Understanding Sciatic Nerve Problems

If you have a severe pain that has lasted for a couple of months, or a nagging dull pain in the lower back, and side of your leg this may be your sciatic nerve. If you’ve been experiencing pain in these areas then you might have inflammation of the sciatic nerve. By knowing what causes it and how you can treat the problem, will enable you to live as pain free as possible.

Beginning at the lower base of the back and extending like a long tendril into your foot, the sciatic nerve can cause a lot of discomfort. It’s part of a bundle of nerves that are at the end of your spine. Some elderly people have problems with it because of their aging body’s wear on the spine, and lack of blood supply to their lower spinal area. Younger people can have issues with it because of injury from a fall, or certain types of degenerative disk disease too. Your sciatic nerve can be irritated in both ways; it’s not picky on cause or age.

There are different ways to treat it when it’s giving you painful grief. It’s comforting to know that most causes of sciatic nerve pain, do clear up on their own with only minor intervention. Pain can be controlled in some cases by anti inflammatory over the counter NSAIDs like ibuprofen. You might want to try to relieve your pain with aspirin too. Ask your doctor about the best option if it causes you stomach problems.

If it is so painful that normal over the counter pills don’t handle it, then consult with your doctor about using steroid pills for your sciatic nerve pain. However, the drawback is that steroids cause bone brittleness, and can only be used for a short term when medicating for the sciatic nerve. Only your doctor can tell what the best treatment options are for you.

Physical therapy is another way to help with pain. The best type of exercise for the pain is gentle stretching and strengthening routines. You might want to consider using a chiropractor or doctor of osteopath that can give you gentle adjustments for your sciatic nerve pain too. A combination of both could very well eliminate or at least help you deal with the sciatic nerve that is limiting your movement and lifestyle.

Finally, if there is damaged by a disc protrusion pressing on the nerve, then surgery might be your only choice. This is usually done as a last resort, and if you need the surgery it will relieve the pressure and inflammation on the sciatic nerve in your back. It takes a while to recover, but if it stops the pain from pounding in your back and legs, and stopping you from enjoying life, it’s a life saver.

_{This page was last updated on Tuesday, August 22, 2006}