Taking care of your body can often feel like a full-time job. Incorporating healthy habits into your lifestyle isn’t easy, so it’s okay to seek out help. Sciatica, for instance, is a condition that you shouldn’t treat alone. Rely on professional help from Hall Way of Healing to learn about the causes, symptoms, and best treatments for sciatica.
What causes Sciatica?
The body is a resilient yet delicate formation of complex and sensitive systems. Throughout the movements of life, it’s easy and common for these systems to be disturbed. The sciatic nerve branches from the lower back, through the hips, and down each leg. Sciatica refers to pain that runs along the sciatic nerve, also called a “pinch,” typically only on one side of the body.
Sciatica is caused by a variety of things, but most commonly attributed to a herniated or slipped disk in the spine, a bone spur, pregnancy, or muscle spasms. Conditions such as lumbar spinal stenosis, degenerative disk disease, and spondylolisthesis are also likely to cause sciatic symptoms. Other factors, such as diabetes, age, lack of exercise, being overweight or obese, smoking, sleeping on the wrong type of mattress, prolonged sitting, and certain physically demanding jobs can also contribute to sciatica.
Symptoms of Sciatica
The sciatic nerve runs along the length of much of the body, so the symptoms of sciatica can widely vary. The effects can range from a mild ache to an excruciating pain, a burning sensation, numbness, tingling, shock, discomfort, or muscle weakness. They can become worse when your body makes a sudden move, like a sneeze or a cough, or when you sit or stand for long periods of time. Symptoms also can be constant or sporadic, and often affect one side of the body more than the other. If sciatic symptoms continue and are left untreated, they can worsen over time and even lead to mobility issues.
Treatments for Sciatica in Marietta
Most mild cases of sciatica will go away on their own in about two weeks, so if symptoms persist longer or worsen then it’s time to seek treatment. Common treatments include using cold or hot packs, stretching, and over-the-counter medications. More intense cases may be treated with acupuncture, physical therapy, steroid injections, or surgery. Since the symptoms of sciatica stem from the spine, treatments that focus on spinal mobility can be very effective.
Chiropractic care focuses on the connection between the body and the nervous system, so it can target the pain coming from the sciatic nerve directly. Spinal adjustments through chiropractic treatment can improve function and decrease pain by restoring spinal movement.
Exercises for Sciatica
If you suspect that you have sciatica, there are certain exercises you can start doing at home to alleviate your symptoms. To make them the most effective, do these movements on a consistent basis and focus on your form as you do each. The following exercises can help improve sciatic nerve function, reduce pain, improve body mobility, and condition your muscles.
Knee to Chest
Pelvic Tilt
Standing Hamstring
Standing Piriformis
Sciatic Nerve Glide
Lower Trunk Rotations
Opposite Arm and Leg Extensions
Knee to Chest
Lie on your back and pull one knee to your chest, hold for 30 seconds, switch legs, and then do both legs together. Remember to flex your feet and don’t pull the leg too hard.
Pelvic Tilt
Lie on your bank with your legs bent and your arms flat beside you. Tighten your abdomen, push your belly button toward the floor, then rock your rips and pelvis slightly upward. Hold the position for a few seconds, then release and repeat. Remember to breathe through this exercise.
Standing Hamstring
Find an elevated surface at or below your hip level, such as a chair or a step stool. Place one foot on the surface and flex. Bend your body slightly forward toward your foot and keep your back straight. Hold for 30 seconds and then switch legs.
Standing Piriformis
Stand freely or against a wall if needed. Bend one leg and place it over the top of the other, crossing the ankle at the thigh. Then, bend at the standing leg to about a 45-degree angle. Hold this for 30 seconds and then switch legs.
Sciatic Nerve Glide
Sit upright in a chair and straighten out one leg while keeping the other foot flat on the floor. Slowly bend the ankle of the outstretched leg so that your toes point toward you. Bend the ankle forwards and backwards, pointing your toes toward and away from you. Do this 15 times and then switch legs.
Lower Trunk Rotations
Lie on your back with both knees bent. Put both knees together, then contract your abdominal muscles and rotate your knees to one side. Hold this position for 5 seconds, then repeat to the other side.
Opposite Arm and Leg Extensions
Position yourself on all fours and contract your abdominal muscles to keep your back straightened and stay balanced. Raise one leg upward and straighten in outward, then extend the opposite arm straight out in front of you. Hold for 5 seconds, then repeat with the other leg and arm.
Yoga for Sciatica
The connection between your mind and body greatly influences your health. Yoga improves this connection and helps stretch your muscles along the sciatic nerve. The following yoga poses will target the sciatic nerve to give your body some relief from bad symptoms.
Cobra Pose
Downward-Facing Dog
Child’s Pose
Bridge Pose
Half Moon Pose
Locust Pose
Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose
Cobra Pose
Downward-Facing Dog
Child’s Pose
Bridge Pose
Half Moon Pose
Locust Pose
Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose
Immediate Relief for Sciatica Pain
If your sciatica symptoms are getting to a point where they are overwhelming or affecting your mobility, then it’s best you seek a medical professional. In between your chiropractic appointments, there are three main things you can do at home.
One option is a topical pain medication. These gels, creams, and patches can provide direct relief and penetrate your tissues.
Another option is heating pads or wraps. Continuous, low-level heat where you are feeling pain can give you fast relief. Apply heat only in 15 minute increments, always allowing the body to return to room temperature before reapplying it. And remember that any topical pain medications should be used separately and never underneath those pads or wraps. Massaging the area in pain, if it’s a place you can reach well, is also a great way to quickly alleviate sciatic symptoms.
Exercises, stretches, and yoga poses meant to stretch the muscles along the sciatic nerve can also provide relief when you need it.
If you’re also in a situation where you have to continue sitting for an extended period of time, improving your posture can also help stop the pain you’re experiencing.
Chiropractic Care for Sciatica in Marietta
Treating the symptoms of sciatica is more effective when it addresses the root cause. Chiropractic care can target the sciatic nerve and the pain or discomfort that radiates from it. The spinal adjustments can alleviate pressure off the nerve and soothe the surrounding muscles.
A skilled chiropractor can restore the proper alignments and balances to your spine so that the nervous system can function at its best. Hall Way of Healing provides comprehensive, personalized services to target your specific pain points and expedite your recovery from sciatica.