Do you have pain that radiates down the back, hips and buttock region into your legs? Is this pain a low dull constant ache or does it feel like a jolt or an electric shock? Does it hurt so bad that you can’t walk or is it painful to sit even for a few minutes? Or have you experienced numbness, tingling or muscle weakness in the leg or foot.? Do you want to heal your sciatica pain naturally without the need for painkillers, injections or surgery.?
If any of this sounds familiar, you are not alone. About 40% of people will have experienced sciatica pain at some time in their lives.
What is Sciatica?
Sciatica is a particular form of lower back pain that is arguably the most severe and is often characterized by having a severe pain running right down your lower back, through your hip and buttock area and down into the leg and even into your toes. Sometimes this pain can appear in just one of these places, a few or all of these locations. It’s common for leg or knee pain to be misdiagnosed when it’s really coming from sciatica too.
If you have, or are currently suffering with Sciatica, then you know that the pain can be dreadful and often debilitating – causing you to miss out on time at work and with family and friends.
What Causes Sciatica Pain?
Sciatica pain is caused by the sciatic nerve being pinched or condensed, or the nerve roots getting squeezed as they are exiting the spine. These nerves run down your lower back, over your hips and buttocks.
One of the main causes of Sciatica, and the main reasons Sciatica continues to get worse and worse over time, is the amount of time spent sitting.
With the past few months filled with cold weather, dark nights, strong winds and snow and ice, you may have opted to stay indoors, skip your usual exercise routine, and spend hours binge watching your favorite TV shows on the sofa.
In fact, with snow and ice on the ground, it could be argued that it is sensible to stay indoors if you are worried about slipping and hurting yourself.
However, by sitting more than you probably know you should, you are making your sciatica worse by adding pressure to your lower back, and also onto your Sciatic nerve.
It can cause pins and needles in your foot, numbness, and a cold sensation as well as the agonizing pain – and unfortunately, it’s often such a strong feeling that no medication can ease it.
How to Fix Sciatica Pain Naturally
A lot of people, including some doctors seem to think that the only way to fix Sciatica is to take painkillers, rest, and hope that it will go away on its own, or that surgery or injections are the only pain relief options.
However, our expert team and a long list of past patients who have visited us, know that there is something that can be done to fix Sciatica.
Physical Therapy CAN help, despite what your friends, family and doctors may have told you in the past. In fact, research shows that 80-90% of people get better with the RIGHT type of specialized Physical Therapy.
It’s not a magic, quick-fix solution, and you do need both specialized hands-on work and the RIGHT exercises for your body (not a protocol or a one-size-fits-all approach).
But the good news is that we have helped hundreds if not thousands of people recover from back pain and sciatica throughout the course of our careers. We work with many people who have ‘tried everything’ and ‘we’re their last hope’ and complex cases don’t scare us. We love helping people get back to doing the things you love.
We wanted to share one of our favorite techniques to help with back pain and Sciatica with you today: check out the video below where Dr. Megan demonstrates how to use a MFR (Myofascial Release) ball (or a tennis ball) to help stretch and release tissues in your lower back, hip and buttock area to help provide some at-home relief for sciatica pain.
Give it a try and see if it helps! If not, that’s OK, and we can help you troubleshoot this.
Her steps include: Begin with a MFR ball which is a little softer than a tennis ball. This stretch can be done either sitting or standing against a wall.
You want to place the ball under one side of your buttock (butt check) and shift around to find a spot that is tight. Sink into the spot and hold for about 1 minute or so. You should feel a release or ease of tightness.
Move the ball a bit and find another spot that may be tight and continue. If you choose to do this exercise standing then you would place the ball against the wall and back your bottom onto the ball and shift to find the tight spot.
Another way to fix Sciatica is to reduce the amount of time you spend sitting, as this will relieve pressure on the lower back, and your Sciatic nerve. You don’t need to be running marathons but making a conscious effort to get more steps in will improve your lower back pain as a whole and contribute to reducing the pain from Sciatica.
Finally, we would ask you to consider:
If you have already tried painkillers, resting, and hoping that it goes away on its own, and you are still suffering with lower back pain, and Sciatica, you know it’s not going to fix itself.
We have helped hundreds of Sciatica patients. Patients who are probably very similar to you; worried about losing their independence and scared that they would be unable to do the day-to-day things like work, shopping and looking after their children and grandchildren.
Patients who have stopped doing the things that they loved like taking their dogs for long walks, golfing, biking, yoga and pilates classes with friends, and missing out on family activities because they simply can’t get out of the house due to lower back pain and Sciatica.
To get more expert information right now, you can download our free report by clicking the link below:
Download 9 Quick and Easy Tips for Eliminating Lower Back Pain and Staying Pain Free
Or if you want to speak to one of our brilliant physical therapists, you can simply complete our online inquiry form and book a Free 20-Minute Discovery Session where we will discuss your specific problems, answer any questions you have and identify the best route to fix your Sciatica and lower back pain.
Most importantly, we will listen to everything that you have to say, and tailor our advice to you – we won’t just pass you off with “rest and painkillers” advice that you might have received in the past.
It only takes a minute to complete, so click the link below for a free discovery consultation and one of our team will contact you as soon as possible to arrange it.
Arrange a Free Discovery Consultation with one of our Expert Physical Therapists.
Finally, if you are reading this with a loved one in mind, please share this blog with them so they don’t have to suffer with the excruciating pain of Sciatica any longer than they need to.
For more expert advice, read our other blogs or check out our YouTube channel:
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