How do you know if your sciatica pain is getting better?
At Kinatex St-Léonard, we see many patients that suffer from sciatica. For many, when the pain is severe it can be debilitating, and it may appear at the time that nothing will help. For others, they describe the pains as being one of the worst pains they have ever felt in their lives.
The good news is that sciatica can get better so how can one tell if their sciatica pain is actually improving? Well at least the idea of knowing that there can be improvement in this type of pain is a huge relief for our patients that must deal with it.
What Is Sciatica?
A sciatic problem occurs when there is a pressure on the sciatic nerve. This large nerve originates from the vertebra of the lower back and goes down the back of the leg, all the way down to the toes. When the sciatic nerve is compressed and irritated, the pain can radiate from the buttocks down the back of the leg and to the toes. A feeling of tingling or numbness can be also felt in these areas.
What Can Cause Sciatica?
The compression of the sciatic nerve can be caused by a herniated disc in the low back called the lumbar spine. The discs, which are like little jelly doughnut pads, can get damaged and deform their shape over time or with a traumatic accident. The jelly in the doughnut is then displaced towards the outside and can compress the sciatic nerve in this area. Once compressed, pain is caused down the leg.
Certain factors can increase your risk of getting low back pains and sciatica. The most common factors we see in our patients have to do with lifestyle. Obviously as the body gets older, certain parts of the body can begin to break down and cause different types of pains. However, lifestyle factors such as weight, physical activity levels and smoking can also contribute to the wear and tear on the body.
In addition, certain types of work can increase the loads on the lower back and in turn lead to greater damage to the discs. Work that involves lifting heavy objects on a frequent or infrequent basis, sitting for prolonged periods of time, and twisting repetitively can lead to an increased chance of having low back pain and sciatica.
Poor posture can also have a slow and chronic effect on the spine and on the body. When the lower back is rounded such as in a slouched seated position, there is an increased pressure on the vertebrae and discs of the lumbar spine and can lead to a compression of the sciatic nerve over time. Other postures, such as sitting with the legs crossed or standing with your weight on one leg more than the other, can also cause an increased amount of load on the spine and discs as there is an unbalanced amount of weight to one side of the spine.
How Can I Relieve My Sciatic Pain?
The normal reaction of people who have pain is to stop moving and rest as much as possible. Most people are too afraid to move when they have pain because they do not want to make the problem worse. The problem with complete rest if you are suffering from sciatic pain is twofold: one, the herniated disc needs blood flow and movement to heal and two, the muscles of the trunk that help to control the lower back become weak. Therefore, try to move as much as possible to keep the low back moving and those muscles working.
Also, sitting should be a position that is kept to a limited amount. While sitting may be a great way to take a break and rest, most of the time patients are sitting in a slouched or awkward way to avoid pain. So, sitting can make your pain last longer and can leave with back postures or habits long after the back pains have passed. Instead of sitting, lying down on the back with the knees bent or lying on the side with a pillow between the knees may be better for the back pain.
Try gentle walking
As soon as you can, try to make gentle exercise a part of your daily routine. Any exercise that helps you to move will be beneficial. Gentle exercise can stimulate an increased circulation throughout the body helping the tissues to heal better. Gentle exercise will also stimulate the body to release its natural endorphins which help to reduce pain and inflammation.
Walking is one of the best types of exercise for most people that have pain, including sciatic pain. It has many advantages since you can walk at any time and in any place. It is a simple way to get more active and become overall healthier. At the beginning, start by walking 5 to 10 minutes at a time and repeating this amount every hour. Over time, try to increase the length of walking time as tolerated. Even if the pace of the walk is slow to start, keep moving on a regular basis and the speed gradually.
Use Heat and Ice Therapy
The use of both heat and ice therapy can be helpful to treating your sciatica pains. Heat therapy can be useful to reduce painful muscle spasms that can be present with low back and sciatic pain in the legs. It is also used to increase blood flow to the area that it is applied. Ice therapy can be useful to decrease pain by numbing the nerves over the treated area. Ice is also effective for treating inflammation of the area that it is applied.
Some stretching can help too
The body tends to become stiff when we do not use it on a regular basis. This change in the body occurs over time, as the joints and muscles have more and more difficulty to move. Therefore, it is important to stay active daily, even if it is a small activity such as going out for a walk. When the mobility of the joints and the strength of the muscles is diminished, people are more likely to have problems such as sciatica because of the wear and tear placed on the spine and discs.
Stretching daily can help maintain a positive degree of joint mobility and muscle flexibility in the body. The goal of performing daily stretches is to improve the mobility of joints that need to move well such as the hips and upper back. The mobility of these joints will permit the lower back to stabilize better. Also, the goal of performing daily stretches is to improve the flexibility of muscle groups such as the calves and the chest. The flexibility of these muscle groups will permit better control of the forces in the lower back.
How Do I Know When My Sciatica Is Improving?
When sciatic pain is improving, the signs of improvement are simple to detect. As sciatic pain improves, the pain will be noted less in the legs and more in the lower back. This process is called centralization. In the case of sciatica, the location of the pain is the best indicator of its severity and not necessarily the intensity of the pain.
Therefore, if the pain is in the buttocks and over time begins to go down into the legs and feet, the sciatic problem has worsened. On the other hand, if the pains were predominantly in the legs and has migrated more to the area of the lower back and buttocks, the sciatic problem is improving.
In most cases, people may suffer from acute sciatic pain for approximately 2 weeks since its onset. However sciatic pain can last for up to three months before there are significant signs of improvement.
Will my sciatica eventually get better?
Sciatica can get worse before it gets better – but it can get better.
Specific exercises and physiotherapy can help. Initially, sciatica pains can be painful but with exercises and treatment, the pain level can begin to drop over time.
If you have further questions and would like to speak to a therapist at our clinic to know if we are able to help, you can book a free orientation call by going on our website at:
https://www.kinatex.com/cliniques/saint-leonard/en/
