Sciatic Pain Relief
Sciatica is a very painful condition that affects many people. Some people complain of tingling and/or numbness in their lower back, buttocks, or leg. Other people have shooting pain that radiates down from the base of their spine all the way to their toes.
The good news is that it is fairly easy to relieve the pain. The bad news is that unless you go further and treat the underlying conditions that led to your sciatica, your pain will most likely return.
Obviously, if you are suffering from these types of symptoms, sciatic pain relief is first and foremost on your mind. In order to effectively treat your sciatica symptoms, you need to follow a three step process.
Three Steps To Sciatic Pain Relief
Step 1: Identify the Cause Of Your Sciatica Pain
First, it is important to identify what is causing your sciatica. For this part, it is very important to go see a doctor. All sciatica pain is the result of compression somewhere along your sciatic nerve. The problem is that this nerve runs all the way from the base of your spine, through you hips and buttocks, and down each leg. Most of the time the compression occurs in one or two locations. You’ll need your doctor’s assistance to determine where.
Step 2: Treat the Pain
Next, your doctor will help you treat the pain. Your doctor may prescribe pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs. You might also need to do a few stretches to loosen up the affected area. Depending on your condition, your doctor will probably also recommend rest, cold/heat therapy, and possibly physical therapy.
Step 3: Treat the Underlying Causes Of The Pain
Unfortunately, most doctors and chiropractors will never get to this step with you. They focus on treating the pain, but never get around to identifying and treating all the imbalances and physical dysfunctions that caused the pain in the first place.
Many people assume that if you fix the pain, you’ve also fixed the problem. But this is untrue. Left alone, more than likely your sciatica pain will return. The next time it returns, it may be accompanied by even worse symptoms.
The Key To Lasting Sciatic Pain Relief
If your car is out of alignment, you can drive it for a while but you know a big repair bill is just on the horizon. The same is true for your body. As we go through life, it is quite common to develop various physical dysfunctions and muscle imbalances. These are a natural result of how we live our lives, how we sit at work, and our general habits and posture.
Over time, these imbalances slowly warp our body, pulling our spines, hips, and muscles out of alignment, thereby creating stress and strain that will develop into other conditions.
Muscle imbalances develop slowly over time. Most people have one or two and don’t even know about it. Sooner or later you need to take care of them before more severe problems develop. These same muscle imbalances are the root cause of most forms of sciatica as well as most forms of back pain. This is the key to understanding sciatica and finding lasting sciatic pain relief.