To Your Health: Treating sciatica at home

From timesleader.com

Back pain can happen for a number of reasons, and it’s always nagging at best and debilitating at worst.

The aches and pains we get from overworking our back muscles may come and go, but if you can’t get relief no matter what position you’re in, finding the source of your discomfort is the next important step.

If your pain radiates to your hips, buttocks and legs, you might have a nerve condition called sciatica. It could be caused by a herniated disk or bone spur on the spine or by spinal stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spine that puts pressure on the nerves.

Symptoms of sciatica include:

Muscle pain

Weakness

Numbing

Tingling

Sometimes, people with sciatica feel pain in one side of their body and numbness on the other, and the condition usually affects one leg at a time, but it can affect both.

Home Treatment

Sciatica tends to get better over time and can be treated using over-the-counter pain medication and physical therapy or acupuncture sessions. To alleviate pain and discomfort at home, the following tips are recommended:

Gentle muscle stretching

Stretches and body positions that reduce pressure on the sciatic nerve can help. Among them are:

Lying knee-to-hip stretch: Lie on your back and extend your legs. Raise a knee to your chest and hold it with your hands behind the knee. Pull the knee toward you until you feel a stretch in your hip and lower spine. Hold for a few seconds and repeat with the opposite leg.

Hamstring stretch: Sit on the ground with your leg straight in front of you and put your foot against a wall. Lean forward over that leg till you feel a pull in your lower back muscles. Repeat this stretch and then switch to the other leg.

Back flexion stretch: Lie on your back. Pull your knees to your chest with both hands until you feel a stretch in your mid to lower back. You can bring your head forward for a further stretch. Hold for a few seconds and repeat.

Walking, if you’re able, is another way to relieve sciatica pain.

Ice and heat

Cold and hot compression packs can be alternated to ease pain. The ice pack should be applied first to reduce swelling, and the heat pack should follow to treat pain. Each treatment should be applied for 20 minutes at a time.

Medications for pain and swelling

If stretching and compression packs aren’t helping, consult your primary care physician, who may make a medication recommendation or refer you to a specialist. Both over-the-counter and prescription medications can be used to treat sciatica, including:

Over-the-counter pain relievers like acetaminophen, naproxen and ibuprofen

Corticosteroids to help with inflammation

Anti-seizure medications or anticonvulsants

Muscle relaxants

Benzodiazepines

Prescription pain relievers

Antidepressants

Most cases of sciatica improve with self-treatment and time, but serious cases can lead to permanent nerve damage if left untreated. If symptoms continue beyond five weeks, you doctor might recommend surgery.

If you have any of the following symptoms, seek care immediately:

Sudden, significant pain in your legs and lower back

No feeling in your leg

Symptoms that follow a sudden injury or accident, such as a car crash

Trouble controlling your bladder or bowels

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Dr. Alfred Casale, a cardiothoracic surgeon, is chief medical officer for surgical services for Geisinger and chair of the Geisinger Heart Institute. 

https://www.timesleader.com/features/1598252/to-your-health-treating-sciatica-at-home