How to Relieve Sciatica Pain at Home | By Dale L. Roberts The Leading Causes of Sciatica Pain and How To Treat It Do you having pain shooting down your leg? Does the back of your leg feel like it’s being torn apart? Then, you may have sciatica. But, what causes this pain and how do you avoid flare ups? And, how can you further prevent lower back and leg pain?
What is Sciatica? Sciatica is a symptom that includes: • • • • • •
leg pains muscle cramping in the leg or back pain radiating down the leg discomfort sitting or standing for long weakness, numbness or tingling in the leg loss of mobility in the knee, ankle or hip
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How to Relieve Sciatica Pain at Home | By Dale L. Roberts When the sciatic nerve becomes pinched, it creates sciatica symptoms. Since the sciatic nerve is responsible for leg mobility, when it gets pinched it will create the previously mentioned symptoms. Specific conditions can pinch a sciatic nerve such as: a herniated, ruptured or slipped disc tight muscle in the buttocks spinal stenosis - a narrowing of the spinal canal spondylolisthesis - vertebrae out of alignment with another • • •
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How Do I Know if I Have Sciatica? Unfortunately, without a proper examination by a medical professional, you can only guess what’s the matter. Consult your family doctor if you experience any symptoms resembling sciatica for longer than 24 hours. Most likely, your family doctor will refer you to an orthopedic specialist who can better diagnose your condition. Most likely, you’ll have to get an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) for a deeper look into your body. An MRI can uncover what the true extent of the sciatic nerve damage.
What Should I Do When I Have a Sciatica Flare-Up? In a perfect world, you'll consult your physician first when you experience pain. Serious, this is NOT something to play around with and wait to get better. When I had sciatic nerve pain, I would: • Sit down or rest for 15 minutes • Place a cold compress on my low back • And, in some cases, place a heating pad on the tight leg muscle. But, I
never put heat on a leg with tingles, numbness or extreme pain.
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How to Relieve Sciatica Pain at Home | By Dale L. Roberts Under no circumstance would I ever: • • • •
Exercise - this includes walking, running or even standing Place a heating pad on my low back since it only aggravates the inflamed nerve Ice the affected area for longer the 15 minutes at a time. Too much icing isn’t any more effective. Stretch - this seems counter-intuitive. But if a nerve is excited, then no amount of stretching will alleviate the pain. Calm the nerve first, then stretch.
What Options Are There for Sciatica Treatment? Most of the time, the first option for sciatica treatment is physical therapy. Physical therapy is a great way to retrain the body to perform better and heal on its own in the process. If physical therapy doesn't work, then the next options may include: • •
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Spinal injections - or epidural steroid injections. This worked for me but it had short lived results. Getting injections is painful and I had diminishing returns with each treatment. Spinal surgery - laminotomy or laminectomy. A laminotomy or microdiscectomy is when a portion of herniation is removed to alleviate pressure from the nerve. A laminectomy is a more extreme surgery where a portion of the vertebrae is removed to alleviate pressure. The most severe form of surgery is spinal fusion. That is in worst case scenarios and requires up to a year of recovery time. Medicines - I believe most pharmaceutical solutions simply mask the problem and don't address the problem. However, a prescription is 100% necessary for faster recovery. Don't dismiss medication; I caused myself a lot of undue pain by not taking pain relievers and antiinflammatories.
What is The Best Line of Defense Against Sciatica? Proper nutrition and exercise will greatly decrease your likelihood of sciatic pain. Sadly, most people won't know they have an issue until it's too late. Once you get treatment, stick to a regimented workout program and diet.
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How to Relieve Sciatica Pain at Home | By Dale L. Roberts
I'm reminded occasionally when I'm slacking on my workouts and stretching. My sciatica will wake up and quite literally kick me in the butt.
How to Relieve Sciatica Pain Now Hey, I hope you found this report helpful. If you want to know other possible solutions to your back pain and sciatica issues, then check out my latest post about a potential solution you can use from the comforts of your home.
Head over to this link. I anticipate you’ll find it interesting and quite possibly what you’ve been looking for in pain relief. Till later, live freely, love openly and stay pain-free! -Dale L. Roberts dale@dalelroberts.com
Find out more about back pain relief at How to Relieve Sciatica Pain at Home