What are the Treatment Options for Sciatica?

Did you know that a sciatic nerve runs from the spine to your buttocks? Damage or harm to the sciatica nerve causes severe pain, a condition is known as sciatica. Being overweight increases your risk for sciatica. The condition causes chronic pain, which ultimately affects your life. You may find relief through exercise, including chiropractic techniques. The Roswell sciatica specialists at Polaris Spine & Neurosurgery Center offer comprehensive care, including various treatment options to restore your health and life quality. Here are more details on sciatica; keep reading to understand better.

What is sciatica?

The sciatic nerve’s a chronic pain condition that moves from the lower back to the legs. You feel the pain around your lower back, hips, buttocks, legs, and feet. Though it is possible to feel the pain on both sides of the body, the pain usually happens on one side.

Are you likely to experience the following with sciatica?

  •         Leg numbness
  •         Pain that moves down your legs from the lower back
  •         A tingling sensation in your leg
  •         Pain that becomes worse when you cough, sit, or sneeze.
  •         Weakness in your leg

What causes sciatica?

Sciatica occurs due to the compression of a sciatic nerve. A pinched sciatic nerve can occur due to many things; some of the most common issues that cause a pressured sciatic nerve include the following.

  •         Infections
  •         Herniated discs
  •         Injuries resulting in inflammation
  •         Aging
  •         Bone spurs

You are also likely to experience sciatica if you are pregnant due to the pressure of the growing uterus on the sciatic nerve.

What are your treatment options for sciatica?

If suffering from sciatica, you are not alone; the chronic pain experts at the Polaris Spine & Neurosurgery Center are here to help. The treatments offered depend on the cause of the sciatic nerve pain, its severity, and location.

Your treatment may include one of the following.

Personalized at-home exercise programs

These include at-home exercise programs to strengthen your muscles and ease off the pressure from your sciatic nerve, relieving pain. Your provider works with you to design the exercise programs with you. They suggest combining the exercises with regular physical therapy for even better results.

Epidural steroid injections

It involves your provider administering the epidural steroid injections to your back adjacent to the root of the sciatic nerve. The injections decrease the inflammation, enhancing pain relief.

Minimally invasive surgery

This treatment option is only ideal for patients with severe sciatica that won’t go away even after using conservative treatments.

The surgical treatment for sciatica involves decompressing the sciatic nerve by removing the tissue causing the pain, usually a herniated disc or a bone spur. They may also conduct lumbar fusion to enhance spine stabilization.

Sciatica pain can be distressing, affecting your overall life quality. And who would choose to live a life full of misery? Do not let pain get in the way while there are practical solutions to your condition. Reach out to Polaris Spine & Neurosurgery Center today to schedule your consultation.