day is the opposite. You're on your feet, bending, lifting and moving all day.

Then you go to the gym.

By bedtime, you've put the lower back through an entire day's worth of activity.

The fact that your leg becomes really noticeable when you finally lie down doesn't necessarily mean the bed created the problem.

That's one reason Dr. Boelk asks patients what they did that day and what they repeatedly do every day.

Sometimes changing a few habits is part of getting the symptoms under better control.

But if you're having significant leg pain every night, especially when it's accompanied by numbness or weakness, Dr. Boelk would rather understand what's causing it than simply tell you to change your pillow.

What About Sleeping Positions?

There isn't one perfect position for everybody with sciatica.

Some people feel better on their back with the knees supported.

Some prefer side sleeping with a pillow between the knees.

Some can't tolerate one side at all.

Use your symptoms as a guide.

If a position settles the leg down, that's useful.

If you move into a position and pain starts traveling farther down the leg, the foot begins tingling more or the symptoms clearly increase, don't keep forcing it.

And be careful about aggressively stretching the leg before bed just because the hamstring or calf feels tight.

Sometimes what a person interprets as a “tight hamstring” is actually part of the nerve irritation. If repeatedly stretching it makes the pain or tingling travel farther down the leg, that's not something Dr. Boelk would tell you to keep pushing through.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “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 had dealt with sciatica for 10 years.

Obviously, not everybody who has sciatica needs to come see Dr. Boelk immediately.

But there's also no prize for seeing how long you can put up with it.

If the problem has reached the point where you're consistently losing sleep, missing workouts, avoiding things you normally enjoy or changing your day because of what the leg might do later, it's already having a meaningful effect on your life.

“But My Lower Back Doesn't Really Hurt”

That doesn't rule out the lower back.

Dr. Boelk sees people with significant leg symptoms who have very little back pain.

A lumbar nerve root can become irritated and produce symptoms farther down its pathway. One person may feel most of the pain in the buttock. Another feels it in the calf. Someone else mainly notices numbness or tingling in the foot.

There are also other conditions that can produce leg symptoms, so Dr. Boelk isn't going to tell someone they have a herniated disc simply because they describe sciatica.

This is where the history, examination and imaging—when it's needed—have to make sense together.

If you've already had an MRI, bring it.

Dr. Boelk prefers to review the actual images along with the radiology report.

Pain Is One Thing. Increasing Weakness Is Different.

If the leg hurts but is otherwise functioning normally, that's one situation.

If you're starting to lose strength, that's another.

Dr. Boelk wants to know if you're having trouble lifting the front of your foot, pushing off when you walk, climbing stairs or doing something that was easy a few weeks ago.

If your foot is beginning to slap the ground or you are stumbling because the leg isn't working normally, get it evaluated.

Rapidly progressing weakness, new bowel or bladder dysfunction, difficulty urinating, or numbness around the groin or saddle area requires prompt medical evaluation.

Severe, unrelenting night pain associated with unexplained fever, significant unexplained weight loss, a history of cancer or other concerning medical symptoms should also be medically evaluated rather than assuming it's ordinary sciatica.

Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Isn't for Everybody

The Spinal Decompression & Chiropractic Center of San Diego uses the DRX9000 exclusively for Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression.

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 by itself doesn't make somebody a candidate.

Dr. Boelk looks at the patient's history, examination, neurological findings, imaging when available, spinal stability, bone health, previous surgery and medical history.

There are situations where decompression may not be appropriate, including significant osteoporosis, an unhealed fracture, unstable spondylolisthesis, abdominal aortic aneurysm, pregnancy for lumbar decompression, certain malignancies and other medical or structural problems.

Previous spinal surgery also has to be looked at carefully, particularly if there is fusion or metal hardware at the level that would need treatment.

★ Sometimes the Right Answer Is Another Type of Care

“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 came in for an opinion.

The answer wasn't spinal decompression.

That's an important part of Dr. Boelk's consultation process.

If your condition isn't something he believes he should treat, the goal isn't to find a way around that. He'll tell you.

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.

• 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 has also dealt with significant back injuries himself, beginning with an L5 compression fracture at 16 and later disc injuries and sciatica.

If You're Waking Up Again Tonight, Ask Yourself One Question

Is this actually getting better?

If it is, great.

Give your body some time and pay attention to the trend.

But if you've been telling yourself that for the last month while you're still waking up every night, changing positions every 20 minutes and dragging yourself through the next day tired, it may be time to get another set of eyes on it.

You don't have to decide whether you want treatment.

You don't have to sign up for anything.

You don't even need an MRI before you call.

The No-Charge Consultation is simply an opportunity to sit down with Dr. Boelk, explain what's been happening and find out whether he thinks your condition is something he may be able to help.

If the answer is no, he'll tell you.

If he believes you're a candidate, he can explain why and what your options are. Then you decide what you want to do.

There is no charge and no obligation.

Because Dr. Boelk personally performs these consultations, however, they aren't unlimited. Only a limited number are worked into his schedule around the patients he's already treating.

When those openings are filled, the office moves to the next available consultation dates.

If you're already losing sleep, you don't need to wait until you're also losing more of your ability to work, exercise, travel or enjoy your normal life before getting an opinion.

Call 619-298-0800

Ask what No-Charge Consultation appointments with Dr. Cassidy James Boelk, DC are currently available.

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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