Pain, muscle spasm, and radiating pain from your back to the buttocks, down to either of your legs can be disabling. The symptoms indicate that something is not alright with your spinal nerves. Dr. Ben-Meir and his team at Downtown Pain Management deal with various conditions likely to result in frustrating symptoms, including sciatica in Red Bank. Most sciatica cases do not resolve independently. However, the symptoms might minimize over time with care and treatment. Thanks to the several treatment options, you can trust that you might soon return to your everyday life.
What nonsurgical treatments might your doctor suggest?
Though a surgical procedure might best relieve your debilitating symptoms in specific cases, your primary physician might first suggest non-invasive interventions to minimize your symptoms. The medical expert will aim at reducing the inflammation that might be the primary cause of pain and numbness in the initial weeks of therapy. The options your physician might recommend to minimize inflammation include:
- Physical therapy
The approach can only be an option if you have no intense symptoms. Thus, your doctor might not suggest an activity when you have severe muscle spasms and chronic pain. Physical therapy helps strengthen your muscles and reduce pain and inflammation, allowing sciatica to resolve independently, especially if it eases issues like nerve compression. When it comes to home remedies, your healthcare might focus on exercises that strengthen your back and the core muscles, especially when you do not experience significant pain. While some physical therapists might suggest specific treatments, others might only recommend walking.
Treatments
Besides physical therapy, sciatica might need a combination of other treatments to alleviate your symptoms. The medical professional might design a treatment plan with several approaches, including:
- Ultrasound. The approach uses sound waves to generate heat. As the heat penetrates your deeper muscles, it enhances circulation, minimizing muscle spasms, stiffness, swelling, and pain.
- Cold therapy. It helps control the pain by reducing inflammation
- Adjustments. Also referred to as spinal manipulations, adjustments free your restricted spinal movements, helping restore your misaligned vertebrae to their position in your spinal column. The manipulations will help relieve irritability that causes muscle spasms and other sciatica-related symptoms. Spinal adjustments are safe, effective, and less painful.
- Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulations (TENS). The portable muscle stimulating equipment uses electrical current’s varying intensities to help lower your pain and minimize spasms.
Injections
In some instances, your primary physician might administer medication in your epidural space. Like an epidural injection your gynecologist might suggest during childbirth, an epidural steroid injection offers temporary relief. Though the treatment does not address your pain’s root problem, it will allow your sciatic nerve to heal over time. However, your doctor might recommend a pain specialist for a further assessment if you have significant pain.
How is life with sciatica?
Life can prove challenging with sciatica pain. The disabling symptoms can prevent you from doing the things you love doing and limit your mobility, thus, prompting you to lead a sedentary lifestyle. Unfortunately, the new lifestyle can cause adverse effects on your overall wellness.
Sciatica is likely to worsen the more you delay treatment. Additionally, your primary physician might suggest complex treatment options if the condition advances. Contact your doctor when experiencing minor sciatica-related symptoms for an evaluation to know your treatment options.
