If you are suffering from sciatica, a type of pain felt along the path of the sciatic nerve, searching for a viable treatment for it is more or less your topmost priority. Causing severe pain and so much discomfort, sciatica can disrupt your daily activities in a huge way. We will attempt to give you natural options on how to resolve this disorder and enjoy a normal and pain-free life once more.

What are the Causes of Sciatica?

Sciatica can develop when the sciatic nerve, consisting of a bundle of five spinal nerves which is the longest in the human body, that travel from the spinal cord to the hip region to all the way down the back of the legs, becomes too compressed or damaged. Sciatica usually occurs from conditions such as accident-related trauma, spinal stenosis, spinal tumors, degenerative disc disease, or a herniated disk.

Sciatica Symptoms

Sciatic nerve pain can range from mild aching to a stabbing feeling characterized by a tingling and burning sensation that is usually exacerbated by laughing, coughing, sneezing, or by prolonged sitting. Sciatica sufferer may also experience muscle weakness or numbness, which is described as a pins-and-needles sensation along the nerve pathway.

Treatment

In several instances, sciatica requires no medical attention and can be treated with self-care. This condition usually heals by itself within a couple of weeks although physical therapy can accelerate the healing process, bring about complete recovery, and lower the risk of future sciatic nerve injuries. You need to consult with a doctor to know if the back pain you’re suffering from is indeed sciatic pain, especially if you’ve never felt this type of pain before.

If after a month, the pain still persists, or if it becomes severe, you may need to go back to your doctor for further treatment.

Natural Treatments for Sciatica

Medical research so far cannot provide sufficient proof that any form of alternative medicine can treat sciatica although gentle exercise, yoga, and cold and hot packs are known to soothe the sciatic discomfort and pain.

Besides that, there are a number of alternative treatments that can provide relief against pain related to sciatica. These include:

1. Massage Therapy – Believed to alleviate pain and enhance range of motion, massage therapy targets the leg and thigh regions, pelvis, and the lower spine to eliminate or lessen sciatica as proven by several small controlled studies.

2. Chiropractic Medicine – Studies, so far, has yielded ambiguous results as to the effectiveness of chiropractic care in easing sciatica symptoms. Some studies indicate that chiropractic adjustments may lead to the improvement of spinal function which in turn, results in sciatic pain reduction.

3. Acupuncture – A 2009 study showed that acupuncture significantly relieved symptoms in all 90 participants suffering from sciatica.

Sciatica Treatment Using Alternative Medicine in Miami

Due to very few research works done in the field of alternative treatment of sciatica, most doctors do not recommend alternative medicine treatment for sciatica. It’s important to note that there may be serious consequences if you delay or avoid getting conventional care and attempt to treat the condition by yourself. Make sure you talk to a doctor first before embarking on an alternative treatment for sciatica.