Sciatica & Radiculopathy Chiropractor in Frederick & Hagerstown, MD | Vital Alignment
Shooting pain, numbness, or pins and needles running down a leg or arm usually means a nerve is being irritated somewhere upstream. The job is finding where.
What it is
Radiculopathy is what happens when a spinal nerve root is compressed or irritated where it exits the spine. Depending on the level involved, you feel it as sciatica down the back of the leg, or as burning and tingling into the shoulder, arm, and hand. The pain travels along the nerve's path — but the source sits at the spine.
Common drivers include disc bulges pressing on the nerve root, narrowing of the space the nerve travels through, and joint dysfunction with the surrounding muscles clamping down to protect it. Because the symptoms travel, people often end up treating the leg or the arm, which is a large part of why it keeps coming back.
Assessment uses orthopedic and neurological testing, plus imaging where it's warranted, to identify which level is actually involved. Care then combines adjustments to reduce the mechanical irritation, soft-tissue and decompression work, and specific rehab. If the findings point to something outside the scope of chiropractic care, Dr. Wroblewski will say so and refer you on.