Popular Treatment Options for Sciatica

Popular Treatment Options for Sciatica

Various studies show that around 25% of the people have to deal with the discomforts associated with sciatica at some point in their life. The sciatic nerve originates from either side of the lower spine and it goes through the buttocks and pelvis. It proceeds towards the back of each upper leg and at the knee; this nerve is branched out before going to the feet.

Learn about sciatica
When something puts pressure or irritates the sciatic nerve, you experience pain. The pain spreads to the back of the thighs or buttocks. The pain sensation can vary from person to person. Sometimes, it may feel like a moderate ache and it can become a burning sensation involving serious discomforts as well. The sensation of tingling, weakness, and numbness can also be associated with sciatica. When you sit or stand up for an extended period of time, pay can get aggravated. Prolonged straining, lifting, twisting, sneezing or coughing can worsen the pain as well. What is the best treatment for sciatica? There are different options available and they include using hot or cold packs, medications, exercises and natural remedies. Here are some of the best treatments for sciatica.

Physical therapy and stretching
Most patients find relief within a few weeks with some painkillers or natural remedies. If the pain is mild in nature and does not interfere too much with your daily activities, your doctor may advocate some basic solutions. Physical therapy is one such option and the therapist designs a stretching and exercise routine that meets your needs. This approach helps you improve the posture so that unwanted pressure on the sciatic nerve is reduced or eliminated. Lower back stretches are also a good option and it helps you relieve the pain in a natural way.

Exercises like short walks can bring relief
When you are constantly moving, inflammation can get better. That is exactly why health experts advocate short walks and you should be very careful to keep your posture right to eliminate the possibility of getting injured further. Exercising is the easiest and best treatment for sciatica.

Take rest with proper care
You must limit your bed rest. When you are on your feet for three days, the pain naturally subsides and you need to make sure that you using a firm mattress while resting and it should be kept on the floor.

Hot and cold packs
Using hot and cold packs is a really a good option. They should be applied on your lower back for several minutes and it should be repeated a couple of times a day. First of all, you have to apply the cold packs for a few days and the heat packs can be applied.

Popular medications available that bring relief to sciatica pain
Medication is the best treatment for sciatica. You can find different types of medications including oral medications. There are over the counter medications like naproxen, ketoprofen, Motrin, Advil, ibuprofen, aspirin and acetaminophen and, these medications offer pain relief in the best way possible. If these painkillers do not bring any results, you have to depend on prescription muscle relaxants and they reduce the muscle spasms to offer immediate relief. Doctors also prescribe antidepressants if you are experiencing severe lower back pain. There are also prescription pain medications available to address chronic pain. The medicine known as aspirin should be given to children aged below 18 years because it increases the risk of Reye’s syndrome. In certain cases, doctors inject a steroid medication into the area near the spinal nerve. These types of injections offer good results when ruptured or herniated disc pressure causes the irritation.

Alternative therapies can reduce the pain
Many people depend on alternative therapies to control the sciatica pain. Some of the popular therapies available include acupuncture, biofeedback, massage, and yoga as well.

Surgical options
When all other methods fail to deliver the expected results, surgery is performed. Usually, around 5% to 10% people undergo surgery to get rid of sciatica. People with milder sciatica may experience pain even after 3 months of taking medications, stretching and resting and in such a situation; the doctor recommends surgery. Some people may get affected with cauda equine syndrome as a result of sciatica. Cauda equine syndrome is a condition where you lose control of your bladder and bowels and it can only be treated with the help of surgery. When it comes to surgery, the most common procedures are Diskectomy and Laminectomy. As far as Diskectomy is concerned, the surgeon removes the thing that causes pressure on the sciatic nerve. Normally, a piece is removed and on rare occasions, the entire disc is removed to fix the issue. During the Laminectomy, the surgeon removes the lamina and any other tissue that causes the pain.

The doctor decides the best treatment for sciatica based on the nature of the symptoms and the severity of the issue. He/she makes use of a combination of various methods to eliminate sciatica related concerns.

Related Reading

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Most of the dogs do not have a food fuss and may eat almost anything that you feed them. Dogs are not choosy at all when it comes to food and nutrition. Hence, it is important to make sure that the food that you are purchasing for your dog is healthy. The landscape of dog food has been developing by leaps and bounds in recent times. There is a wide variety of options to choose from in the online and offline market. Given the wide range of options that are available today, buying the best dog food might seem to be a confusing task indeed. All the commercial pet food that is available in the market today is regulated by the FDA. Therefore, most of the products do contain nutritious, healthy, and safe ingredients. But it does help to know certain basic factors you should look for while buying food for your dog. Prioritize on the nutritional guarantee The best dog food, which meets the dog’s needs adequately has a statement written on the label of the product, from the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Buy from some of the best dog food brands, such as Fromm Family Foods, Earthborn Holistic, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and The Honest Kitchen.
Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

The most important aspect when designing your kitchen is deciding on the type of cabinets. In addition to functionality, kitchen cabinets score on aesthetics as well. Once the layout is planned, you can go ahead with choosing the cabinets. If you’re remodeling your home or just the kitchen, what you need to consider are the types of cabinets that furnish your kitchen. Here are a few types of kitchen cabinets that you can choose from. Base cabinets These kitchen cabinets are mounted on the floor and they are placed after checking out the floor plan. A major part of your job in the kitchen is on these base cabinets, which hold and support the countertops. These base cabinets are combined to carve out kitchen islands. A number of base cabinets are fused/set against one another and installed on site. The base cabinets, in addition to supporting the countertops, serve as drawers to hold your cutlery and appliances. Wall cabinets Mounted on the walls, these cabinets can store everything, right from your cookware to cookbooks. In terms of design, they offer utmost flexibility. Wall cabinet kitchen is available in varying heights, multiple widths, and custom depth options. This customization helps you to fit in your stuff of varying shapes and sizes into the wall cabinets.
How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

In today’s world, where you are presented with over a dozen choices for every item you would purchase for your own kitchen, it is not surprising that you have an equal number of options for your dog’s food. However, choosing the perfect brand and formula for your dog out of a range of options in the market is not an easy job. Your pet depends on you and trusts you to make the right choice for them. Therefore, it is imperative that you do your research about the products available in the market, understand what your dog needs, know what might be your pet’s problems, and then make a sound decision. What is a sensitive stomach? Dogs are known to have voracious and large appetites. Keeping that in mind, it is normal to assume that they have strong stomachs. They can eat close to anything be it sweets, bakes, chewy gum, hard leather or even woolen socks for that matter! It always so happens that the strongest of them are prone to allergies and can develop a disorder which is medically translated as a sensitive stomach. This might be due to a sudden change in the food habits or even due an infection picked up from somewhere.
All You Need to Know about Cat Food

All You Need to Know about Cat Food

For cat owners, cat food is a hot topic. You need to think about it in different aspects. The best thing is to know which ingredients are good for cat food and which are harmful. If you are aware of this, you can get an idea about the quality of the cat food just by going through the label. It is always sensible to stick to one brand of cat food. However, you may also want to try and prepare cat food yourself. There are also various options for wet cat food as well. Cat’s love for fish is universal, so you can do without going for expensive cat food. Nevertheless, whether you buy it or prepare cat food at home, you need to ensure that the food contains enough nutrition and calories. You would need to have some idea about the ingredients that must be present in cat food and make a worthy selection for your cat. Basic ingredients present in good cat foods Cats need a variety of nutrients to stay healthy and active; they need various vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, and oils. The following is a brief explanation of the basic ingredients that should be present in cat foods.