How to Get Rid of Sciatic Pain

From newsmax.com

Sciatica is one of the most common kinds of pain, affecting 40% of Americans during their lifetimes. Its frequency increases with age, according to the experts at Harvard Medical School.

“People who suffer from acute or chronic back pain tend to be more susceptible to sciatica,” says Dr. Jeffrey N. Katz, a professor of orthopaedic surgery at Harvard Medical School. “Your risk rises if you are obese, if you smoke, or if you are sedentary.”

According to Spine-Health.com, the taller or more overweight you are, the more you are at risk for the condition, which usually lasts between 4 and 6 weeks with proper treatment.

According to the Mayo Clinic, other factors can cause the searing, severe pain or numbness that runs from your lower back down your leg. Diabetes can be a cause, and how you earn your living may also make you more prone to sciatica. For example, people who lift and carry heavy loads or those who drive long distances often suffer from the debilitating condition.

Sciatica is one of the most common kinds of pain, affecting 40% of Americans during their lifetimes. Its frequency increases with age, according to the experts at Harvard Medical School.

“People who suffer from acute or chronic back pain tend to be more susceptible to sciatica,” says Dr. Jeffrey N. Katz, a professor of orthopaedic surgery at Harvard Medical School. “Your risk rises if you are obese, if you smoke, or if you are sedentary.”

According to Spine-Health.com, the taller or more overweight you are, the more you are at risk for the condition, which usually lasts between 4 and 6 weeks with proper treatment.

According to the Mayo Clinic, other factors can cause the searing, severe pain or numbness that runs from your lower back down your leg. Diabetes can be a cause, and how you earn your living may also make you more prone to sciatica. For example, people who lift and carry heavy loads or those who drive long distances often suffer from the debilitating condition.

Dr. David Brownstein, M.D., a leading contributor to Newsmax and editor of Dr. David Brownstein’s Natural Way to Health, says the usual underlying cause of sciatica is spinal stenosis, “the narrowing of the lumbar or sacral spinal canal, which pinches the sciatic nerve.” He adds that degenerative disc disease, in which the lower lumbar discs collapse on one another and pinch the sciatic nerve, is another common reason people develop the condition.

Fortunately, most people can heal themselves without resorting to surgery to alleviate sciatic pain. The first thing Brownstein recommends is to drink lots of water. “The discs that line the spine are very sensitive to a person’s hydration status,” he explains. “Many sciatic patients can resolve their own pain just rehydrating with water.”

One simple movement that can bring immediate pain relief is sitting in a chair and bending your upper body over your knees, folding forward. Breathe into the stretch to relax the muscles around your spine and to increase the space between the vertebrae that will, in turn, take pressure off the nerves. Healthline offers six other stretches to help with sciatic pain.

Experts at the Mayo Clinic recommend exercising regularly and paying attention to the muscles around your abdomen and back to strengthen your core to prevent sciatica. Consider placing a rolled-up towel behind your lower back for support when you sit at your desk. Be careful to use your legs, and not your back, when lifting heavy objects.

https://www.newsmax.com/Health/health-news/sciatic-pain-sciatica-spine-back-pain/2020/10/20/id/992810/

World Spine Day: Tips from 3 medical practitioners

From iol.co.za

Today is World Spine Day, a day that highlights the burden of spinal pain and disability for people around the world.

Four out five people suffer from, or will at some point in their lives experience significant back pain. Spinal pain is the most noted cause of disability in every country in the world.

World Spine Day promotes the importance of spinal health and well-being. The goal is to encourage physical activity, with good posture, responsible lifting and healthy working conditions. Here are three ways to help your spine.

Posture

Sitting for prolonged periods can strain your back, and your positioning can make it even worse. Picture: Christian Campilii, physiotherapist

Mind your posture all the time. Proper digestion only occurs when we are sitting up straight. Good posture is defined as ears aligned with the shoulders and the “angel wings,” or the shoulder blades, retracted. In proper alignment, spinal stress is diminished. Recent studies show that gastric emptying is significantly delayed in the supine position when compared to a sitting position.

In addition, if you’re slouched over your plate, food cannot travel to the stomach in time for your body to tell your brain it’s getting full; it can take twice as long, causing you to eat twice as much.

Sitting for prolonged periods can strain your back, and your positioning can make it even worse. To provide yourself with the most relief, make sure your back is aligned against the back of the seat. Keep your shoulders straight and avoid rounding forward. Both feet should rest firmly on the floor

Pigeon Stretch

Purposefully and intentionally stretch the right sciatic nerve. Picture: Marcia Griffin-Hansraj, physiotherapist

The pigeon stretch is one of my most frequently prescribed exercises because it targets the sciatic nerve to relieve sciatica.This exercise stretches the tiny piriformis muscle, which sometimes becomes inflamed and presses against the sciatic nerve, causing pain. Get into position with your right knee bent and your left leg extended straight behind you. Place the right heel in towards your left hip. Make sure your left hip is facing down towards the mat. Hold this position with your hands out in front of you, allowing your torso to rest over your right knee. Repeat on the other side.

The Power of Thoughts

Dr Ken Hansraj believes that we can radically transform our worlds, one thought at a time. Picture: Supplied

With a positive thought or with random acts of kindness: the brain is calm, the body moves into a rest and digest mode, there are fewer “pressors” (chemicals e.g. epinephrine, that raise the blood pressure), the heart feels good, the body relaxes and takes breaths deep into the lungs, the intestines work on digestion more efficiently, libido is increased, muscles loosen and are more mobile, the arteries don’t experience an excessive amount of pressor, creating a normotensive state (having normal blood pressure), there are less inflammatory factors in your blood stream, the pancreas and thyroid function optimally, the immune system peaks, helping to ward off infection, inflammation decreases, increasing body resting and functioning and there is decreased tenderness and discomfort due to spinal problems. Dr Ken Hansraj believes that we can radically transform our worlds, one thought at a time. 

https://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/health/world-spine-day-tips-from-3-medical-practitioners-ac57b5b9-067b-4f4d-9b41-5eb44d5f703d

Is your back pain sciatica or arthritis?

From clarksvillenow.com

Patients who complain of low back pain and sciatica are often confused as to the causes of these conditions, how they are related ,and what the correct treatment should be.

Patients often think that the only treatment for low back pain and sciatica are epidural steroid injections and possibly surgery.

Most patients do not want either one of these procedures and often opt to let their pain go untreated.

                                                                       Shutterstock

What causes low back pain?

Low back pain is often caused by arthritis of the joints in the lower spine. This is due to slow degeneration of the lumbar discs causing bulging discs or loss of disc elasticity. As a result, the joints in the back of the spine are overloaded and can become arthritic.

The pain from this arthritis in the lower back tends to be centred in the lower back, but may radiate to the upper buttock or the back of the thighs, but rarely radiates below the knees.

How is sciatica different from arthritis?

The nerves that exit from the spine and come together to form the sciatic nerve that goes down the back of the leg leave from the spine between the discs in front and the joints on the back side. They can become entrapped or compressed by a herniated disc, which is an extrusion of disc material.

Pain and symptoms consistent with sciatica are pain that radiates from deep in the buttock down the back of the leg all the way into the foot. It can be associated with numbness, tingling, and weakness in the foot or calf.

The nerve can be compressed by arthritis of the joints, pushing from behind or against the nerve. A nerve can be compressed either by the arthritis of the joints, a herniation of the discs or combination of both.

The location of the pain is significantly different if it is coming from arthritis in the lower back where it is more localized to the back and upper buttock than from the pain of sciatic, which is a pain that radiates from the deep buttock down to the foot. In fact, the patients with sciatica may not have any pain in the lower back at all.

How do you treat these conditions?

Conservative treatment is always a treatment of choice for these conditions. When the patient has acute onset of sciatica, it is due to the compression of a disc against the nerve or chemical irritation of the disc material against that nerve. This causes swelling of the nerve. The condition however may resolve on its own after a period of about six weeks with conservative care. Conservative care would include anti-inflammatory medications, steroid pills such as Medrol Doesepak, use of a back brace, physical therapy, rest and perhaps injects of cortisone into the spine to calm down those nerve roots. This is an epidural steroid injection.

An epidural steroid injection is usually reserved as treatment until the end of the six weeks period when conservative treatment has been given a chance to work. Epidural steroid injection and therapy are often treatments required before a spine surgeon would eve consider operating for herniated disc.

Pain in the low back from arthritic conditions can also be treated conservatively with bracing, therapy and anti-inflammatories. Injections known as facet blacks or nerve blocks in the lower spine are given on the surface of the spine to numb those joints and see if that can give some pain relief from the arthritis. A medical branch block is a good example of an injection that is both diagnostic as well as therapeutic.

If the patient continues with significant discomfort in spite of these treatments, x-rays and MRIs are often obtained to see what the exact pathology is and if surgical consultation is needed.

https://clarksvillenow.com/local/dr-stanton-solutions-to-live-life-fully-is-your-back-pain-sciatica-or-arthritis/

Physical Therapy Has Benefits for Back Pain

From nytimes.com

People with back pain and sciatica who got physical therapy had less disability and decreased back pain intensity compared with controls

People with back pain are often referred for physical therapy, though studies on its effectiveness have been mixed. A randomized trial suggests that, despite some limitations, physical therapy may have real benefits.

Researchers studied 220 adults, aged 18 to 60, with back pain and sciatica (pain radiating down the leg) of less than three months’ duration. They assigned half to usual care — one session of education about back care — and half to four weeks of physical therapy, including a specified program of exercise and hands-on therapy. All patients completed eight well-validated questionnaires covering back and leg pain, disability, physical activity and quality of life.

At four weeks, six months and one year, the therapy group showed less disability and decreased back pain intensity compared with the controls. There was no difference between the treatment group and controls in how much additional health care they used or how many days of work they missed, but the therapy group was more likely to rate their treatment as successful at one month and one year. The study is in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

“We know that with back pain and sciatica, being active and exercising within your limits is a good thing to do,” said the lead author, Julie M. Fritz, a professor of physical therapy at the University of Utah. “But there’s an additive benefit in the care provided by a physical therapist. With added physical therapy, you’re less likely to have a prolonged case of disability.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/14/well/live/physical-therapy-has-benefits-for-back-pain.html

For the Health of It: Sciatica – More than a pain in the rear

From abccolumbia.com

Tyler Ryan learns about sciatica from Hima Dalal

COLUMBIA SC (WOLO) — Chronic back pain is very common, as is radiating pain and numbness, which is a different condition called Sciatica.

Is it the same thing?  Hima Dalal from Vital Energy says “no, not really.”  Sciatica is weakness travelling down from the low back to the lower leg. The sciatic nerve start from low back and goes down to the buttocks and branches out to the leg, according to Dalal.

Sciatic Pain can be acute or chronic. Acute pain usually subsides with rest, heat, ice and stretching, however, if pain is persistent and very often you want to consult your physical therapist.  A common cause of sciatic pain can be herniated disc, stenosis, tightness in hip or misalignment of pelvis.  Physical therapists have many techniques or forms of treatment from manual therapy, muscle energy technique, myofascial release treatment, mobilization, dry needle therapy, aquatic therapy, core strengthening exercises, traction, nerve glides and postural alignment awareness.

Don’t suffer! See your physical therapist for a complimentary free screening if you have sciatic pain.

https://www.abccolumbia.com/2020/10/12/for-the-health-of-it-sciatica-more-than-a-pain-in-the-rear/

Natural Remedies for Sciatica

From vivaglammagazine.com

Sciatica is the term for a pain that shoots down from your lower back through one side of the buttocks. Sometimes, it can expand all the way down the full leg. Sciatica usually only affects one side of the body at a time. It can be acute, meaning that it will only last for a couple of weeks before disappearing for good, or chronic, where the pain keeps returning. In most cases, it usually does resolve within a few weeks, however. Seeing how as much as 40% of the world will get sciatica at least at one point in their lives, it’s important to have discussions about it. Sciatica effects many, many people, and it’s something we should all educate ourselves on so we aren’t caught off guard if we experience it.

While you’re having a flair up of sciatica, there are some things you can do at home to make the pain more bearable. We are going to expand on these here below. They may seem simple, but sometimes the simplest things wind up being the best remedies.

Keep Your Posture Straight

While suffering with a Sciatica flare-up, having bad posture will immediately make the pain worse and it can even hinder your recovery. Good posture is something we should all attempt to have in life anyway; that way we don’t wind up hunched over or permanently out-of-alignment as we get older. The best thing you can do for your posture is to focus on your shoulders being back and your breasts pointing out and forward. So, as you walk, try to keep your focus on having your shoulders pulled back and up, and the rest will follow.

This can be harder to accomplish while sitting. But an easy way to accomplish this it to put a football against your lower back. When doing so, it somehow subconsciously helps you easily focus on keeping the rest of your posture correct. So, when sitting, be sure to have only the lower back pushed against the football and the rest of your back up straight with your shoulders back.

Keeping your posture straight and your body in alignment will help you naturally recover quickly from your sciatica flare-up.

Walking

Do you remember when you gym teachers or sports coaches would tell you to, “Walk if off”? Well, that really can help with Sciatica pain. Walking is a great way to help ease the sciatica pain you are experiencing. Not only does it lightly stretch out the muscles, but it helps to make them stronger. The stronger the muscles, the more subdued the sciatica pain will be until it goes away.  Be sure to walk with the ideal posture mentioned above. And, perhaps, before your walk, take an anti-inflammatory medicine such as Tylenol if you know that it has helped you in the past. Don’t overdo it, but taking something when the Sciatica pain is at its worst is perfectly fine.

Stretching & Back Exercises

Many people believe that stretching or working out your lower back during a Sciatica flare-up is the wrong approach, but it can actually help you! First, it’s important to mention not to push yourself too much when you are working out during a Sciatica flare-up, but there’s nothing wrong with stretching, getting a release from the muscles, and strengthening them. As we mentioned above, working out the muscles around the area of pain increases the strength of the muscles overall which should decrease the pain you are feeling. Perhaps consider a light exercise that stretches your muscles during the workout- such as yoga. The right yoga routine builds muscle slowly and allows you to slowly stretch and build throughout your workout. Releasing the tension in the hurt muscles is important, and you will definitely get this from your yoga routine.

Heat & Ice Therapy

Lastly, applying heat and ice to your Sciatica pain will help with the discomfort you are experiencing. If the area is swelling, applying ice will help decrease the inflammation. If the area is feeling pain but isn’t necessarily swelling, heat will encourage the blood flow to that area of your body, helping to decrease the pain.

Sciatica is something a large portion of the population will likely experience. So, it’s important to be educated for this if it happens to you. Having a handful of natural remedies and foods you can eat to help will surely prepare you for if you experience this yourself.

https://vivaglammagazine.com/natural-remedies-for-sciatica/

Clinical Trial Reveals How to Deal With Sciatica

From newsmax.com

For people with back pain caused by sciatica, it might be a good idea to start physical therapy sooner rather than later, a new clinical trial suggests.

Sciatica refers to pain that radiates along the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back, through the hip and down the back of the leg. It's often the result of a bulging spinal disc that compresses the nerve.

In general, people with sciatica should try to remain active and not take to bed, said study author Julie Fritz, a physical therapist and associate dean for research at the University of Utah's College of Health in Salt Lake City.

But it's one thing to tell patients to stay active, and another to give them targeted exercises to deal with the condition, Fritz said.

So her team looked at whether starting physical therapy fairly soon after a sciatica diagnosis could speed people's recovery.

                                                     (Loganban/Dreamstime.com)

On average, the 220 study patients had suffered sciatica pain for about a month. Half were randomly assigned to four weeks of physical therapy (PT), while the rest took a wait-and-see approach.

Six months later, patients who'd received early PT were reporting less disability in their daily activities, compared to the comparison group, the researchers report in the Oct. 6 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

That does not mean everyone with sciatica should start PT right off the bat, according to Fritz.

"There really is no magic-bullet, slam-dunk therapy for everyone," she said.

Some people with sciatica feel better within weeks, without any special intervention, while others have lingering pain. Even in this trial, 45% of patients in early PT said they were feeling "a great deal better" one year later. That was better than the comparison group, at just under 28% — but it also meant a majority did not feel that degree of improvement.

Unfortunately, Fritz said, there's no way to predict which sciatica patients stand to benefit from early PT.

Low back pain is complicated, said Dr. Salvador Portugal, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at NYU Langone Orthopedic Center in New York City.

Even when the source can be pegged to sciatica, there can be different "pain generators" for different people, said Portugal, who was not involved in the study.

And pain is not only physical, he pointed out, but involves psychological factors. People who become depressed or anxious, or tend to "catastrophize" pain, or become fearful of physical activity can be at risk of lasting pain.

"Some patients are afraid that physical activity will worsen the pain," Portugal said. "But the opposite is true. You want to remain active."

There are cases, he noted, where patients are in such severe pain that it makes sense to hold off on PT and use pain medication until exercise becomes more doable.

And while Portugal agreed there is no one-size-fits-all therapy for sciatica, he said the new findings do show the value of remaining physically active — in "a controlled way."

While some sciatica patients fear activity, he noted, others adopt a "no pain, no gain" attitude. "That's not what we want, either," Portugal said.

For the trial, Fritz's team recruited 220 patients ages 18 to 60 who had sciatica pain for less than three months.

Half were randomly assigned to four weeks of PT, which included exercise, manual therapy and individualized home exercises. The other half stuck with "usual care," which included an education pamphlet on staying active.

Six months later, both groups were showing an improvement on a standard questionnaire that asked about difficulties with daily activities such as walking, sitting and lifting objects. But the improvement was greater in the PT group.

In the real world, even if people want PT, there can be obstacles, Fritz said. Not everyone has time to fit the sessions in, and insurance coverage varies.

Knowing when to start PT is tricky, too. "A fair number of patients will get better on their own pretty quickly," Fritz said. "So we're trying to balance. We don't want to over-treat, and we don't want to miss this window of opportunity where intervening can help recovery."

On average, Fritz noted, patients in the PT group had only about five sessions. "That suggests a potential benefit of early PT is that it requires less effort to gain a benefit," she said.

https://www.newsmax.com/health/health-news/sciatica-nerve-pain/2020/10/06/id/990586/

Sleep and Lower Back Pain

From psychologytoday.com/ca

By Michael J Breus Ph.D.

Let’s face it: a lot has changed in 2020–and for many Americans, that means working from home. A side effect? For many of us, it also may mean an increase in low back pain and sciatica, which impacts everything from our daily lives to how well we sleep at night.

As someone who has not only suffered personally from back pain, but also has a wife whose back pain used to keep her up at night, I know first hand what a big…well, pain, sciatica, back and even neck pain can be. While a healthy sleep environment can help, sometimes it’s just not enough.

Justin Thottam, D.O. with the Spine Centre at Miami Neuroscience Institute has seen a 30 percent increase in patients with back pain, and that’s made worse as people work in uncomfortable environments and put off seeing doctors. 

This week, I’m going to encourage you to stop ignoring your back pain and sciatica, tell you how back pain is killing your sleep, and offer my sleep hacks to sleep better. 

How common are back pain and sciatica?

Trust me when I say that, if you suffer from back pain like I have, you’re in good company. According to the American Chiropractic Association, back pain is the main cause of workplace disability worldwide, costs $50 billion for American healthcare, and will impact as many as 80 percent of us, to some extent, in our lives.

Sciatica, which is described as pain that radiates down the spine and legs, adds to back pain woes. 5 to 10 percent of us with back pain also have sciatica, and while researchers say many recover, as many as 20 to 30 percent have chronic sciatica.

                                                        Source: Deposit Photos

Night Time Wakening and Poor Pain Control

Lower pain tolerance causes a rise in nerve activation–and that can result in disrupted sleep cycles. Because we may wake up more due to that nerve activation, we’re also less likely to go through all important sleep cycles. That can lead to less deep and REM sleep, leading you to feel groggy the next day. 

Pain Medications

One of the most common treatments for back pain and sciatica comes in the form of medication, whether it’s over the counter or even powerful prescription medications. The use of opioids have been linked to lower sleep quality, less REM sleep, and even disrupted sleep patterns.

A small 2016 study published in Anaesthesia took a look how sleep patterns for chronic back pain sufferers were impacted by opioid use. Participants on the highest dosage of opioids displayed brain activity linked to irregular sleep patterns. While more research needs to be done, it fits into previous research about medication and impact on how we sleep. 

Depression/ Anxiety Induced Insomnia 

I’ve discussed how mental health issues, especially chronic anxiety and depression can lead to insomnia. It turns out that just having chronic back pain can also lead to increased symptoms of both depression and depression-induced insomnia. 

In the largest study of the pain-mental health connection, 200,000 adults in 43 countries were sampled using a self reporting questionnaire. Those with chronic back pain were two times more likely to exhibit anxiety, depression, psychosis, stress, and subsequent sleep deprivation. 

Sleep Apnoea

Of all the connections I’ve looked into between sleep deprivation and back or sciatica pain, this one is perhaps the most surprising. Over the past decade, it’s become clear that many people who have sleep apnoea also have some form of back pain. 

There’s not evidence yet that one causes the other, but one thing is clear: sleep apnoea, coupled with back or sciatica pain, can spell disaster for sleep and even sleep quality. A study published in 2006 suggests that people with  back pain and sleep apnoea, on average, lose 4 hours of sleep per night. It seems, for reasons we don’t yet know, to especially affect REM sleep.

How do I sleep better if I have chronic back pain and/ or sciatica?

The good news is that there are many ways you can start improving your sleep, no matter where you are on your journey to treating your chronic pain. I find that even subtle changes can make a big difference, both for sleep quality and life quality. 

Manage Your Mental Health

The mind-body connection is real and should never be ignored. Even as you manage your back pain, you also need to keep in mind how depression and anxiety can affect your experience of both pain and sleep. Poor mental health can increase our awareness of pain, while coping and relaxation techniques may help do the opposite. 

Ask Your Doctor About Pain Management

If your meds are helping with your back pain but hurting your sleep, consider discussing alternatives with your doctor. While you should never just take yourself off pain medication, lifestyle changes can help with both lower back pain–and even improve sleep quality! Regular aerobic exercise, stretching, and even alternative therapies like reflexology and yoga may improve sleep and help manage moderate pain. 

Invest in a Better Pillow

A better pillow really can make a big difference, especially for back pain. In a 2015 randomized controlled study, patients with low back and lumbar pain were given supportive pillows for their backs. After a twelve week follow up, there were remarkable improvements in pain management, as opposed to improvements made with just physical therapy.

Upgrade Your Mattress

While you’re at it, you should take a long look at your mattress–in fact, changing my mattress is what has made the biggest difference for my personal back pain and improving my sleep. If you’ve had your mattress for longer than 8 to 10 years, it’s time to start shopping. Here are my suggestions for the best mattresses for back pain. 

Consider The Best Sleeping Position For Back Pain

How you sleep matters too. Sleeping on your side is associated with less back pain, and even reduced snoring. Snoring may be a sign of sleep apnoea if you snore regularly you should see a sleep specialist to determine if you have sleep apnoea.  

Other positions that can help with lower back pain relief include sleeping on your back with a pillow under your knees, or sleeping on your stomach with a pillow under your stomach. You may also try sleeping in a reclining position if your bed adjusts or by adding a wedge to your bed to elevate your upper body.

Sleep Well, Be Well.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/sleep-newzzz/202010/sleep-and-lower-back-pain

How to get rid of sciatica fast

From express.co.uk

Back pain is the largest cause of disability in the UK, with lower back pain accounting for more than 10 percent of the total disability of the UK population. Sciatica is where the sciatic nerve, which starts in your lower back and can travel down to your hip or leg, is irritated or compressed. Express.co.uk explains how to get rid of sciatica.

Sciatica normally happens when a herniated disk (bone spur on the spine or narrowing of the spine) compresses part of the nerve.

This tends to happen when your spine changes as you age, or there’s excess stress on your spine due to obesity.

It can happen as a result of too much heavy lifting or a sedentary lifestyle.

This compression causes inflammation, pain, and some numbness.

The pain differs from person to person, and people will experience sciatica in different places.

                                                                                             (Image: Getty)

How do you know if you have sciatica?

According to the NHS, if you have sciatica your bottom, back of your leg, or feet and toes may feel painful, tingling, numb, or weak.

Normally the pain in your bum, legs and feet are worse than the pain in your back.

The pain is often described as a stabbing, burning or shooting sensation.

The tingling you might feel probably feels a bit like pins and needles.

                                                                                           (Image: Getty)

Sciatica normally affects just one side of your body rather.

You might feel different sensations in different parts of one body part. For example, numbness in one part of your leg and tingling in another.

The symptoms may get worse when you move, sneeze or cough.

However, exercise may really help to speed up your recovery.

How to get rid of sciatica

Sciatica normally gets better in four to six weeks, but it can last longer.

If your pain lasts longer than this or gets worse, you need to see your GP right away.

Get immediate medical care if you have sudden severe pain in your lower back or leg and numbness or muscle weakness in your leg.

You should also treat it as an emergency if the pain comes after a violent injury such as a traffic accident, or you have trouble controlling your bowels or bladder.

If you have mild sciatica, you have to wait for it to heal.

Your GP may suggest exercises and stretches to speed up your recovery, such as pigeon pose or spinal stretches.

You may also be prescribed painkillers to help with the nerve pain, or be sent to physiotherapy.

Exercising regularly and maintaining proper posture when sitting helps to prevent sciatica from reoccurring.

One exercise to try is Sciatic Nerve Flossing. 

Sit in a chair with your back straight, knees hip-width apart. 

Keep your left leg on the floor and slowly raise your right leg straight out in front of you with your foot flexed. 

At the same time, extend your neck so you are looking up at the ceiling.

Repeat this movement over and over and then swap legs. 

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1343284/how-to-get-rid-of-sciatica

What Treatments Are Available For Sciatica?

From womenfitnessmag.com

                                           What Treatments Are Available For Sciatica?

What Treatments Are Available For Sciatica? Sciatica is a painful and potentially debilitating condition. It occurs when pressure is placed on the sciatic nerve as a result of injury, disease, or congenital defect. In most cases, it is caused by a herniated disc placing pressure on the nerve.

The symptoms of sciatica include pain that radiates from the lower back to legs, numbness, tingling, and muscle weakness. The type of pain experienced by sciatica sufferers can vary significantly, ranging from a dull aching pain through to sharp, electricity-like jolts of pain.

The symptoms of sciatica can also become worse over time, which is why it is important to seek out treatment as soon as possible. To help you understand what options are available, this guide will share the most commonly used sciatica treatments.

Nonsurgical Treatments For Sciatica

In most cases, nonsurgical treatments will be used before any surgical options are considered. However, if a physician is worried about nerve damage or if there are additional complications, surgery may be used immediately.

Physicians usually recommend a combination of non-surgical treatments initially, including medications, physical therapy and complementary therapies.

Ideally, nonsurgical treatment options will resolve acute sciatica within a month. However, it can take longer to resolve chronic sciatica. The most frequently used nonsurgical treatments include:

Physical therapy

Physical therapy involves a variety of physical movements and exercises. It useful for treating sciatica as it strengthens the lower back, stretches tight muscles, increases core strength, promotes healing, and relieves inflammation.

Most physical therapy programs for sciatica include a combination of stretching, aerobic conditioning exercises, and resistance exercises. Some physical therapy practitioners may also use ultrasound, electrical stimulation, hot/cold therapy, and light therapy to promote healing.

Chiropractic therapy

Chiropractors can perform manual adjustments which improve the alignment of the spine. This can help to address any underlying conditions which may be causing sciatica like a ruptured spinal disc or spinal stenosis. There is also some evidence to suggest that chiropractic care can alleviate the symptoms of sciatica and improve recovery time.

Medication

There are several over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications which can relieve the pain associated with sciatica. They include:

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS)
• Anticonvulsant medications to reduce the frequency of muscle spasms
• Tricyclic antidepressants to reduce nerve pain
• Oral steroids to reduce pain and inflammation
• Opioid analgesics

Steroid Injections

Physicians sometimes use an injection of corticosteroid medication in an area near the sciatic nerve root. This will reduce inflammation in the area, alleviating pressure on the sciatic nerve. Steroid injections are used with caution as there are several potential side effects.

Massage therapy

Massage therapy is an affordable, effective, and risk-free treatment option for sciatica. It relieves sciatica symptoms by:

• Promoting blood flow to the injured region of the back, which boosts the body’s healing capacity and relieves inflammation
• Prompting the body to release endorphins, which are natural chemicals with an analgesic capacity
• Relaxing tight back muscles

Selective nerve root block

This treatment involves an injection of medication where the spinal nerve exits the intervertebral foramen. This medication reduces inflammation in the area and limits the amount of pain transmitted by the sciatic nerve to the brain. Several injections may be required to reduce sciatica pain.

Epidural steroid injection

An epidural steroid injection can be used to reduce inflammation near the sciatic nerve that has been caused by a herniated or degenerated intervertebral disc. It also reduces immune system activity in the area, which limits inflammation even more.

Surgical Treatments For Sciatica

If nonsurgical treatments do not work, your physician may recommend surgery. There are several surgeries which can help patients with sciatica, including:

Lumbar decompression surgeries

These surgeries are designed to treat compressed nerves in the lumbar spine. They include:

• Foraminotomy
  Bony overgrowth around the neuroforamen is removed to make more room for the nerve root as it leaves the spinal column.
• Laminectomy
  The surgeon removes a section of the lamina to make more room for spinal nerves. The lamina is the back part of the vertebra, which covers the spinal canal.
• Facetectomy
  Degenerated facet joints are trimmed to relieve pressure on the sciatic nerve.
• Spinal fusion
  Spinal fusion surgery involves the complete removal of herniated discs, to eliminate any pressure they are placing on nearby spinal nerves. The vertebra that surround the removed discs are then fused together.
• Interspinous distraction
  This is a relatively new surgery which can be used to help patients with sciatica caused by spinal stenosis. The surgeon will make a small incision above the spine and place metal spacers in between the vertebra so they cannot press on the underlying nerve.

Microdiscectomy

A microdiscectomy is a useful surgery for cases of sciatica caused by lumbar disc herniation. The procedure involves the removal of the portion of a herniated disc that is pressing on the sciatic nerve. The surgeon may also remove some bone to give the sciatic nerve additional room.

According to Dr.  Tony Mork, “This is a minimally invasive procedure that involves a small incision. It’s a highly successful procedure, with up to 86% of patients experiencing pain relief after their microdiscectomy.”

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many treatment options available for sciatica. If you believe you sciatica and require some assistance, talk to your physician. They will be able to diagnose the severity of your sciatica and recommend an appropriate treatment plan.

https://www.womenfitnessmag.com/what-treatments-are-available-for-sciatica/

Lumbar Disc Protrusions Respond Well To Chiropractic Manipulation

By James Schofield

Many people suffer from lower back disc problems. To some, it might be surprising that chiropractic care can help with back pain relief of this condition. This article will discuss disc problems of the back, how chiropractic treatment can help and a scientific study confirming improvement of disc conditions when treated with manipulation.

Let's begin with some basic anatomy of the lower spine. The bones of the spine are called vertebrae. There are 24 vertebrae from top to bottom. The lower five spinal bones are called the lumbar spine. Between each vertebrae is a lumbar disc. These intervertebral discs function like pads or shock absorbers between the bones.

At times, a problem can occur with the disc, where a portion of the disc may bulge or protrude backwards into the spinal canal containing spinal nerves. If the protrusion is large enough and, in a location where it is impinges upon a nerve it can create a great deal of lower back pain and possibly pain running down the leg, which is called sciatica.

Pain of the low back accounts for one third of all orthopaedic outpatient visits and is often related to problems with the intervertebral discs.

A study in the research journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 1987 discussed scholarship in which 517 patients with protruded lumbar discs were treated by manipulative therapy. 84% of the patients responded well to the treatment. The authors conclude, "manipulation of the spine can be effective treatment for lumbar disc protrusions." "Most lumbar disc protrusions could be effectively treated by manipulation."

The authors note how important it is for the doctor who is treating the disc protrusion to be extremely proficient in spinal manipulation techniques. Chiropractors are doctors who extensively study and have a great deal of training and experience in treating conditions of the spine. Chiropractors are known for their ability to perform manipulations, sometimes called chiropractic adjustments, to correct abnormal alignments and improper movement of the vertebrae of the spine.

Manipulation or chiropractic spinal adjustments are treatment techniques that involve realignment of the vertebrae and intervertebral discs. Treatment also restores proper movement of the spinal bones and joints and relieves pressure of the lumbar disc. Manipulation, when performed by a chiropractor is very gentle and is extremely safe. Most times a series of treatments are needed to complete the healing process. Obviously, the treatment does not involve the use of medication or surgery.

Anyone suffering from protruded or bulged lumbar disc pain and/or sciatic leg pain would be well advised to consult with a doctor of chiropractic for possible lower back pain relief.

https://ezinearticles.com/?Lumbar-Disc-Protrusions-Respond-Well-To-Chiropractic-Manipulation&id=10356760