Causes Of Sciatica And Natural Ways To Relieve The Pain
Do you often feel burning or tingling sensation on one leg? Does the pain starts on your lower back and travels into your thigh, which sometimes travels further down the leg to the foot and toes? Or, worst, numbness or weakness of the leg muscles is already present? If you said yes or nod to all of those then you’re most likely suffering from sciatica. Sciatica is actually just a symptom of an underlying condition, but even so, sciatica alone can be debilitating. Here are the possible causes of sciatica and ways you can manage the pain and inflammation naturally.
Causes Of Sciatica
Herniated Disc
This is when the gel-like substance in the center of your disc bulges out. When this happens that gel-like thing puts pressure on the area which then causes the beginning of sciatica pain.
Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
This condition can also cause stress on the sciatic nerve because the narrowing of either the spinal central canal or neural foramen squeezes and irritates the nerves that branch out from the spinal cord.
Spondylolisthesis
This condition affects the nerve because it leads to one or more spinal vertebrae being displaced and then slipping over another which then pinches the nerve.
Piriformis Syndrome
With this one, the muscle surrounding the sciatic nerve spasms or becomes hypertonic. As a result, it irritates the sciatic nerves.
Sciatica Nerve Tumor, Sciatica Nerve Injury, Back Trauma
This three may be the least likely cause of sciatica pain because a tumor hardly ever develops and a trauma or injury that will directly affect the sciatic nerve is far-fetched but it’s a possibility.
Natural Ways That Could Help You Cure The Inflammation And Fight The Pain
Chiropractic Care
This addresses misalignments of the spine and pelvis. Adjustments will free restricted movement and restore proper position of vertebrae in the spine, which then takes the pressure off the nerves and helps with the recovery of any disc herniation.
Yoga And Stretching
Yoga and stretching helps align, lengthen, and strengthen your lower back. Asa result the pressure on the nerve is likely to come off. But you should consult your doctor first, because the cause and severity of your sciatica pain will determine if this approach will help your condition or make it worst.
Acupuncture And Massage Therapy
We already know that massage and acupuncture are relaxing because they encourage the release of pain-fighting endorphins which helps relieve the sciatica pain. Aside from that they loosen tight lower back muscles that are placing stress on your nerve roots and help prevent pinching and irritation.
Sit Less And Move More
Moving around may be the last thing on your mind when struggling with sciatic pains, but it is important to get physically active or the pain will last longer! Sitting around all the time only aggravates the problem. Doing even some light exercises increases blood flow, strengthen the back muscles, and improve mobility.
Heating Pads
Using heating pads helps dull the pain because it loosens up tight muscles and helps improve blood circulation. So when you’re at home and the pain starts bothering you, it would be better to apply heat about every 2-3 hours than reach for the bottle of painkiller every time it hurts. Heating pads dulls the pain the same way pills do, but it doesn’t come with side-effects that long-term reliance to medication comes with.
Tennis Ball Therapys
You can use one or more tennis balls depending on pain level and ability to balance. All you have to do is place a tennis ball under your muscles where you’re experiencing the pain as you sit or lie on the floor. Using one ball puts more pressure on the area and may cause more pain, but using two or more allows the pressure to spread over instead of putting direct pressure on the already sensitive spot. Compress the painful spot for 15-20 seconds. The tennis ball presses and treats trigger points in the piriformis muscle, reduce the muscle tension and rigidity, improve mobility and improve blood circulation to the area.
