Pain Relief Rehab

One of nerves in the human body is the sciatic nerve, which is the longest and largest. When you experience sciatic nerve pain, you will usually feel it starting from the lower part of the back all through to the lower leg behind the knee. This pain is also known as sciatica and it is usually caused by herniated disks. Such a disk causes pain when it presses directly on this nerve causing irritation or inflammation. Other reasons for this kind of pain are injuries, tumors and problems in the muscles or bones.

Often, pain in the sciatic nerve feels like a painful burning sensation, numbness or tingling from the lower back. This pain can make it hard for you to walk. There are a number of ways in which you can relieve sciatic pain. One of them is by using a heating pad whereby you lie on it. You can also use pain and anti-inflammatory medications in addition to muscle relaxers. Anesthetics are also used for the treatment of sciatic nerve pain and they are usually injected into the actual site where you are feeling pain.

You can also treat sciatic nerve pain through exercise and physical therapy, which help develop core muscles. The exercises known to relieve sciatic pain that results from herniated disks are press ups and back extensions. Bending exercises relieve the pain caused by spinal stenosis. All exercises that enable you to bend down and flex your lower spine will help you recover from this type of pain. You can also relieve this discomfort by exercises that work on the lumbar, spine and pelvic areas.

Stretching is also important when it comes to treating sciatica. You should stretch at least once each day because doing this will keep your muscles loose and away from your sciatic nerve. However, you should not stretch when you are feeling pain. When treating sciatic pain, diet is also important. You should not eat foods that are likely to make you feel more painful and an example is foods that are highly acidic. These kinds of foods leave a residue in the body that builds around the muscles and nerves. This acidic build up can accumulate on the sciatic nerve causing flares and intense pain.

You should also avoid eating foods that promote inflammation in the nerves. These include meat, shellfish and dairy among others. Foods that are anti-inflammatory include vegetables and fruits and they are very important to take when suffering from sciatic nerve pain.  You can also treat this pain effectively by taking certain supplements such as magnesium and bromelain. These supplements are beneficial in that they help in loosening your muscles and keeping them from getting irritated.

You should ensure that you do not skip your supplements even if you feel that the pain is gone. Keeping magnesium and bromelain in your system will prevent flare. Certain herbs also work very well when it comes to treating sciatic nerve pain. These herbs include rosemary, tulsi, boswellia and turmeric. According to studies, these herbs decrease inflammation greatly and boswellia has been proven to be highly helpful for arthritic patients. The other herb that works to relieve sciatic nerve pain is ginger. You can use it in your tea or boil it.

You can also treat sciatica by applying ice to the area where you are feeling pain. You should use the ice for twenty minutes only and it will decrease the inflammation on the nerve decreasing pain in the process. Even though it is a temporary solution, it offers pain relief. The other option of treating sciatic nerve pain if these methods are unsuccessful is surgery.

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