If you are looking for information on sciatica treatment then chances are that you already know what sciatica is. It is when your sciatic nerve begins to give you trouble because it is either damaged, compress, or pinched. You will find that most don’t even know this nerve exist until the pain strikes. Once it does you are willing to do nearly anything to relieve the pain. There are a number of different sciatica treatment methods out there.
Many will find that natural methods are able to help them with relieving this pain. In most cases the sciatica will respond quite well to natural forms of treatment and they hardly ever require that one have a surgical intervention. There are a few things that are beneficial such as time, anti-inflammatory medication, narcotic use for acute pain short-term, physical therapy, and lumbar injections.
Many will find that bed rest at least in the short-term is going to be recommended for the phase that is acute. However, some activity is still going to be good in this phase. This means that being up for short time periods that are not going to cause pain that is severe. You might want to walk, do light stretching, or even exercise that is aerobic type.
While surgery is not needed for every patient in a few situations this method of treatment might actually be necessary. Those who have already tried the natural methods for treatment and who are not have any success after four or six weeks need to have a re-evaluation. At that point an MRI might be needed to see if the problem is from spinal stenosis or a disc that has been herniated. When these are the causes that one might find that leg pain can be often times relieved. The different types of surgical procedures will be determined on the diagnosis and condition of the patient.
While you are working toward finding the right treatment you will find that it helps to relieve any mechanical stress on your spine that is unnecessary. Therefore when you stand you will want to work at alternating the foot that is resting. When you find that you have to drive you might want to put a pillow or some form of cushioning behind your bed so that you are able to maintain a spinal curvature that is natural. When it is time to go to sleep you might find that having a pillow between your knees if you are a side sleeper or under them if you are a back sleeper will help.