Healthy Habits: Sciatica Relief

The New Year is only a month away and people are already getting ready for their resolutions. But what happens if you want to get fit and healthy but your sciatica pain is telling you otherwise? Sciatica is not a condition in itself, but is a common symptom of many different spinal conditions. Sciatic pain can intensify over time, and can be difficult to complete everyday activities – including sleep. I had a chance to interview Dr. Alfred O. Bonati, chief orthopedic surgeon and founder of The Bonati Spine Institute in Hudson, FL.

What is sciatica and what conditions can it be associated with?

Sciatica is the market of patients with leg pain. People associate any pain on the leg with sciatica, but the real sciatic nerve can cause pain that runs from the back to the gluteus area to the back of the thigh, back of the calve and outside of the ankle.

Any conditions that create an infringement on the nerve at L5/S1 can cause this pain. Different pathologies can include bone spurs, degenerative disc disease, direct trauma, and also stenotic compression which can press the nerve and create pain. Any type of compression on the S1 nerve root.

How can exercise help with the pain?

Treating sciatica with stretching and yoga may work for a while if the condition is mild. If the sciatica is acute, it may not work at all.

What are some tips on living with sciatica?

If a patient has mild sciatica, meaning aches, yoga, physical therapy or epidural ejections may help temporarily with the pain. If the situation becomes an acute problem and the pain is intolerable the patient will be looking to remove the pain and will need immediate treatment.

If a patient begins to take narcotic medications to solve the pain, this is a bad thing because now you risk creating a second problem, an addiction. You are not actually treating the issue. A patient should never begin taking these medications.

The most important tip is to be aware of your condition. If the pain lasts for several weeks, this indicates a patient needs to be seen and the condition needs to be treated.

Learn more about sciatic pain during pregnancy