Back pain and sciatica treatment in San Antonio.

Usually not, and it’s rarely the first step. Studies keep finding disc bulges and wear and tear on the scans of people with zero pain at all, so an image on its own doesn’t tell you what’s driving yours. We start with a hands-on, cause-first evaluation to find what actually reproduces your symptoms. If imaging becomes genuinely necessary, we’ll help you get it. You don’t have to wait on a scan to start feeling better.

Yes, in most cases movement helps more than rest does. Hurt doesn’t always mean harm, and total rest tends to leave a back stiffer and weaker, which sets up the next flare-up. The skill is dosing the right movement for your specific back. That’s exactly what a Doctor of Physical Therapy sorts out at your evaluation, then progresses with you as you improve.

Because the leg is where you feel it, not usually where it comes from. Sciatica is a nerve being irritated somewhere along its route, most often up at the spine or deep in the hip. Chasing the calf with stretches and rollers treats the loudest spot instead of the source. We test the whole route, find where the nerve is actually getting squeezed, and treat that.

You get a plan with an endpoint, and you’ll have it before you leave your evaluation. Every plan runs the same four phases: Pain, Prime, Perform, Prevent. How long each one takes depends on how long you’ve had this and how your back responds. You’ll always know which phase you’re in and what’s left, instead of an open-ended string of appointments.