7 Remedies to Alleviate Sciatica Symptoms
- Get yourself assessed asap! by a qualified Professional such as a: GP, Chiropractor, Osteopath or Physical Therapist. Knowing exactly what may be causing your sciatica is essential as I believe that knowing is always half the battle. Your Chiropractor or Osteopath may do Neurological, Kinesiological and/ or Orthopaedic tests to asses what may be causing your sciatica symptoms. These are usually caused by a herniated or slipped disc in your lumbar spine and depending on the results of your tests you may need further imaging such as MRI scan to asses the cause of the sciatica and get a more accurate prognosis.
- Use Ice 🧊 is always best to help reduce inflammation to the area. Avoid direct heat as this will cause although some short term relief, it will cause further inflammation. Heat in my opinion is good for chronic injuries such as arthritis but anything acute of subacute always use Ice therapy for 15 to 20 mins. I use the Pneumonic CBAN when applying ice and know when the ice has done it’s job. You will feel these 4 stages with the Ice:
C: Cold
B: Burning sensation
A: Aching sensation
N: Numb sensation
By this final stage you know the ice has done what it was meant to do.
- Rest and avoid long periods of sitting or standing. Short walks may help and some light stretches, such as certain Yoga movements and pilates exercises may help give you some short term relief. These in turn will cause movement to the spine and may alleviate your sciatica symptoms. Laying on your back with a pillow under your knees is best position to alleviate the symptoms of sciatica.
- Avoid sleeping on your stomach. This will cause further damage to your lumbar spine as your neck is turn to one side the whole night. Your cervical spine works in reciprocal motion to your low back or lumbar spine. Having your neck turned to one side the whole night causes dural tension in your whole spine. The Dura is the covering of your spinal cord. It has 3 layers of connective tissue that protect and covers your delicate spinal cord tissues. When a vertebrae in your neck is rotated through the night , this will cause in turn rotation to its reciprocal vertebrae in the low back creating dural torque and irritation to the low back nerve roots associated with the sciatic nerve. Instead sleep on your side with a properly supporting neck pillow and a small pillow in between your knees. This small separation may cause to alleviate the symptoms of sciatica throughout the night.
- Use an inversion table once you have been properly assessed by a healthcare professional this may help alleviate the symptoms of sciatica. Passive traction to the lumbar spine or low back was first discovered by the Romans. They noticed that hanging upside down relieved the symptoms of low back pain. I always recommend inverting little by little and starting with 3 to 4 mins at a time 🕰️ , then increasing the time 30 seconds each day until reaching 15 mins. Inverting 30 to 40 degrees is more than sufficient. There is no need to invert yourself to 60 and 90 degrees, this may cause further damage and you may get dizzy or not have a strong enough heart for this type of posture. Depending on your present health condition it is always best to consult with your GP first before attempting to use an inversion table unsupervised.
- Drink more water and avoid nightshades: Avoid drinks that cause dehydration such as ☕️ coffee, tea 🍵 and 🍷 alcohol. Also I always recommend while suffering with sciatica to avoid night shades which cause further inflammation. These are 🫑 peppers, Aubergine 🍆 , 🍅 Tomatoes and Potatoes 🥔 plus tobacco. Nightshades have been proven to stimulate inflammation in the body and further aggravate the symptoms of arthritis.
Water is the ultimate and mostly most forgotten thing to do.
The more hydrated you are the faster you may be able to heal tissues in your low back area.
I have seen thousands of MRI images where the Vertebral discs are dehydrated by either lack of movement, subluxations and lack of water. For the most part I find that this is the hardest thing for my patients to improve although the easiest and most beneficial to do immediately. Yes people find water 💧 boring but remember that a large percentage of your whole body is made by cells that have water, without it you may only live 2 to 3 days. And I always find that a large percentage of chronic illnesses are caused by chronic dehydration usually masked by the use of medications and overeating.
- See a Chiropractor and get under care as soon as possible. Chiropractors are health care practitioners which specialise in addressing the symptoms of sciatica. Remember that sciatica may only be the tip of an iceberg. If not corrected properly that herniated disc, subluxated, misaligned and/or fixated vertebral segment in your spine can degenerate and cause further future damage if not addressed early enough. Fortunately there is only a very small percentage of patients I have seen in the past that the herniated disc and damaged caused in their lumbar spine was so advanced that only surgery was able to resolve the problem. Addressing Sciatica with specific Chiropractic adjustments will most certainly end your suffering and get you on your way to enjoy living life without pain. Getting you back to your golf game, walking, running, playing with your grandkids, or maybe back to the gym.
Jan 7th 2024
Author:
Arthur Tovar, BSc, D.C. Hons, CSCP, Craniopath (U.S.A)
Thame Chiropractic Clinic
6A Buttermarket
Thame, OX9 3EW
01844 212100
