Sciatica (Nerve Pain from Hips to Heel)

People consider sciatica as a condition, it is a symptom rather. Yes! That’s true. Sciatica is a pain starting from lower back, travels through the buttocks and to the knee, which might go down till the leg and end to the heel. More often it is seen in one lower limb but it is quite possible to get suffered from it in both the lower limbs.

Don’t worry! You are not the one suffering from sciatica! Statistics say that 10 million people per year suffer from sciatic pain in India. So it is a good idea to make people aware about it and also to start making them aware about the basic self-care techniques to get relieved from this irritating pain. Ultimately the aim is to lower the incidences of sciatic nerve pain.

Here, you will get brief information about the sciatic nerve pain itself and the self-care easy techniques to relieve it.

Possible causes of sciatic pain:

·       Lumbar spine stenosis: This is the condition in which lower back spinal canal gets narrowed

·       Spondylolysthesis: In this, one vertebra slips forward on another one

·       Spondylolysis: This is called degeneration of the spine

·       Pregnancy

·       Piriformis syndrome: Muscle spasm in buttock region

·       Disc prolapse

Other things that may make your back pain worse include;

·       Being overweight

·       Not exercising regularly

·       Wearing high heels

·       Sleeping on a mattress that is too hard or too soft

What to do?

Sciatic pain becomes easy to tackle when you come to know about its underlying cause. But here you will get the advice for how to get relaxed from sciatic pain.

1.    Wallet in front pocket: The most effective advice is to keep your wallet in front pocket rather in back one. By keeping wallet in back pocket, you invite your sciatic pain. Because it causes pressure over one side of the spine when you sit for more than half an hour.

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2.    Stretch it: There are some ways to stretch the sciatic nerve. Try the best and most effective one mentioned here;

Hold this position for 10-15 seconds

Repeat it for 10 times twice a day

Note: This is also known as slump test for sciatica but we can also use it for stretching the whole nerve

3.    Piriformis stretch:   this small muscle tightness could be the reason for compression over sciatic nerve.

 

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4.    Lifestyle modifications:

a.     While lying flat, keep pillow beneath the knees to rest your back

b.    Avoid prolonged standing, sitting and walking

c.     Soft or cushioned footwear

d.    Weight loss

e.     Regular exercises

f.       Hot pack application over back for 15-20 minutes 2-3 times/day

g.     Avoid forward bending from back

h.    Avoid heavy weight lifting

i.       Lie down and get up from the bed as shown in picture below;

        

  

j.       Get in to your car step-by-step;

                                                             i.      Sit on the seat first with both legs together

                                                           ii.      Get your both legs inside the car together

Always sit in a manner that your leg and body would make a right angle to each other

5.    Check your Vit-B12 level: it is an essential vitamin for nerve. Its deficiency might cause or aggravate the pain

6.    Electrotherapy: Electrical stimulation of nerve with TENS (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) is the most effective modality to get relieved from sciatic nerve pain.

 Join Our "Pain Clinic"

for more easy solutions and best care

for back pain