The sciatica nerve is considered to be the thickest, biggest and longest nerve in our body. This nerve basically runs from your spine and lower back through the buttocks and the hips and also the branches which are down each of our legs. It is a very crucial nerve in our body which can also get irritated, inflamed, damaged, compressed or pinched which in turn results in weakness, discomfort and pain, and even sometimes causes numbness or tingling in the areas of the buttocks, hips and legs.
And so if you wonder how to get immediate relief for sciatica pain, then the best answer to it is actually to consult a doctor first and get the best treatment option based on your condition. Whether your sciatica pain has been caused due to a car accident, disc slip, surgery or a situation like piriformis syndrome, it is always possible to get rid of it. And so to help you get an idea of all the possible treatments for it, we got you covered through this article.
As you scroll down, you will find out complete details about sciatica pain, such as how to get immediate relief from its pain, what are the causes of it and much more. So just continue to read below to check out all the information.
Details of the best measures of immediate relief for sciatica pain
There are many conservative options of treatment for mitigating the signs and symptoms of this pain, but below provided are the details of the best treatment options which you should definitely try to get immediate relief from the sciatica pain. And so these are as follows-
- Over the counter medications- So medications can also certainly help to get relief from inflammation and pain. You just need to make sure that you talk to your doctor before you start to get any drug therapy for you. Some of the most common OCD medications for getting relief from sciatica are-
- Aspirin (bayer)
- Naproxen sodium or aleve
- Acetaminophen or tylenol
- NSAIDS (includes advil and motrin)
- Do not stop moving- It is actually very important that you do not stop moving. You start to feel sciatica pain, even though this might be the last thing that you would want to do. Even though it might seem hard, you really need to keep moving around and to keep your body protected from becoming weak and incurring any additional pain. So do not rest on bed for so long, and also do not overdo it either.
Just listen to your body and provide it what it needs the most. When you will occasionally move, and do the gentle stretches, it might prove to be all that you need to get rid of that exotic pain.
- Some quick stretches for immediate relief for sciatica pain- There are some gentle stretches which help to keep the muscles of our body working with pinching or ease compression. Improving the flexibility and strength of our both not only helps to get relief from sciatica pain, but also helps to treat and avoid any flare ups of sciatica in future. The pain in the lower back can also be reduced by doing simple exercises of stretching for the muscles of our back and the spinal cord.
So below provided are the names of some of the best stretching exercises that you can definitely try to get rid of sciatica pain. Though you might not be fit for every exercise, you can do it as it suits you best.
- Sitting pigeon pose
- Forward pigeon pose
- Reclining pigeon pose
- Standing hamstring pose
- Scissor pose
- Standing piriformis pose
- Groyne muscle pose
- Basic seated stretch
- Knee to the opposite shoulder
- Some alternative therapies for sciatica pain- There are also some other effective treatments for getting immediate relief for sciatica pain, some of which includes the following-
- Massage- This basically increases the circulation of blood, which relaxes the muscles of the body and decreases the stress, which helps to get ease from sciatica pain.
- Stress management- When we tend to feel stressed, our body starts to feel tense, which eventually results in our muscles becoming tired and sore. And so to get relief in these, mental health help and mediation plays a vital role as they support the anatomical structures which are present around the sciatica nerves.
- Yoga- As it is well said that stretches can largely help to achieve relief from sciatica pain, so yoga also strengthens the body, increases flexibility and makes our body and mind active, which are very beneficial to ease the distress of sciatica.
- Acupuncture- Many researches have found that acupuncture has resulted and given better results for getting relief in sciatica pain than medications.
What are the causes of sciatica?
As you read above about the best measure for immediate relief for sciatica pain, below are the details of the common causes of it, so that you can stay cautious and get treated before it becomes major.
So the most common cause of this pain is herniated disc, which actually happens when the jelly-like centre of our intervertebral disc gets pushed through the outer ring of our disc, or causes the ring to bulge out, which eventually puts pressure on the sciatica nerve and causes pain. In addition to this cause, there are some other tissues as well which triggers this pain, some of which includes the following-
- Bone spurs, also called as bone overgrowth
- Damage of nerves because of diabetes
- Tumours or Cysts
- Degeneration and Disc Tears
- Thickened or torn ligaments, also known as ligamentous hypertrophy
- Arthritis
And so its end symptoms will be-
- Pain from the lower back to your legs, and the pain could be burning, shooting, aching or even dull.
- Feeling of numbness or sensation of tingling
- Feeling of altered reflexes and weakness in muscles.
And thus, this is complete information on the best treatments for immediate relief for sciatica pain and details of the most common causes of it, so that you can stay safe and avoid it before the pain becomes severe!