Top 7 Do’s & Don’ts Of Sciatica Treatment At Home

Treatment for sciatica can be highly confusing for people, and it’s very frustrating to suffer with sciatica problems longer than anybody should. I’m going to cover with you today the top seven do’s and don’ts of sciatica treatment at home.

Number One: Do Exercise.

It’s extremely important for people suffering from sciatica problems to get in some sort of exercise. Finding out what works best is a bit of trial and error and is often not what people think. I often hear people say, I’m going to go walk to help the sciatica problem because walking is thought of as a great exercise for a lot of things.

Most of the time, it can be helpful, but walking for a sciatica problem often ends up making it worse in the long run. There is usually some sort of strengthening exercise that needs to be done. Typically, on the butt muscles, in the glutes, sometimes on the ABS as well, and other muscles in order to get this sciatica problem under control.

A great one to start out with is simply by squeezing the butt muscles. For somebody suffering from a sciatica problem, get on two feet, and then tighten up the glutes, hold it for about 10 to 15 seconds, then release it all the way for a few seconds and repeat that for about a minute or two. Once that happens, typically there is more support to those muscles. The pelvis is also better aligned and supported. It can put some relief on a tight sciatica nerve, issue.

Number Two, Don’t Get A Massage.

Many of our clients are looking for help. They are looking for some sort of short-term relief. And a massage is a great easy option for them, where they can just lie down at a table get rubbed on, and sometimes the massage can hurt whenever they dig in there real hard, and that’s because it is hurting the sciatic nerve. Nerves don’t like excessive pressure.

When the sciatic nerve is irritated, it can cause muscles to spasm and harden. Massaging that can be beneficial, but most massage therapists have a hard time differentiating if they are on a muscle or a nerve. It’s pretty hard to find that right balance. If you have a massage therapist that can do that, then you are very lucky. But nine times out of ten, it’s hard to tell the difference. I would be on the side of avoiding a massage, for fear of making that sciatic nerve problem worse.

Number Three, Do Use Ice And Heat.

Ice and heat can be very effective at lowering the pain levels of sciatica and make it tolerable to go to sleep at night, to sit for longer periods of time, especially for people that are stuck on a car ride. It can get things under control. It does take a bit of equipment, obviously you have to have a hot pack or an ice pack. But it’s a great alternative. It’s natural and doesn’t involve anybody taking medications, injections, and hopefully we can stay off any sort of invasive procedures.

Number Four, Don’t Stretch.

Stretching is overdone. So many people come in telling us that they have been stretching to help their sciatica problem. And it just doesn’t help. It can change the sensation of the sciatica issue. It can put a different feel on it, because you are stretching out muscles. But it can also aggravate nerves.

The two things that nerves hate the most, like with massage pressure, but the second is excessive stretching. Nerves have the ability to stretch and shorten, and when they are aggravated, they tend to shorten a bit. Stretching out an shortened and aggravated nerve, it just doesn’t make sense. It’s also not something to be doing long term.

It’s confusing and a little odd whenever we tell patients here in the clinic, stop doing that figure four stretch, stop crossing your leg over and pushing your knee down to get that much stretch. Once they stopped doing it and start doing some strengthening exercises, or the other treatments that we might have them do here, they get better. It really does improve for the long term. So, Stretching is overdone. It’s a don’t for sure.

Number Five, Do Drink Lots Of Water.

Especially in Texas where we are at here, or any sort of hot states or summer months, it’s important to stay hydrated and get enough water. Some sciatica problems are related to disc injuries in the lower back. And discs are responsive to how hydrated you are. You can actually mess with your disc height if you drink plenty of water. It also helps with other tissues in the body and helps in general with healing in general.

Getting adequate water is a great, easy step to take to begin to get some relief for a pinched sciatica nerve problem.

Tip Number Six, Don’t Wait More Than About 7 To 14 Days To Get Some Help.

If this problem persists. Now the problem may stay the same. I would call that bad. You want it to be getting better because some people do have a flare up of sciatica, and then within a few days it gets better and eventually goes away. That’s great. If that happened, you definitely don’t want it to get worse. It’s just getting progressively worse. And most people go get help right away.

But if it’s staying the same, that’s when I think it’s most dangerous. It’s important to not let that happen. The other one is, if the pain comes on, then goes away pretty quickly, it only lasts for a day or two or three, then it’s gone. And then maybe a month or two or a few months later, returns stronger and maybe last just a bit longer.

You bet it’s just a matter of time before the third time happens, and that gets worse and the fourth time happens and that gets worse. And it snowballs and eventually becomes a problem that last 7 to 14 days. That’s the story we frequently hear. I’ve had that happen myself. And it’s important to disrupt that cycle. When it’s not that bad. It’s much more manageable.

If we catch a sciatica problem early. It doesn’t take as much treatment and it goes way faster, and you never miss out on all the quality of life stuff that people miss out on when they’re suffering from a sciatica issue. Their sleep, their mood, their ability to sit as long as they want, be able to watch a movie, be able to exercise and walk for leisure and fun. It’s just that’s not something that we want for anybody.

Tip Number Seven, Get Expert Help.

If your problem is lasting way too long, don’t hesitate to call somebody like a specialist physical therapist who’s an expert at helping this problem, especially non-surgically, without medications or injections. Ask for help, find out what needs to be done. It’s surprising for most people sometimes because it’s just a short amount of treatments, despite it being extremely painful to correct a problem with sciatica pelvic related problem or a pinched problem.

Sometimes it can be more especially if there’s a herniated disc involved, or multiple problems throughout the pathway of the sciatic nerve. But getting expert help is a sure way to get the problem to reduce on a consistent basis. It makes sure to get the problem as close to 100% better, rather than settling at 50, 60, or 70%.

Here at El Paso Manual Physical Therapy, we are pushing every client to reach their full potential for improvement for any sciatica problem they come in for. If you are interested in hiring us to help you with your sciatica problem, hit the cost and availability tab up in the menu bar. Leave us your details on the form, and we’ll call you back as soon as possible to discuss your sciatica issue. We want to hear all the details to make sure that we can help you before you ever come in. After we hear your story, we will tell you what the next best step is for your specific sciatica problem. I hope that we can be a part of your success story real soon have the best day away.