When dealing with back pain, you may find that your overall quality of life is greatly reduced. It can get in the way of doing your daily routines, which may prove to be quite frustrating at times.
The key is to find something that will work for you when it comes to alleviating your pain. You may find that certain things work for you, while other things may not be as effective. Sometimes, it is about trial and error.
Sciatica is one of the most common causes of back pain, and there are lot of different ways to go about treating this pain.
Understanding the Symptoms
First, you need to understand the symptoms of sciatica, so that you can tell if that is what is bothering you. It causes a variety of different symptoms, including pain, tingling and even numbness. This is usually caused by irritation to the sciatic nerve, which is the longest nerve in the body.
It starts in the lower back and goes all the way down to your foot. You will probably notice that pain caused by sciatica starts in your back, but can actually radiate down into your leg and foot at times.
Causes and Risk Factors
So, now that you know how to tell the symptoms of sciatica, it is time to learn what causes it. It can be caused by a variety of different things, but perhaps the most common cause is a ruptured disc in the spine.
When the disc ruptures, it can put pressure onto your sciatic nerve causing a great deal of pain and discomfort. Injury and other conditions can also lead to sciatica, and sometimes it even effects pregnant women.
Effective Natural Treatment Options for Sciatica
You have a whole lot of options when it comes to treating your sciatica, but some of these treatments will prove to be more successful than others.
You may want to start by lying down and using a heating pad, as the heat can really help to alleviate the pain.
If you would like, you can even alternate heat and ice for a better result. If the ice doesn’t prove helpful, just use the heat because it can be a better option.
If you can’t get rid of the pain with heat alone, then you may have to consider other options for relieving your pain. Sometimes, you will find that physical therapy is a great help.
When you get into physical therapy, your therapist will be able to give you helpful tips and exercises that can be of great help to you.
They are trained, and have dealt with many people that have had sciatica pain in the past, which can really be beneficial to you.
Chiropractic treatment is another option that may be helpful to you. The chiropractor will work on your lower back and try to help alleviate the pain by working on the root cause of it.
They will try to get your spine back in alignment and see if there are any severe issues that are causing your pain. If so, they will point you in the right direction.
What About Medicinal Treatment?
For those that don’t want to rely solely on the natural treatment of sciatica, there are some types of medications that can help as well.
Sometimes, your doctor may be able to recommend steroid injections in the site of your pain. You may also be prescribed muscle relaxers and other pain medications that will help to alleviate the pain, but they won’t usually get to the root of the problem.
This is why many people avoid using prescription pain pills to treat sciatica. You may find that the best option for you to consider is the natural approach, because it can really help you a whole lot more than just simply putting a ‘bandaid’ on the pain, per se.
Is Surgery Necessary?
You may find that there are times that surgical treatment may be necessary for treating your nerve pain. This is especially true if it is caused by a slipped or ruptured disc in your spine.
In fact, if this is the case and you don’t get it fixed in a timely manner, it can really lead to a variety of other problems- and other types of back pain.
So, yes, in some times, you may require surgery- but your doctor will be able to tell if that is the case or not in your particular situation.
