4 Best Practices for Dealing with Recurrent Sciatica

A single go around with sciatica is enough to inform you that it’s one condition you would rather not face again. Unfortunately, about 40% of people will develop sciatica at least once in their lifetimes and nearly one-quarter of people with sciatica run into ongoing issues with this common nerve entrapment problem that can last for years.

As experts in back pain and spine health, the team here at Apex Pain Specialists, which includes Dr. Maziar Massrour and Dr. Naveen Reddy, has extensive experience helping our patients navigate the uncomfortable sciatica experience.

In the following, we provide a brief look into some of the best practices for ongoing sciatica issues.

1. Get help for your sciatica

The first thing you should do when your sciatica flares is to come see us as soon as possible. To start, we want to confirm that you are indeed experiencing sciatic pain and that your symptoms are not related to another condition which may require a different course of treatment. For example, sciatica and arthritis pain involving the spine can often present with similar symptoms.

If we confirm that you are having a sciatica flare-up, our next objective would be to relieve your pain, which we can accomplish through interventional therapies such as epidural steroid injections.

After we get you comfortable through our pain management practices, we set our sights on helping you to not only heal from the current flare-up, but to avoid future bouts of sciatica down the road. Let’s take a look.

2. Physical therapy is critical for sciatica

One of the best strategies for dealing with sciatica is physical therapy (PT). When you have sciatica, there’s something that’s compressing this large nerve group, which starts in your lower back and travels down through your buttocks and into the leg. This compression occurs in your lower back and it’s usually caused by a damaged disc or degenerative changes in your spine.

Through PT, you’re able to learn stretches/exercises that can relieve the pressure on the sciatic nerve in your lower back. Also important, during PT you’ll strengthen the muscles in your lower back, which can also go a very long way toward creating more space for your sciatic nerve.

3. Avoid sitting or standing for long periods

As you work on strengthening and stretching your back through PT, we also want you to be mindful about how much pressure you’re placing on your lower back. If you need to sit for long hours at work, be sure to get up at least once every hour and walk around and stretch out. Simply touching your toes is a great practice.

This same goes for standing, except in the opposite direction. If you are standing a lot, take time to walk around and then sit for a period of time to give your spine a break.

4. Lose weight, if necessary

A major risk factor for sciatica is carrying too much weight. Your spine is designed for a certain load, and when you exceed that load, you’re compressing the overall structure (discs and facet joints). As a result of this compression, major nerves like your sciatic nerve can become pinched. If you want to avoid sciatica in the long run, losing a few pounds can be very beneficial as it relieves the pressure on your spine.

As you can see, there are ways to halt the cycle of sciatica, and we will be with you every step of the way. For expert diagnosis and treatment of sciatica, please call our office in Chandler, Arizona, at 480-820-7246 or book an appointment online with Apex Pain Specialists today.