Best Pain Management Tips For Sciatica

If you suffer from sciatica, then you know how important pain management can be. Without relief, you may not be able to walk or get through the day.

Sciatica is a condition that causes pain along the nerve that runs from your lower back down the leg. Most pain management techniques involve stretching and taking over-the-counter medications.

In this guide, we’ll introduce you some natural pain management tips that can help you tame sciatica for good.

What Is Sciatica?

Sciatica pain describes pain that originates in the lower back and radiates down a person’s leg. A sciatic nerve injury, as well as compression, inflammation, or irritation in your lower back, can trigger mild to severe pain. In addition, these problems can also cause: 

• Leg numbness 
• Pain that worsens with movement 
• Loss of bowel and bladder control 
• Tingling sensation in the leg, foot and toes 
• Weakness in the leg and foot muscle 

What Causes The Need For Sciatica Pain Management?

Certain factors can increase your risk of sciatic nerve injury or irritation. These include: 

• Smoking  
• Old age 
• Having a weak core 
• Living a sedentary lifestyle 
• Being diagnosed with diabetes or osteoarthritis 
• Being heavier than your ideal weight 
• Performing work that requires heavy lifting 
• Not using proper form when weightlifting 
• Sitting at a desk for a prolonged duration

Physical injury

Blunt force trauma is the result of an object or force striking the body. A person who encounters this on the lumbar spine or sciatic nerve can experience pain.

Slipped or herniated disc

A slipped or herniated disc is the most common cause of sciatica. This physical disorder stems from aging wear and tear of the vertebral disc. Subsequently, it leads to the gel-like disc center to bulge through its outer wall and press on a sciatic nerve. 

Degenerative disc disease

The above is a natural process of disc deterioration. It can result in herniation of the disc or osteoarthritis and the formation of bone spurs. A herniated disc and osteoarthritis induce spinal stenosis – a narrowing of nerve passageways in the spine. This puts pressure on the spinal cord and nerve roots that exit each vertebra.

Bone spurs and osteoarthritis

Likewise, osteoarthritis can give rise to the formation of bone spurs – jagged bone edges – in aging spines, compressing nerves in the lower back.

Spondylolisthesis

The common symptoms of spondylolisthesis are leg or lower back pain. It occurs when a vertebra slips onto the one below, producing spinal instability and applying undue pressure on the sciatic nerve.

Piriformis syndrome

This neuromuscular disorder refers to the involuntary constriction or tightening of the piriformis muscle – a small muscle in the glutes. Since the piriformis muscle is located directly on top of the sciatic nerve, it is likely to irritate it.

Environmental factors

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) states that damp-cold and damp-heat environments will aggravate sciatic pain.

“Living in a wet environment for a long time, or getting drenched in the rain, or sweating in windy weather can lead to an invasion of wind and damp-cold. These conditions block the flow of blood and qi (vital energy) in the waist, legs and other parts of the body,” explains Eu Yan Sang physician Ignatius Ooi Yong Chin. 

Separately, long-term turbidity and the invasion and accumulation of damp-heat can flow into the bladder meridian, and provoke leg and lower back pain.

Sciatica Pain Management Tips

To recommend suitable treatment options, a clinical physician will analyze your medical history, do a physical examination, or order imaging tests. They may then suggest treatments that help decrease pain and improve mobility.

Medications for pain management

Over-the-counter medications such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) – aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen – can ease pain, inflammation and swelling. Prescription medications like cyclobenzaprine can calm the discomfort associated with muscle spasms.

A physician may also propose the use of tricyclic antidepressants and anti-seizure medications as pain relievers.

Natural pain management remedies may include Panax Notoginseng, also known as Tian Qi. You can read about the herb’s pain management abilities here.

You may also find it useful to rub down your back and leg pain with a muscle relief massage oil. Some people use a muscle relief plaster for convenience.

Physical therapy

The best way to alleviate the pain and swelling is to first use ice packs. Wrap these packs in a towel and apply to the affected area in 20-minute intervals, several times a day. Switch to a hot pack or heating pad to improve blood flow.

You may also integrate different exercises that reduce pressure on the sciatic nerve while achieving your fitness goals. Stretching routines, in particular, can enhance muscle flexibility in people with sciatica.

Acupuncture for pain management

TCM practitioners will generally recommend acupuncture for the pain. However, acupoint massages alone will not be effective. “It can be combined with massage, bone setting, acupotomology, electroacupuncture, collateral pricking and cupping therapy as an auxiliary treatment,” says physician Ooi.  

Pain management surgeries

A physician may advocate the use of spinal surgery if your pain does not lessen with medication and stretching exercises. Microdiscectomy is a minimally invasive procedure that removes herniated disc fragments that are pressing on a nerve. A laminectomy encompasses removing the lamina – the roof of the spinal canal – to increase the space for the spinal nerves and the pressure applied on the sciatic nerve. 

Sciatica pain should not go untreated. If you’re considering alternative physical modalities to support clinical treatment, speak to a TCM practitioner. Ultimately, take comfort in knowing that early intervention will allow for less pain and better mobility, especially if you’re consistent with your treatment regime