Pain relief for sciatica pain is a necessity, as the pain from the irritated or injured spinal column nerve can be so powerful it is totally debilitating.
The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the human body, running from the lumbar (lowest) region of the spine in the lower back into the buttocks and down the legs.
Sciatica is a condition caused by irritation or pressure on that nerve that travels down its length, and in addition to pain, it may manifest itself as a tingling, a weakness, or a numbness in the affected areas.
What is the Spine? The spine is a load-bearing structure made up of twenty-four building blocks, known as vertebrae.
Each vertebra is only a few inches wide and almost circular in appearance.
It also has a round hole near the back, and the holes from all the vertebrae line up perfectly to form the spinal column.
Nerves from the brain run through the spinal column and down to the rest of the body.
In between the vertebrae are twenty-three discs, each about one quarter of an inch thick.
They serve as shock absorbers and cushion the bones' slight movement when the body itself moves.
The discs, unlike the vertebrae, are not composed of bone; rather they're a material much like the cartilage that forms your nose.
Sciatica is the condition that occurs when the Lumbar 4-5 disc (the disc between the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae) irritates or puts pressure on the sciatic nerve coming out from the spinal column.
How is Sciatica Pain Treated? Sciatica pain can be treated using a number of different traditional and/or alternative modalities, such as those below.
Medication Most cases of sciatica are treated with pain killers.
In very mild cases, the first choice is over-the-counter remedies, such as aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or naproxen.
These can help reduce the pain and start to repair tissue at the same time.
They are all generally considered to be safe for temporary use in healthy adults, but you should not take them for more than two weeks at a time.
You should also not take any other medications containing the same active ingredients, as you may injure your liver or other organs.
If the pain warrants a stronger medication, your doctor may prescribe muscle relaxants, such as Flexeril®, or even narcotics, such as Tylenol® with codeine or Vicodin® or Vicoprofin®.
Be very careful with these drugs, as they can be quite sedating, and they can also be habit-forming if used for any length of time.
Exercise Exercise is the best way to reduce sciatica symptoms for the long term.
By training your muscles to become both relaxed and strong, you will help reduce the amount of pressure they apply to the sciatica nerve that runs through them.
If the source of sciatica is pressure from a short, tight piriformis muscle, the muscle must be gently stretched.
If the source of sciatica is from a bulging disc, gentle low back stretching and strengthening exercises will help.
Yoga stretches can help with either source.
One exercise is the reclined spinal twist.
Use the following instructions: 1.
Lie flat on your back on a soft mat.
2.
Bring your knees up to your chest, as close as you can 3.
Extend your arms out to each side with your palms down 4.
Inhale to the count of three.
5.
Exhale to the count of five and lower your knees slowly to the right.
6.
Inhale again and bring your knees back to your chest.
7.
Exhale once more, and this time lower your knees to the left.
8.
Return to the center again.
9.
Repeat the exercise 8-10 times.
Before you begin this or any other exercise routine, speak to your doctor or therapist to determine which exercises are right for you.
Alternative Therapies Curing sciatica may prove easier for some people by using alternative rather than traditional treatments.
Although nontraditional therapies usually do not have scientific documentation of their benefits and safety, many people find them helpful, especially those who have not had any success with traditional measures.
One of the most common alternative therapies is chiropractic care.
Chiropractors can't prescribe drugs, take blood, or do any invasive procedures, such as a medical doctor can; however, they should take a medical history and perform a physical examination, and, if warranted, they can order diagnostic tests, such as X-rays and CAT scans, to determine if there is a problem with the sciatic nerve.
Chiropractors manipulate the entire body, with the spine as their specialty, and the nature of their spinal adjustment treatment depends on the exact cause of the sciatica.
The doctor will generally press on your spine to relieve irritated nerves and increase movement in your joints.
If the problem stems from a disc problem, the chiropractic approach to is to relieve pressure to ease pain and help restore better motion to the spinal joint.
Surgery When all other options have failed, a doctor might opt to perform spinal surgery.
When herniated discs are the cause of sciatica pain, your doctor might recommend doing a microdiscectomy, a procedure that physically removes whatever is compressing the nerve.
Or, they might opt for a discectomy, a procedure that involves removing the disc causing the problem, or one that is diseased, from the spine.
Once the disc has been removed, the pressure on the nerve is relieved and sciatica pain and symptoms are reduced.
Although the advances in medicine have been great for sciatica sufferers, pain relief for sciatica pain is different for everyone.
What might work for one person may not work for someone else.
Therefore, you should always seek medical advice to determine which treatments are best for you.
The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the human body, running from the lumbar (lowest) region of the spine in the lower back into the buttocks and down the legs.
Sciatica is a condition caused by irritation or pressure on that nerve that travels down its length, and in addition to pain, it may manifest itself as a tingling, a weakness, or a numbness in the affected areas.
What is the Spine? The spine is a load-bearing structure made up of twenty-four building blocks, known as vertebrae.
Each vertebra is only a few inches wide and almost circular in appearance.
It also has a round hole near the back, and the holes from all the vertebrae line up perfectly to form the spinal column.
Nerves from the brain run through the spinal column and down to the rest of the body.
In between the vertebrae are twenty-three discs, each about one quarter of an inch thick.
They serve as shock absorbers and cushion the bones' slight movement when the body itself moves.
The discs, unlike the vertebrae, are not composed of bone; rather they're a material much like the cartilage that forms your nose.
Sciatica is the condition that occurs when the Lumbar 4-5 disc (the disc between the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae) irritates or puts pressure on the sciatic nerve coming out from the spinal column.
How is Sciatica Pain Treated? Sciatica pain can be treated using a number of different traditional and/or alternative modalities, such as those below.
Medication Most cases of sciatica are treated with pain killers.
In very mild cases, the first choice is over-the-counter remedies, such as aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or naproxen.
These can help reduce the pain and start to repair tissue at the same time.
They are all generally considered to be safe for temporary use in healthy adults, but you should not take them for more than two weeks at a time.
You should also not take any other medications containing the same active ingredients, as you may injure your liver or other organs.
If the pain warrants a stronger medication, your doctor may prescribe muscle relaxants, such as Flexeril®, or even narcotics, such as Tylenol® with codeine or Vicodin® or Vicoprofin®.
Be very careful with these drugs, as they can be quite sedating, and they can also be habit-forming if used for any length of time.
Exercise Exercise is the best way to reduce sciatica symptoms for the long term.
By training your muscles to become both relaxed and strong, you will help reduce the amount of pressure they apply to the sciatica nerve that runs through them.
If the source of sciatica is pressure from a short, tight piriformis muscle, the muscle must be gently stretched.
If the source of sciatica is from a bulging disc, gentle low back stretching and strengthening exercises will help.
Yoga stretches can help with either source.
One exercise is the reclined spinal twist.
Use the following instructions: 1.
Lie flat on your back on a soft mat.
2.
Bring your knees up to your chest, as close as you can 3.
Extend your arms out to each side with your palms down 4.
Inhale to the count of three.
5.
Exhale to the count of five and lower your knees slowly to the right.
6.
Inhale again and bring your knees back to your chest.
7.
Exhale once more, and this time lower your knees to the left.
8.
Return to the center again.
9.
Repeat the exercise 8-10 times.
Before you begin this or any other exercise routine, speak to your doctor or therapist to determine which exercises are right for you.
Alternative Therapies Curing sciatica may prove easier for some people by using alternative rather than traditional treatments.
Although nontraditional therapies usually do not have scientific documentation of their benefits and safety, many people find them helpful, especially those who have not had any success with traditional measures.
One of the most common alternative therapies is chiropractic care.
Chiropractors can't prescribe drugs, take blood, or do any invasive procedures, such as a medical doctor can; however, they should take a medical history and perform a physical examination, and, if warranted, they can order diagnostic tests, such as X-rays and CAT scans, to determine if there is a problem with the sciatic nerve.
Chiropractors manipulate the entire body, with the spine as their specialty, and the nature of their spinal adjustment treatment depends on the exact cause of the sciatica.
The doctor will generally press on your spine to relieve irritated nerves and increase movement in your joints.
If the problem stems from a disc problem, the chiropractic approach to is to relieve pressure to ease pain and help restore better motion to the spinal joint.
Surgery When all other options have failed, a doctor might opt to perform spinal surgery.
When herniated discs are the cause of sciatica pain, your doctor might recommend doing a microdiscectomy, a procedure that physically removes whatever is compressing the nerve.
Or, they might opt for a discectomy, a procedure that involves removing the disc causing the problem, or one that is diseased, from the spine.
Once the disc has been removed, the pressure on the nerve is relieved and sciatica pain and symptoms are reduced.
Although the advances in medicine have been great for sciatica sufferers, pain relief for sciatica pain is different for everyone.
What might work for one person may not work for someone else.
Therefore, you should always seek medical advice to determine which treatments are best for you.
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