Sciatica pain comes in the form of extreme pain in your leg and is a symptom of an underlying problem as opposed to a syndrome in itself. It could be due to a variety of causes some of which are listed below:
Possible causes of sciatica
1. Herniated disc- a herniated disc can protrude onto the sciatic nerve or nerve root. This causes the sciatic nerve or nerve root to become pinched and results in sciatic pain.
2. Slipped vertebrae or spinal stenosis- spinal stenosis is a narrowing of your spinal canal and when this happens or when a vertebrae has moved out of place, the sciatic nerve can become compressed or pinched.
3. Piriformis Syndrome- this is a rare syndrome is related to sciatica and occurs when the piriformis muscle in the buttocks irritates the sciatic nerve.
As you can see the causes of sciatica pain listed above have to do with irritation or pressure to the sciatic nerve and so when looking for treatments you want to find something that is going to reduce, or in the best case scenario, take that pressure away.
Treatments
There are a number of ways to deal with your sciatica pain. One way is to go for physical therapy treatments. The physical therapist will design an exercise plan for you to follow. This exercise plan should include specific exercises that are designed to target your sciatica pain by alleviating the pressure that is on your sciatic nerve. An exercise your physical therapist may assign could be as simple as walking!
You may find that an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medicine does the trick for you. However, over-the-counter medications are only a temporary fix and not a permanent solution.
If your sciatica pain is unbearable and physical therapy and over-the-counter medications are not helping, you could perhaps benefit from an anti-inflammatory steroid spinal injection. This is injected into the epidural area of your spine and helps to reduce any swelling and pain from the irritated sciatic nerve. This procedure can be associated with some risk as a needle is inserted into the space between your vertebrae and the outer part of your spinal cord.
Lastly, you could pursue surgery. Surgery is often relegated as a last resort option as it is invasive and serious in any case. Hopefully you won’t get to this point as many people with sciatica pain are able to effectively treat it with non-invasive methods and do not need to have surgery.
Confirm your condition
If you are suffering from what you think is sciatica back pain, go to your doctor to confirm it. Your doctor can then go over all the treatment options with you and help you decide what treatment is best for you to start with. Your doctor can also advise you on some lifestyle changes (i.e. diet, exercise, and sleeping positions) that may help deal with your sciatica back pain.
This article is considered general information only; please consult a medical professional concerning your specific condition.
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