Sciatica is felt as nerve pain radiating from the buttock down the back of the leg, often when sitting, sneezing, coughing or going to the toilet. You may also feel lower back pain, and/or tingling, pins and needles, numbness or weakness in your leg.
The telltale sign of sciatica is pain that starts in your lower back and shoots down one leg, sometimes all the way into your foot.
The problem is, piriformis syndrome is often mistaken for sciatica. While both conditions interfere with sciatic nerve function, sciatica results from spinal dysfunction such as a herniated disc or spinal stenosis.
One of the big red flags for diagnosing sciatica is that the pain is usually limited to only one side of the body. Other red flags that indicate sciatica include pain when standing or sitting, numbness in the legs and weakness or numbness when moving a leg or foot.
Alternating heat and ice therapy can provide immediate relief of sciatic nerve pain. Ice can help reduce inflammation, while heat encourages blood flow to the painful area (which speeds healing). Heat and ice may also help ease painful muscle spasms that often accompany sciatica.
Walking is a low-impact exercise that can additionally be used as a first-line treatment for existing sciatica. Any weight loss, muscle growth, and movement improvements can support natural recoveries. Meanwhile, walking is shown to reduce inflammation, which is one of the leading causes for actual pain.
Physiotherapy treatment has been shown to help with pain from sciatica by reducing inflammation and relieving muscle tension. The aim is to relieve the symptoms of sciatica so that you can get back to the activities you enjoy without pain.
Voltaren has an average rating of 7.7 out of 10 from a total of 9 ratings for the treatment of Sciatica. 56% of reviewers reported a positive experience, while 0% reported a negative experience.
Medications for Relief of Pain From Sciatica
Over-the-counter pain relievers such as acetaminophen, aspirin, or NSAIDs (such as ibuprofen [Advil, Motrin], ketoprofen, or naproxen [Aleve]) Prescription muscle relaxants to ease muscle spasms.
Oral steroids, such as methylprednisolone and prednisone help reduce inflammation. Doctors may prescribe oral steroids to treat acute sciatica due to an inflamed spinal nerve root.
Muscle relaxers: When the underlying cause of your sciatica is muscle spasms, muscle relaxers such as carisoprodol and cyclobenzaprine can provide relief. Tricyclic antidepressants: Doctors prescribe the anti-depressants amitriptyline and nortriptyline to reduce nerve pain.
While sciatica pain can be debilitating, chiropractic treatment can relieve it gently and naturally. This care entails treating the pain without costly and harmful side effects.
Most people with sciatica get better with conservative treatments such as physiotherapy. You should see your doctor again self-care measures fail to improve your pain, if your pain lasts longer than a week, is severe or becomes progressively worse.
Physiotherapists treat back and neck pain, sciatica, arthritis, swelling in joints, repetitive strain injury, sports injuries and cartilage, ligament and tendon damage.
The good news about sciatic pain is that it usually goes away on its own with time and some self-care treatments. Most people (80% to 90%) with sciatica get better without surgery, and about half of these recover from an episode fully within six weeks.
Sciatica is where the sciatic nerve, which runs from your lower back to your feet, is irritated or compressed. It usually gets better in 4 to 6 weeks but can last longer.
Well-designed pillows, bed wedges, and cushions can help by taking pressure off the sciatic nerve and hip flexors. A good pillow for sciatica will help you maintain your spine's natural alignment and reduce pressure on the lower back.
Severe pain in the back, leg, abdomen, and/or side of the body that may be felt: At rest. At night. While lying down, walking, bending at the hip, and/or pressing the low back.
You usually feel more pain sitting with sciatica - it can flare up in the morning and may change as you move around. But with neuropathy, the pain is more consistent, and you may have more sensitivity to touch, like from socks and shoes touching your feet.
The different types of sciatic nerve pain include acute, chronic, alternating, and bilateral.
Sciatica usually resolves on its own without treatment within a month or two. However, that doesn't mean it's gone for good. If you don't resolve the underlying condition that caused sciatica, it may recur and even develop into a chronic pain condition.