What is Sciatica?
Sciatica refers to pain that radiates along the sciatic nerve, which runs from your lower back down to your legs. It’s often caused by a herniated disc pressing on a nerve root, leading to pain, numbness, or weakness in the affected leg. While sciatica can be very uncomfortable, treatment strategies, like physiotherapy can help.
How Physiotherapy Can Help
At our clinic, we focus on treatments that align with the latest research. A personalized approach might include:
- Manual Therapy: Techniques like spinal manipulation or mobilization to relieve pressure and improve movement.
- Exercise Programs: Strengthening and stretching exercises tailored to your specific needs.
- Education and Advice: Teaching you how to move safely and prevent further pain.
- Adjunct Therapies: Incorporating methods like acupuncture or electrical stimulation as part of a comprehensive plan (Lewis et al., 2015).
Other Options According to the Research
A recent review compared multiple treatments for sciatica to find out which one may work best for you. Here’s what it discovered:
- Effective Treatments:
- Epidural Injections: These can provide significant pain relief and improve overall recovery for many patients (Lewis et al., 2015).
- Disc Surgery: In more severe cases, surgery can lead to notable improvements, especially when other treatments haven’t worked (Lewis et al., 2015).
- Nonopioid Pain Relievers: Medications like anti-inflammatories can help manage pain without the side effects of opioids (Lewis et al., 2015).
- Acupuncture and Spinal Manipulation: These alternative therapies showed promise in improving symptoms for some individuals.
- Treatments That Need More Evidence:
- Exercise Therapy: While it’s an essential part of long-term recovery, alone it may not provide immediate relief (Lewis et al., 2015).
- Traction and Bed Rest: These are less effective compared to other options and are generally not recommended as standalone treatments (Lewis et al., 2015).
- Avoid Over-Reliance on Opioids: Medications like opioids showed limited benefit and should be used cautiously, if at all, for sciatica (Lewis et al., 2015).
The Road to Recovery
Recovery from sciatica takes time, but with the right support and treatment, you can reduce pain and improve function. If you’re dealing with sciatica, don’t hesitate to reach out to our physiotherapy team. We’re here to guide you every step of the way and help you get back to doing what you love (Lewis et al., 2015).
Written by Dillon Hunter, in collaboration with River East Physiotherapy
References:
Lewis, R. A., Williams, N. H., Sutton, A. J., Burton, K., Din, N. U., Matar, H. E., Hendry, M., Phillips, C. J., Nafees, S., Fitzsimmons, D., Rickard, I., & Wilkinson, C. (2015). Comparative clinical effectiveness of management strategies for sciatica: Systematic review and network meta-analyses. The Spine Journal, 15(8), 1461–1477. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spinee.2013.08.049