Most sciatica is a disc problem. We treat the disc — not just the symptoms.
That burning pain down your leg has a source — and it’s usually not in your leg
Sciatica is the name for pain that follows the sciatic nerve: from the lower back or buttock, down the back of the thigh, sometimes all the way into the calf or foot. Patients describe it as burning, electric, shooting, or a deep ache that makes sitting unbearable and sleep a nightly negotiation. It can come with numbness, tingling, or a leg that feels weak or unreliable.
Here’s the part that matters for treatment: sciatica is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Something is pressing on or irritating the nerve — and in most cases, that something is a lumbar disc. A herniated or bulging disc pushes into the space where the nerve root exits the spine, and the nerve reacts by broadcasting pain down the leg. Less often, the culprit is spinal stenosis (a narrowed nerve passage), a slipped vertebra, or deep muscle spasm mimicking true sciatica.
That’s why the first question isn’t “how do we calm the leg pain?” It’s “what exactly is pressing on the nerve?” Answer that, and treatment stops being guesswork.
Why so many sciatica treatments disappoint
If you’ve had sciatica for a while, you may have already tried some of this: stretching routines from the internet. Massage. Pain medication. General chiropractic adjustments. Maybe an injection that helped for a few weeks and wore off.
There’s a pattern in what those approaches share: they address the pain, the muscles, or the inflammation — but not the disc that’s causing the compression. Stretching a muscle doesn’t move a disc off a nerve. Medication quiets the signal without changing what’s sending it. Even a well-placed epidural, valuable as it can be, reduces inflammation around the nerve rather than changing the structure pressing on it. When the underlying compression remains, relief tends to be partial, temporary, or both.
Lasting improvement usually requires changing the mechanics at the source — which is exactly what our approach is built to do.
How TriMed treats sciatica: decompress the disc, then rebuild around it
At TriMed Spine & Joint, sciatica care is built on the TriMed Protocol — our complete treatment system — tuned specifically to the disc-and-nerve problem driving your leg pain.
It starts with the DRX9000. Non-surgical spinal decompression applies computer-controlled traction to the specific lumbar segment involved, gently reducing the pressure inside the disc. That pressure change creates the conditions for a bulging or herniated disc to retract away from the nerve root and rehydrate — addressing the compression itself, not just its echo down your leg. Dr. Cantor is DRX9000-certified, an Excite Medical preferred provider, and has documented measurable disc-height improvement in treated patients. Not every decompression program is run the same way, so it is worth knowing how to choose a spinal decompression provider in Boca Raton before you commit to a course of care.
Then the rest of the protocol goes to work, in sequence. Class IV laser and red light therapy calm the inflammation around the irritated nerve. Shockwave and ultrasound address the chronic soft-tissue changes that build up after months of guarding and limping. Manual therapy and adjustments from the TriMed team restore motion to the joints above and below the problem segment. Targeted nutrition and supplementation give healing tissue what it needs, and guided home exercise protects your progress between visits and after discharge — core and postural work introduced at the right phase, not photocopied handouts on day one.
The order matters. Calming an inflamed nerve comes before loading it. Decompressing a disc comes before strengthening around it. That sequencing — the full TriMed Protocol — is the difference between chasing sciatica and resolving the mechanics behind it.
Already have an MRI? Bring it.
Sciatica is one place where imaging genuinely changes the plan. Your MRI shows which disc is involved, how large the herniation is, and whether stenosis is contributing — all of which shape your protocol.
Dr. Cantor personally reviews your imaging and gives you a straight answer on whether decompression can help — and if you’re not a candidate, we’ll tell you that too. (If your MRI report reads like a foreign language, our guide Your MRI Report, Explained translates terms like protrusion, extrusion, and foraminal narrowing into plain English.)
When sciatica is an emergency
Most sciatica, even severe, is not dangerous. But seek immediate medical attention — emergency room, not an appointment — if leg pain comes with loss of bladder or bowel control, numbness in the groin or inner thighs, or rapidly worsening leg weakness. These can signal cauda equina syndrome, a rare surgical emergency.
Sciatica FAQs
What causes sciatica?
The most common cause is a herniated or bulging lumbar disc pressing on a nerve root — the origin of most sciatica we see. Other causes include spinal stenosis (narrowing of the nerve passages), spondylolisthesis (a slipped vertebra), and piriformis syndrome, where a deep buttock muscle irritates the sciatic nerve. Identifying which one is driving your pain is the first step of treatment, because they aren’t treated the same way.
Can sciatica go away on its own?
Mild episodes sometimes settle over weeks. But sciatica that persists beyond a few weeks, keeps returning, or comes with numbness or weakness usually means the underlying compression hasn’t changed — and time alone rarely changes it. That’s when addressing the disc directly makes sense.
Do I need surgery for sciatica?
Most people don’t. Surgery is generally reserved for severe or progressive weakness, emergency signs, or cases that fail thorough conservative care. Non-surgical spinal decompression exists precisely for the large middle group: real disc problems that haven’t responded to basic care but don’t belong in an operating room. If your case does warrant a surgical or pain-management consult, TriMed’s multi-specialty structure means that conversation happens in-house — not through a cold referral.
How is TriMed’s approach different from regular chiropractic care for sciatica?
General adjustments improve spinal motion but don’t specifically decompress the disc pressing on your nerve. Our care is built around DRX9000 spinal decompression targeting the involved segment, surrounded by the full TriMed Protocol — laser, red light, shockwave, ultrasound, manual therapy, nutrition, and guided exercise, sequenced for your case. It’s disc-focused treatment, not general maintenance.
How long does sciatica treatment take?
It depends on the size of the herniation, how long the nerve has been compressed, and your overall health. Decompression protocols typically run several weeks with multiple sessions per week, and many patients notice leg-pain changes before the course is complete. You’ll get a specific plan — with a defined timeline — after your evaluation and imaging review, not an open-ended “come three times a week forever.”
Does insurance cover sciatica treatment?
Coverage varies by plan and by treatment. Our team verifies your benefits before care begins and explains exactly what’s covered and what isn’t — no surprises. If your sciatica stems from a car accident, Florida PIP rules apply and time limits matter; see our auto injury care page.
Get a straight answer about your leg pain
You’ve probably already spent months managing sciatica. The next step isn’t another round of guessing — it’s finding out exactly what’s pressing on the nerve and whether decompression can change it.
TriMed Spine & Joint · 307 Via De Palmas, Boca Raton, FL · 561-750-5416