Sciatica Treatment

For severe or ongoing flare ups of sciatic nerve pain the condition may need to be treated so that it does not get worse over time.

For others, when the pain is severe or does not get better on its own, a more structured treatment approach, and possibly surgery, may offer the best approach to finding pain relief and preventing or minimizing future pain and/or dysfunction.

Non-Surgical Treatment for Sciatica Non-surgical sciatica treatments encompass a broad range of options, with the goal of relieving pain caused by compressed nerve roots.  One or some combination of the treatments below are usually recommended in conjunction with specific sciatica exercisis.

ICE and HEAT are very simple and underrated for treatment of acute sciatic pain, Use heat  Sparingly, HOT showers for 10 minutes and or hot tub soaks Followed by 20 or 30 minutes of ICE. Works wonders.   The best ones I can find are the “clay type Ice packs and are readily available on amazon. A word of caution the shipping may be more than the actual product. If you do not have a “prime account” Contact me and can help with that extra cost. http://tinyurl.com/good-ice-pack-amazon another option is a bit less expensive only because the casing is just a bit thinner both work but you may be replacing the blue one just a little bit sooner and you will need to be just a bit more careful with it. http://tinyurl.com/blue-ice-pack-with-thiner-case  

Pain Medications over the counter prescription medications may also be helpful in relieving sciatica pain.  Non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (such as ibuprofen, naproxen, or COX-2 inhibitors), or oral steroids can reduce the inflammation that is usually a contributing factor in causing sciatica pain. Use this only for two weeks.

Biopuncture Injections for Sciatica

If the pain is severe, an injection www.biopuncture.info or  http://tinyurl.com/dr-dave-biopuncture    can be performed to reduce inflammation.  An biopuncture injection is different from traditional steroidal medications because it injects healthy herbal remedies directly to the painful area around the sciatic nerve to help decrease the inflammation and increase healing time unlike steroids which simply mask the problem that may be causing the pain.

While the effects of a steroid injection tend to be temporary (providing pain relief for as little as one week up to a year), and it does not work for everyone, an epidural steroid injection can be effective in providing relief from an acute episode of sciatic pain.  Importantly, it can provide sufficient relief to allow a patient to progress with a chiropractic conditioning and exercise program.

Dr. David Thomson