What You Don't Know About Sciatica

By Sara Butler

Sciatica is the way many people describe the pain they feel in their legs or buttocks, but what many people may think of sciatica may not be. There are many persistent myths and misinformation about sciatica, which is why, if you suspect you are experiencing it, you need to see your chiropractor for an accurate diagnosis. Here’s what you need to know about sciatica and how your chiropractor may be able to help.
What is Sciatica?
Your sciatic nerve is a large nerve that branches from your lower back, across your buttocks, and down each leg. Sciatica itself isn’t a disorder, but instead a set of symptoms used to diagnose the true disorder causing them. That means if you really want to resolve any leg or back pain you’re experiencing due to sciatica then you need to figure out what is causing those symptoms if you hope to find relief.
The More You Know
So, what can cause irritation of the sciatic nerve? There are several things that can cause you to experience sciatic pain, including:

• Piriformis syndrome – Your piriformis muscle attaches your hip to your spine, and if it is tight then it can irritate the sciatic nerve and cause symptoms. Sometimes piriformis syndrome doesn’t actually involve your sciatic nerve at all, but the pain from it can do a good job of mimicking the symptoms!
• Shortened hip flexors – If you spend a lot of time sitting, then it can shorter the flexor muscles in your hips. If your hip flexors are shortened then it can have a domino effect and actually “turn off” other muscles such as your glutes. Quite often, shortened hip flexors cause weak glutes, which can cause pain.
• Nerve irritation – If your sciatic nerve is irritated from something as simple as sitting on your wallet for an extended amount of time, then you can experience pain, weakness or tingling anywhere between your lower back and big toe.

Sciatic pain isn’t something that develops overnight, even if it feels as if the symptoms come on suddenly. You may have a condition that has been brewing under the surface for months or even years before you begin to experience symptoms.
The best course of action if you’re experiencing classic symptoms of sciatica is to see your chiropractor so they can investigate and find the root cause of the pain and discomfort you are experiencing. They can then begin treating the problem and hopefully help you to find relief!

http://www.thejoint.com/minnesota/woodbury/woodbury-32004/201605-what-you-dont-know-about-sciatica

Do You Have Sciatica? Here Are Some Natural Remedies That Can Help Alleviate Your Symptoms

By Justin Vict

Sciatica is a condition where you experience constant radiating leg pain that sometimes is accompanied with lower back pain. The good news is that it's very treatable. Here are some options you should consider.

If you've been experiencing chronic radiating leg pain and maybe lesser lower back pain, you may have sciatica. You should get tested for sciatica by your doctor, who will probably perform a straight leg raising test. Your doctor will most likely diagnose you with sciatica if you're experiencing chronic radiating leg pain that extends to your feet or toes and if you test positive from the straight leg raising test.
Sciatica may be caused by a herniated disc that's compressing a nerve root or other underlying condition which can be safely corrected with surgery or other medical interventions. If there's no underlying condition, sciatica can usually be alleviated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs within two weeks, but treatment can last for a year in some patients. What's interesting is that placebos work almost as effectively as analgesics, muscle relaxants, and NSAIDs – which makes experts theorize that sciatica may be psychological rather than neurological.
Experts recommend bed rest and exercising regularly to help alleviate sciatica symptoms. The Mayo Clinic also recommends the following:

• Placing a cold pack over the painful area for 20 minutes repeated throughout the day.
• Try using hot packs over the painful area 2 to 3 days after using cold packs. You can also try heat lamps and heating pads.
• Stretching for 30 seconds can help relieve nerve root compression. But avoid jerking, twisting, or bouncing while stretching.

How Can You Help Prevent Developing Sciatica?

Sciatica usually affects those between 45 to 64 years old. If you're tall, smoke, or are always stressed out, you have an increased risk of developing sciatica. Frequent exposure to whole body vibrations, like occupational driving, can also increase your risk. Living a sedentary lifestyle, like working at the computer or sitting around all day, can also increase your risk for developing sciatica because these activities put constant pressure on your spine, which can lead to nerve root compression.
Quit smoking, limit exposing yourself to frequent whole body vibrations, and exercise regularly to help prevent developing sciatica. If your work requires you to sit all day, take a stand-up break every hour. Yoga is also a miraculous activity that can help protect you from developing sciatica. There are many yoga poses and inversions that specialize in decompressing your spine, which helps prevent nerve root compression. Practicing yoga regularly has also been shown to relieve stress, balance your endocrine system, improve arthritis, and more! It's also been found to help make you live longer and keep your youthful looks by lengthening your telomeres (meditation has the same effect).
If you're experiencing chronic leg or back pain, it's best to see your doctor. If you get diagnosed with sciatica, the good news is it's very treatable and your symptoms should be gone within two weeks with medical intervention. You can help prevent developing sciatica by practicing age-reversing yoga everyday and quitting smoking.

http://www.emaxhealth.com/13541/do-you-have-sciatica-here-are-some-natural-remedies-can-help-alleviate-your-symptoms

What Do You Need to Know About Back Pain and Its Remedies?

By Gagandeep Singh

It appears that almost everybody encounters lower back pain at least once in their life. It can be added to a wide range of issues from muscle strain, tumour, herniated disc, osteoporosis, aging, lifting too much weight, a previous injury, and even stress.
Back pain influences almost 80% of Americans and the most widely recognized type is Lower Pain. Since you depend on your back for verging on each move you make, it tends to hurt the most. The pain can even be debilitating. It is a standout amongst the most widely recognized issues inciting a visit to your doctor and for missing work. Indeed, it is the second most elevated reason for disability in people less than 45 years old.
It is critical to discover what is causing this problem by your primary care physician, however, here are some natural remedies for back pain to consider before your next doctor's appointment. In spite of the fact that individuals grumble of back pain in, it is not a diagnosis but instead a sign of a hidden issue.

There are two type of pain, chronic and acute. Acute pain is a pain with another onset. It occurs suddenly, generally because of an injury. It is normally recovered in one month however not over 6 weeks span. Chronic pain is pain that can have a snappy or moderate onset, however it lasts for longer period. In spite of the fact that it lasts for more than 3 months, a few people experience a lifetime of chronic pain. Chronic pain is not very common type of pain.

What causes back pain?
There are a few causes including different physical and enthusiastic variables that can result in back issues. If it left untreated, can prompt a weakening level of physical uneasiness.
Among various explanations behind back pain, the absolute most basic reasons are:
1. Strenuous physical activities, for example, weight lifting
2. Wrong stance while sitting or standing
3. Sitting for delayed hours similarly situated
4. Stomach issue
5. Pregnancy - Every pregnant lady experiences the pain enduring at a few or the other purpose of time amid the pregnancy time frame. This is particularly so amid the most recent couple of months of pregnancy.
6. Utilization of high heels - This causes strain in the back muscles, prompting extreme pain
7. Open spine surgery can likewise result in FBSS (fizzled back spine surgery), which can prompt incessant hurt in the back, arms or legs. Different causes incorporate spondylosis, herniated circle, sciatica, and spinal stenosis.

What is the right treatment?
In order to find the right remedy for your back pain, you need to get it checked by a specialist. Only after getting it diagnosed, you can opt for natural remedies for back pain. Also, upon visiting a doctor, you should give a clear concise description of your problem. Your doctor should know how the pain began, what you were doing when it began, how serious it is, does it go back and forth or is it steady, and what exacerbates the pain better or worse. There are various natural remedies you can choose such as regular yoga, acupuncture, oil massage, spa and more.

http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Do-You-Need-to-Know-About-Back-Pain-and-Its-Remedies?&id=9545176

Sciatic Nerve Pain Relief – How To Get Long Term Relief

From groundreport.com

Sciatic nerve pain relief can be easy, there are many simple ways to ease pain quickly. However these types of methods only offer short-term temporary relief.

To get long term relief from sciatica you must target both the symptoms and the cause.

Sciatica is not an actual condition, but a symptom of lower back pain. The elements that cause lower back pain are muscle imbalance, joint imbalance and trigger points. In severe cases inflammation can also be present.

In sciatica the only difference is that certain muscles are more likely to be involved and certain joints in the lower back.

Either way, the only long term remedy is to eliminate all of these elements. But how can you get quick sciatic nerve pain relief?

Techniques for Relief from Sciatica

The following are some simple techniques you can use now to help ease pain. Some will work for you and some will not.

Each person is unique, the underlying causes in your specific case is likely different to anybody else you know suffering with sciatica. This is why for lasting relief you must use a program that is comprehensive, simple to follow and uses a combination of techniques to get long-term sciatic nerve pain relief.

Below are the best and proven methods to help ease your pain:

Walk – walking can never be understated. Movement, as long as it isn’t painful to walk, helps with both the muscular and joint elements. By walking for a good half hour, most people will find significant relief in their pain.

Even long term, walking is still the best activity for keeping your spine in good working order.

Ice/Heat – Ice and heat can help with more than inflammation. Ice works as a pain reliever, heat helps improve the blood flow and will relax the area.

Alternating with both gives you good relief. When pain first arrives, place ice on the area for ten minutes, followed by ten minutes of heat. Repeat this three times, but in the first 48 hours make sure you finish with ice.

After 48 hours finish with the heat. This if used early enough can help ease pain quickly and stop the progression of pain.

Acupressure – there are many types of acupressure, but the firm pressure on certain points can help ease pain and stimulate the healing process. Acupressure can literally turn off the pain signals to make life feel a lot better very quickly.

Combining acupressure with other techniques has been shown as the quickest way to get sciatic nerve pain relief.

Stretches – stretches can be used to ease pain quickly, and are also a vital part of removing muscle imbalances. However if performed wrong, or if you stretch the wrong muscles, they can cause more pain and prevent long term healing.

This is why the vital step in any relief from sciatica is finding the exact imbalances that are present in your situation. You can find out your imbalance simply, click the following link to learn a simple way to detect spinal imbalance imbalances.

Some simple stretches that can help ease tension in the lower back and the sciatic nerve, is to pull your knees to your chest. This stretches the lower back and opens the pelvis, a common source of pain.

The Pirifromis muscle is commonly tight in sciatica and stretching this can help ease pain quickly.

PLEASE NOTE: only ever stretch until you feel tension, NOT pain. If you stretch and cause pain the muscle will react by tightening again immediately after you stop stretching. The goal is muscle relaxation!

These simple techniques can help ease pain, try them to see if they make a difference, but as I said …

Your specific situation is different to others. You need to find what works for you and your condition, but long-term relief is easy for all once you know the simple steps to follow.

How to Get Long Term Sciatic Nerve Pain Relief

Long term, lasting relief only ever happens if you follow a plan.

Most people fail to get lasting relief as they rely on techniques that only target symptoms. Then try to change their postures at work, sit better, do a few stretches, and use anti-inflammatory medicine when pain strikes …

And live in a never-ending cycle of pain.

Long-term relief is actually an easy process and a simple one to follow. Best of all it only takes a few minutes of time each day until pain eases, then a few minutes each week or two to maintain a healthy spine.

Before you jump into any exercise that is said to help, you should ALWAYS first find out what is causing your pain.

You may have been told it was due to how you lifted, or carried an object or even how you sat at work. These may be the last events that triggered your pain, but as research has proven they are not the cause.

The underlying cause of pain is due to many small injuries over time. These injuries allow your body to twist and distort – in other words become out of balance.

The imbalances are centered around your muscles and joints, and with times as these imbalances remain you can localized muscle spasm called Trigger Points.

Combined these are the main causes of your pain. Performing a few simple stretches, learning yoga, eating well, exercising or sitting better at work will not remove these imbalances.

http://www.groundreport.com/sciatic-nerve-pain-relief-get-long-term-relief/