Sciatica is a condition characterized by shooting pain that runs down one or both of a person’s legs. Other symptoms may also include a tingling sensation or extreme weakness in the same areas. In case you have sciatic pain or suspect that you do, it’s essential that you seek professional help, since it could be a sign of a deeper spinal problem.
In most cases, a routine visit to your spine specialist will involve a few questions regarding your health and medical background and some basic exams. However, the following are a few tips on how to have a productive doctor’s visit if you have sciatica.
Have Your Medical Background Information On Hand
Even though the list of medical history questions asked during such an appointment are relatively standard, having your medical background information on hand will save a lot of time and help the doctor to understand and diagnose your condition more precisely.
Having such information on hand will also provide you and your doctor with additional time to talk about the possible treatment options once a diagnosis is made.
Bring a Friend
In case your sciatic pain is severe, you may experience some difficulty concentrating on what the doctor is telling you during your meeting. As a result, bringing a friend along who can sit in with you and take notes will ensure that you don’t miss out on any critical information that may be essential in the future.
A friend can also remind you about important details or topics that you wished to discuss with your doctor during the appointment in case you forget.
Start the Conversation Online
In case you have any queries about your sciatica or don’t know very much about the condition, you can talk to your spinal doctor online before the day of the appointment. This will not only provide you with a bit of knowledge regarding the condition, but also give you an idea of what you should expect during your visit to the doctor.
Do Your Research
To make your spinal doctor’s appointment go a whole lot smoother and faster, you can do a bit of research on sciatica and familiarize yourself with some of the vocabulary used when discussing the condition.
Remember, sciatica is somewhat of a layman’s term used to describe a particular set of symptoms that are known to appear because of a sciatic nerve root problem that is experienced in a person’s lower back, but then travels down the sciatic nerve. As you can see, just by this standard definition, the condition is not so cut and dry.
Contact Spine Consult NJ
If you suffer from sciatica, contact Spine Consult NJ today. Our medical staff has the experience and qualifications to treat your condition and help you get better.