When you have sciatica, the back and leg pain is often unbearable. You never know when it might flare up, leading to days of missed activities and not moving from the couch. However, there are ways for you to manage your sciatic pain right in your own home.
At Delmarva Pain and Spine Center, our team helps you understand sciatica so you’re able to manage your pain. Dr. Shachi Patel is our pain management specialist, who provides expert treatment and care when it comes to your sciatica pain.
Sciatica is a condition that’s caused by compression of the large nerve in your back, known as your sciatic nerve. It’s often confused for back pain, but actually causes a number of other symptoms such as:
All of these symptoms are disruptive to your normal activities. Depending on the severity of the compression on your nerve, sciatica can be completely debilitating.
Luckily, there are ways to successfully manage sciatica at home. Management is based on what’s causing the compression and the severity of your symptoms.
In mild to moderate cases of sciatica, there are ways you can keep your pain at bay from the comfort of your home. Dr. Patel provides you with home remedies to ease your sciatic pain, which include:
Heat and ice are vital tools when it comes to managing sciatica pain. The cold from the ice reduces inflammation in your back, while the heat encourages blood flow to the area. This helps to speed up healing of the nerve. Alternate the heat and the ice for the best results.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications are extremely helpful when sciatica strikes hard. These medications are available over-the-counter, and both reduce inflammation and relieve the pain associated with compression of the nerve.
Stretching is an important aspect of managing sciatica. It’s easy to do at home, and helps improve the mobility and flexibility in your back. This often helps the pain associated with sciatica.
Although it may seem like the opposite of what you should be doing, moving around a little actually helps your pain. Incorporate light exercise into your daily routine to ward off sciatica pain. Take it slow and keep your activity low-impact.
Poor posture or sitting for too long aggravates sciatica symptoms. It’s important that you not only use proper posture, but get up and move around every half hour or so. This keeps pressure off your sciatic nerve.
Sciatica sometimes leads to extremely intense pain that’s not relieved by home remedies. If this happens, it’s important that you make an appointment with Dr. Patel as soon as possible.
Don’t allow the pain to go on for long periods of time before seeking treatment. If your sciatica continues after a few days of at-home care, it’s time to get professional help.
The same is true if your symptoms become worse, or you notice severe weakness in your extremities. In rare cases, sciatica can also cause bowel or bladder incontinence, which needs to be treated right away.
If home care isn’t working to reduce your pain, Dr. Patel offers various therapies to help get your condition under control. Muscle relaxers, physical therapy, and massage are all therapies that Dr. Patel recommends.
You may also benefit from a steroid injection in your back or a nerve block to help control your pain. In severe cases where nothing else helps your pain, you may require surgery to improve your symptoms.
If you’re tired of living with the pain of sciatica, call our office today at 302-355-0900 to schedule a consultation. You can also book an appointment with our team on the website.
