Sciatica Treatment in Mission Viejo, CA
Pain running from the low back into the buttock and down the leg. Dr. Foudy hears this almost every day — and can almost always help.
Sciatica is pain that travels along the sciatic nerve — from the lower back through the buttock and down the back of the leg — and it is caused by something compressing that nerve where it exits the spine, most often a disc bulge or herniation at L4, L5, or S1. At Foudy Chiropractic in Mission Viejo, the first visit identifies which level is involved using a surface EMG nervous-system scan and digital X-rays, and care then targets that level specifically with adjustment, flexion-distraction, and AccuSpina spinal decompression when the disc is the source.
What it feels like
If several of these sound like you, they are worth measuring rather than guessing at.
- Pain that starts in the low back or buttock and travels down one leg
- Numbness, tingling, or a pins-and-needles feeling in the leg or foot
- Sharp, electric pain when you sit, cough, or sneeze
- Weakness in the leg or a foot that feels like it drags
- Pain that is worse after long sitting and eases when you walk (or the reverse)
- Trouble standing up straight or getting out of bed in the morning
| Relief | Correction | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Quiet the symptom | Address the cause |
| Typical length | A few visits | A course of care, then maintenance |
| What is included | Adjustment and modalities | Adjustment, modalities, and corrective exercise |
| Re-testing | Not usually | Progress exam against your own baseline |
| Likelihood it returns | Higher | Lower, if the exercise work is done |
What this means for you: both are legitimate choices, and Dr. Foudy will not push you toward the longer one. You just make the choice knowing which one you picked, and what it does and does not buy you.
What is actually causing it
The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body, and it is formed from nerve roots that exit the lower spine. When a disc bulges or herniates, or when a vertebra sits out of alignment, that exit gets narrowed and the nerve is irritated. The pain you feel in your leg is real, but the problem is in your back.
Dr. Foudy's framing: “Your spine is like your circuit breakers. We're going to see where you might have some circuit breakers out of alignment.” Treating the leg does nothing. Finding the level does everything.
How this office finds the level
A surface EMG reads how each nerve root is functioning, level by level — Dr. Foudy calls it an EKG of your nervous system. Digital X-rays then show the structure: disc height, alignment, degeneration. The two are correlated, and palpation validates the scan live, so you feel exactly what the screen shows.
You come back for a Report of Findings, where the diagnosis, the timeline, and the cost are laid out against your own images. Bring your spouse. Ask anything.
How it is treated here
Adjustment restores motion to the segment that is stuck. Motorized flexion/distraction opens the disc space gently and is particularly effective for lumbar disc herniation and sciatica. Where the disc is clearly the driver, AccuSpina spinal decompression applies negative pressure with oscillation at maximum load, so the disc is worked while it is decompressed.
Corrective exercise with Melanie L. Foudy, M.S. comes in during the back half of care, so the correction holds instead of relapsing the first time you lift something wrong.
In summary: sciatica at Foudy Chiropractic
- What it is. Pain running from the low back into the buttock and down the leg. Dr. Foudy hears this almost every day — and can almost always help.
- How it is found. Surface EMG reads nerve-root function level by level, digital X-rays show the structure, and palpation validates both — so the cause is measured rather than guessed at.
- How it is treated. Chiropractic adjustment, the open-floor modalities, and where discs are involved, AccuSpina spinal decompression. Corrective exercise follows so the correction holds.
- What it costs. An adjustment visit is $90 with every modality included. Decompression plans are quoted in person after your exam.
- Where. Foudy Chiropractic, 28892 Marguerite Pkwy #150, Mission Viejo, CA 92692 — (949) 365-0403.
Sciatica — questions people ask
Can a chiropractor help sciatica?
In most cases, yes. Dr. Foudy's own words: “Anybody has low back pain, I'm going to help them. Unless it's a massive tumor or a fracture.” Those rare cases belong with a specialist, and he will tell you so directly at the first visit rather than starting care that will not work.
How long does it take to relieve sciatica?
Many patients feel a change within the first few visits. Structural correction takes longer. Care plans commonly start at two to three visits per week and taper as the spine holds its progress. Decompression courses typically run six to eight weeks. Your actual plan comes from your own exam and X-rays, never from a template.
Do I need an MRI first?
Not usually. Digital X-ray plus a surface EMG scan is enough to identify the involved level and start care. If findings suggest something outside a chiropractor's scope, Dr. Foudy refers you to the right specialist.
Is spinal decompression painful?
No. Most patients describe it as a slow, comfortable stretch. Some fall asleep on the table.
Will it come back?
It can, if only the pain was treated and not the cause. That is the reason corrective exercise is built into the plan — the same way a retainer holds straightened teeth after the braces come off.
Other things this office sees every week
Lower Back Pain
The most common reason people walk through this door — and the one Dr. Foudy says he can almost always help.
Read more →Neck Pain
“Every time I turn my neck a certain way, I get this shooting pain into my shoulder blades.” He hears it constantly.
Read more →Headaches & Migraines
“I'm getting these headaches that are kind of all over my head.” Many of them start at the top of the neck.
Read more →Herniated & Bulging Discs
A gentler alternative to medication or surgery — decompression with oscillation at maximum load.
Read more →Numbness & Tingling
Where you feel it is rarely where it starts. The scan finds where it starts.
Read more →Forward Head Posture
The posture your desk gave you — measurable, and correctable.
Read more →Sports Injuries & Performance
The chiropractor behind a gold medal team. What the athletes got is what you get.
Read more →Whiplash & Auto Injury
Symptoms often arrive days after the collision. The exam finds what the adrenaline hid.
Read more →Scoliosis
A curve that is measured, tracked, and worked on — not just watched.
Read more →Shoulder & Hip Pain
Almost every joint in the body can be adjusted — not just the spine.
Read more →Pregnancy & Prenatal Care
Gentle care for the back and pelvic pain that pregnancy brings with it.
Read more →Get an answer, not a guess.
One visit tells you whether sciatica is something this office can help with. You will see your own scan and your own X-rays before any plan is proposed.