“I have had sich a great experience seeing Dr. Bergin. When other offices have told me I just had muscle damage or the only thing they could do for me was give shots, he said he had others ways to manage my pain and numbness, along with improving mobility. And he was right! I feel so much better! With such friendly staff and welcoming office environment, it makes for an amazing experience. I'll definitely continue seeing him!”
Condition
Sciatica Treatment
in Lakeland and The Villages, FL
Leg pain that outruns your back pain means a nerve is being irritated somewhere. The plan starts by finding where, because the answer changes the treatment completely.
- 22 years in practice
- Decompression and Neuromed on site
- No injections, no surgery
- $47 new-patient exam
Medically reviewed by Dr. Justin Bergin, DC Updated September 18, 2026
Quick summary
Sciatica is leg pain caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve or the roots that form it. The usual sources are a disc, a narrowed opening in the spine, or a tight muscle deep in the buttock.
Dr. Justin Bergin, DC locates the level before treating it, then unloads it with spinal decompression, chiropractic care and Neuromed electroanalgesia at both offices.
Understanding sciatica
Sciatica is a description rather than a diagnosis. It means pain traveling along the sciatic nerve, from the low back or buttock down the back of the leg. Something is irritating the nerve or the roots that form it, and the useful work is finding out what and where.
Where the irritation sits decides which part of the leg speaks up, and that is the whole reason for examining before treating.
A bulged or herniated disc pressing on a root as it exits is the most common finding. It usually hurts more on sitting and bending forward.
Narrowing of that exit does the same thing more gradually. It tends to hurt more on standing and walking than on sitting.
Less commonly the nerve is irritated further down, where it passes through the deep muscles of the buttock.
How it works
The nerve and its path
The sciatic nerve is the largest in the body. It is formed from roots leaving the lower back and sacrum, then runs through the buttock and down the back of the leg.
Where it gets compressed
Anywhere along that path the nerve can be compressed or irritated. Most commonly the trouble is at the spine end, where the roots exit the lower back.
Finding the source
The examination works back from where the leg reports symptoms to the structure and the level irritating the nerve. That is what decides the treatment.
Why is the leg worse than the back?
Sciatica has a particular cruelty to it. The back might barely hurt while the leg is unbearable.
Sitting is worse than standing, and the one position that helps at two in the morning is never the one you are in.
Has anyone examined you, or only treated you?
Most people who come to ChiroMed Wellness Centers with it have already tried anti-inflammatories and a stretching routine found online. Several have been offered an injection.
What almost none have had is an examination identifying which level of the spine, or which structure, is irritating the nerve.
Why does that distinction change the plan?
It is not an academic distinction. A disc at one level, a narrowed opening at another and a tight buttock muscle all produce leg pain, and none of them answer to the same care.
What happens once the finding is mechanical?
Dr. Justin Bergin, DC has 22 years of doing that examination.
Where the finding is mechanical, the plan takes pressure off the nerve with computer guided decompression. Adjusting restores movement in the lower back and pelvis, and Neuromed electroanalgesia handles the nerve pain itself.
Independent background: Sciatica, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Symptoms
Most people recognize their own version somewhere in this list. Each one maps to a specific finding the examination checks for.
- Pain running down the back of one leg
- Burning or electric sensation in the leg
- Pins and needles in the foot
- Worse pain on sitting
- Pain on coughing or sneezing
- Numbness along the calf or foot
- Difficulty standing up straight
- Aching deep in the buttock
- Leg feeling heavy or tired
Common causes
Lumbar disc herniation
Disc material presses on a nerve root where it leaves the spine. This is the most common cause of true sciatica and the reason pain is worse sitting and bending forward.
Foraminal narrowing and spinal stenosis
The openings the nerve roots pass through narrow with age and disc height loss. Symptoms are worse standing and walking and ease on sitting or leaning forward.
Deep gluteal irritation
Where the nerve passes through the muscles of the buttock, tightness and trigger points can irritate it directly. Pain starts in the buttock rather than the back, often after a long drive.
Spondylolisthesis
One vertebra slipping forward on the one below narrows the space the nerve roots need. That gives a sciatic pattern alongside a low back that feels unstable.
Degenerative change with facet enlargement
As facet joints wear they enlarge, and the extra bone encroaches on the space a nerve root needs. This develops slowly and is more common in older adults.
Pregnancy related compression
The mechanical changes of later pregnancy, with pelvic ligament laxity, can compress or irritate the nerve. It usually settles after delivery but does not have to be endured meanwhile.
How we treat sciatica in Lakeland and The Villages
Sciatica care here is about taking pressure off an irritated nerve and keeping it off. That means spinal decompression where a disc or a narrowed opening is the source.
Chiropractic care restores movement in the lower back and pelvis, and Neuromed electroanalgesia is aimed at the nerve pain itself.
Spinal Decompression to Take Pressure Off the Nerve Root
This addresses the cause directly when the examination points at a disc or a narrowed exit. Controlled, cycling traction is applied to the specific level identified, reducing compressive load on the root.
Dr. Bergin sets the level and angle from your findings and reassesses the leg as the course progresses. A leg that is not changing means the plan has to.
Chiropractic Care for the Lower Back and Pelvis
Restricted lumbar segments and a pelvis not sharing load keep the nerve in an irritable environment. Adjusting restores that movement so the decompression work holds, and it settles the guarding that makes every position uncomfortable.
This portion bills insurance, verified beforehand.
Neuromed Electroanalgesia for Nerve Pain
Electroanalgesia delivers specific electrical waveforms into the tissue to interrupt pain signalling and improve circulation in the area. We use the Neuromed system.
It runs alongside the decompression and chiropractic work rather than instead of them, and it is most useful when nerve pain is blocking sleep. Cash pay protocol.
Available at our 2 locations
Treatment at our Lakeland office, and also at:
What recovery usually looks like
Getting the leg quiet The opening phase
What changes first is usually distance and position: sitting through a meal, getting through a night, driving without stopping. Back pain often improves before leg pain, which is expected.
Centralization As the plan progresses
The pattern we look for is pain retreating up the leg toward the back rather than simply fading everywhere. That is the signal the nerve is decompressing, and it is tracked at each reassessment.
Rebuilding and protecting Later in the plan
Once the leg is quiet, care shifts to the loads that irritated the nerve: sitting time, lifting mechanics, hip movement. Visits space out as gains hold.
If the leg is not changing The honest checkpoint
A leg that has not shifted by the agreed review stops the plan rather than extending it. So does any leg starting to lose strength, at any stage. That referral happens the week it is identified.
When to seek care sooner
What to try at home first. For leg pain of a few days with no weakness and no warning signs, the most useful thing is to keep moving within tolerance.
Bed rest makes sciatica worse. Walk little and often, and break up sitting every fifteen or twenty minutes, since sitting loads the disc more than standing does.
Find the movement that eases the leg, usually gentle extension, and repeat it often rather than forcing stretches that increase leg pain.
Avoid deep forward bending and heavy lifting while it is irritable. Heat for the surrounding spasm tends to help more than ice after the first day.
The worst things you can do are bed rest, aggressive stretching that brings on the leg pain, and waiting quietly while a foot gets weaker.
A few sciatica symptoms are emergencies. Losing control of your bladder or bowels, numbness between your legs, or a foot that drops and catches when you walk. Any of those means a hospital the same day, not an appointment.
Get a same day medical opinion, not ours, if sciatica arrives with a fever or with weight loss you cannot explain. Same if you have had cancer, or if the leg pain started with a bad fall or a crash.
Cost, insurance and financing
The cost of sciatica care depends on where the irritation is and how long it has been there. You get the plan and the cost in writing at the report of findings, and nothing starts before you have seen both.
The one published price
Consultation, Exam, X-Rays (If Needed) & Report of Findings: Only $47
What affects the cost
- Which structure and which level the examination identifies
- Whether the plan needs a decompression course
- Whether nerve pain warrants an electroanalgesia protocol
- How long the leg has been symptomatic
What a course includes
- The consultation, examination and neurological screening
- Digital X-rays where they change the plan
- The written report of findings and the home program
Payment:
Chiropractic care bills insurance and our team verifies your benefits before your first visit. Spinal decompression and the Neuromed electroanalgesia protocol are self-pay, quoted in writing before they start.
Payment plans are available for self-pay care. Ask the front desk which plan fits your course of care.
Who you would be seeing
Who examines you, and what is checked each time?
Dr. Justin Bergin, DC has spent 22 years working with nerve pain. He screens for strength loss at every sciatica visit, not only at the first.
What is the approach?
The approach is short. Identify the level, take pressure off it, and refer immediately if the nerve is losing function rather than just hurting.
The unhurried appointment model exists because that examination cannot be done quickly.
Dr. Justin Bergin, DC, 22 years in practice, performs the examination personally and explains the findings before any program starts. Lakeland: 6595 Florida Ave S, Suite 13, Lakeland. The Villages market office: 929 US-441 #404, Lady Lake. Both offices run the same program.
Getting to us
How far is the Lakeland office?
The Lakeland office at 6595 Florida Ave S, Suite 13 sits near the Polk Parkway junction on South Florida Avenue. The drive is short from Highland City, Christina, Dixieland, Scott Lake and the Southgate and Lakeside Village side of town.
Much of the sciatica we treat in Polk County starts with a long commute, a delivery route or a job spent lifting off the floor.
What about Lady Lake and The Villages?
At Lady Lake, 929 US-441 #404 is reachable from The Villages, Summerfield, Fruitland Park, Oxford, Wildwood and Leesburg across Lake, Sumter and Marion counties.
There sciatica usually shows up as the thing that ended the daily walk or the golf round. The golf cart becomes the only comfortable seat in the house.
Browse every condition on the conditions we treat index.
From the ChiroMed Journal
Longer reading on this subject, written by the practice rather than bought in.
- What Is Commonly Mistaken for Sciatica, and What Makes It Worse
Not all leg pain is sciatica. Learn what copies the pattern, what makes real sciatic pain worse, and which non-surgical care fits. Book your consultation today.
Sciatica in recent research
These sources are independent of this practice and none of them endorses it. They are listed so the reasoning behind the care can be checked rather than taken on trust.
- Traction for low-back pain with or without sciatica
Found little or no benefit from traction used on its own for sciatica, which is why decompression here is only ever part of a wider plan.
- Sciatica
The National Library of Medicine summary of sciatica, including the leg weakness and bladder symptoms that need same-day medical attention.
Options compared, honestly
This is treated very differently depending on who you walk in to see. Here is the full set, including the options this practice does not provide.
| Option | What it is | Typically considered when | Invasive? | Offered at ChiroMed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spinal decompression Our approach | Cycling traction applied to the identified level to reduce compression on the nerve root | A disc or narrowed exit is identified and leg pain is the dominant symptom | No | Yes. Self-pay, quoted in writing first |
| Chiropractic care | Restoring movement at restricted lumbar segments and the pelvis | Segments are restricted and guarding holds the low back locked | No | Yes. Billed to insurance |
| Neuromed electroanalgesia | Electrical waveforms delivered into tissue to interrupt pain signalling | Nerve pain is blocking sleep while mechanical work proceeds | No | Yes. Cash pay protocol |
| Prescription nerve medication | Medication aimed at the nerve pain signal | Pain is intolerable and a physician judges it appropriate | No | Not performed here. We do not prescribe, and it does not change what compresses the nerve |
| Epidural steroid injection | An image guided steroid injection near the irritated root | Severe root pain has not responded to non-surgical care | Minimally | Not performed here. Reasonable when a severely inflamed root needs settling |
| Microdiscectomy or decompression surgery | Surgery to remove the disc material or bone pressing on the nerve | Strength is being lost, or non-surgical care has genuinely failed | Yes | Not performed here. A leg losing strength belongs with a surgeon and we refer the same week |
The last three options exist because the honest answer to some sciatica is not us. A nerve losing strength is a surgical conversation, and nobody should spend twelve weeks on a table while a foot gets weaker.
What to expect
From evaluation to a plan for your sciatica
A course, not a single visit. The examination decides the length and the cost, and both are written down first.
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01Evaluation
Orthopedic and neurological testing, with imaging on site where it changes the plan.
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02Findings, in plain language
What the examination actually found, and honestly whether this is a case conservative care can help at all.
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03A written program
Which disciplines, how many visits, over what period, and what it costs. Decided before anything begins.
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04Reassessment as it runs
Function is re-measured through the course. If the response says the plan should change, it changes.
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Find out what is actually driving it before choosing a program.
“Dr. Bergin was instrumental in relieving my back pain which I had for many years. The techniques he used on relieving my back pain were impressive. I been going to chiropractors for years and Dr. Bergin is the best. Thank You Dr. Bergin :)”
“Took a good amount of time going over my preliminary results and going over potential care plan. Great adjustment and doesn’t sugarcoat when discussing. Would recommend”
“The environment is incredible at this office with the staff and also both doctors are extremely friendly and great at what they do”
“Amazing, Super friendly and talented Staff and Doctors! My back was a hot mess after a semi hit my car on my first day moving to Florida. But after going through the treatment program I was able to get my neck, my back and my life in alignment. It was a total transformation. Thank You New City Chiropractic!”
“Hands down the best chiropractic office out there! They are super friendly and make me feel comfortable to tell then what’s wrong. They always ensure the best treatment for their patients!”
“I absolutely love this place , it is like going to visit family. They are always so pleasant , happy , and professional. I always enjoy seeing the ladies , they always put a smile on my face and even if I am having a bad day. The doctors are always so friendly and concerned with my well being. I actually look forward to going there and miss them on the days that I don't go.”
“I only wish it was closer. You are welcome it's definitely a compliment and I have read the great comments people made about the facility and staff! Amen Open one in Auburndale please!!”
“HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend coming here if you have any pains in your back or neck!! These guys are AMAZING at what they do!! Just a few months into coming here, I feel a change in the way I walk, the way my head sits on my shoulders, and I just feel GREAT; ALL THE TIME!! Crazy what some little adjustments did for me!!”
“This is an awesome chiropractic!! They are all nice and kind! Ever Since I have been adjusting my back, I don't need to take medicine before I go to bed. Also, I have been sleeping without waking up in the middle of the night because of the pain!! I really recommend the chiropractic 😊”
“Dr. Bergin at Chiromed Wellness Centers is the best chiropractor in town. I no longer have to take pain meds. If you still have pain, you’re not seeing to best chiropractor.”
“Love this place!! Cynthia and Angie are amazing! So nice and helpful!! The chiropractor’s are also amazing!! Just a great place overall! I highly recommended it!!”
“Look them up I waited so long to see a chiropractor and I found this place and am so happy that I did . Love the Drs they are so helpful and make feel like family.”
“The staff is super friendly and they walked me through the whole process. I’ve been going for a few weeks now and I’m already feeling results! The treatment the offer is very hands on and informative. I’ve never had manual adjustments until coming to this office and the staff makes you feel comfortable and takes care of your needs. Highly recommend !”
“The best Chiropractic center in South lakeland! love it here the Doctors are very urged to help with any of your needs, the beautiful assistants are nice and helpful they really make you feel welcomed. Most highly recommended Chiropractic Center. :)”
“Muy profesional la atención es formidable todos los empleados son muy amigables.Y muy efectiva sus terapias..Los recomiendo 100x100%”
“My pain has decreased dramatically, I’m no longer stretching and moving my neck in every angle trying to find relief. Every part of my body I can feel is finally getting closer to symmetry! All I can say is you should give new city a try!”
“I love this place!! They're very caring for their patients and strive to help you feel better. I strongly recommend giving them a try. I promise you won't regret it”
“The staff is very knowledgeable and organized, they get to know you and are flexible about fitting your treatment in to your life. They use proven methods to treat the root of your issues and the results are incredible. I was in a lot of pain after a car crash and within a few weeks I was able to go back to my normal routine with no discomfort.”
“I have seen and feel the change in my body since I started, I use to have major pain in my knees and neck ache. I'm an athlete and constantly need more adjustments, and every time I come I always without a doubt feel welcomed and important.”
Get in touch
Schedule your sciatica evaluation
Tell us what you are feeling and which office is closer. The front desk answers during office hours; leave a message after hours and they call back the next open day.
- 1
Send the form
Two minutes. Tell us what hurts and which office is closer.
- 2
We call you back
A real person, during office hours, to find a time that works.
- 3
Exam and answers
History, orthopedic and neurological testing, imaging on site when it changes the plan.
- $47 consultation, exam, X-rays if needed and report of findings
- Payment plans available on the self-pay programs
- 4.8 out of 5 from 225 Google reviews
- Choose Lakeland or The Villages on the form
Sciatica questions
Tap a message for the honest answer. Call Lakeland (863) 940-3444
Who is the best doctor to see for sciatica?
Start with a provider who examines you rather than images you first, and who tests strength, reflexes and sensation in the leg.
A chiropractor or physical therapist is a reasonable first stop for mechanical sciatica. A spine surgeon is the right stop if strength is being lost.
The examination should tell you which you are on day one.
What's the worst thing you can do for sciatica?
Three things. Going to bed with it, because prolonged rest stiffens the spine and deconditions the muscles supporting it.
Stretching hard into the leg pain, which irritates an already inflamed nerve. Third, waiting while strength disappears, since a foot starting to drop is time sensitive.
Movement within tolerance beats all three.
What is commonly mistaken for sciatica?
Several things. Gluteal tendinopathy gives pain down the outside of the thigh that stops above the knee. Sacroiliac joint pain refers into the buttock and back of thigh.
Hip arthritis refers into the groin, and a vascular problem can cause leg pain on walking that eases on stopping.
True sciatica follows a nerve path past the knee.
Can a sciatic nerve be massaged out?
Massage genuinely helps when tight deep gluteal muscles are irritating the nerve, and it eases the guarding that accompanies any sciatica.
What it cannot do is move disc material off a nerve root, which is the most common cause. So it is a useful part of a plan and a poor plan on its own.
How long does sciatica take to go away?
Many episodes settle substantially within weeks and some take considerably longer, which is why we track direction of travel rather than promise a date.
The pattern that matters is pain retreating up the leg toward the back. A reassessment point is set at the start so there is an agreed moment to judge progress.
Do I need an MRI before treating sciatica?
Usually not at the start. A scan is worth having when strength is affected, when warning signs are present, or when a case is not responding as it should.
Scanning early mostly finds age related changes that were never causing your symptoms, and it can send care toward the wrong finding.
Same-week appointments
Start with an examination, not a package.
Find out what is actually driving it before choosing a program.
- 4.8 out of 5 on Google
Consultation, Exam, X-Rays (If Needed) & Report of Findings: Only $47