Alternative Treatment Options For Sciatic Nerve Pain

Many of us have experienced pain or stiffness in our lower back, but if the pain extends down through the buttocks and into the leg, you may be suffering from sciatica. The sciatic nerve travels from the spine through the hips and down into the legs and helps regulate and control muscles and other organs like the bladder.

Damage to the nerve from a slipped disc or bone spur, or other impingement, can result in effects ranging from mild discomfort to debilitating pain that make sitting or walking almost impossible.

When the pain or numbness continues for more than a week or begins to affect the bladder or bowels, medical intervention is necessary. Fortunately, there are non-invasive treatments for sciatica that do not require surgery or harsh medications.

Treating sciatica at the root cause of the pain

While some doctors may prescribe steroid injections to treat conditions such as sciatica, these treatments come with their own risks of tissue damage.

The primary cause of sciatica pain is pressure on the nerve itself, which causes damage to the myelin sheathing of the nerve and results in numbness, tingling, or intense pain. Whether it is a slipped lumbar disc, deterioration of the cartilage, or a bone spur, the resulting pain is because of the nerve damage.

Masking the pain with cortisone does not address the need to renew the damaged tissue, but treatments such as Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) injections can make all the difference in treating the cause of sciatica.

The first step in a PRP therapy session is withdrawing blood from the patient. The blood is then spun in a centrifuge to create a concentrated solution of platelets, the body’s primary mechanism of healing and renewal at the cellular level.

The solution is then prepped and injected at the site of the tissue damage causing the sciatica pain. The cells go to work, sending messages of growth and renewal to the areas of the nerve that have been damaged by the inflammation and pressure, as well as helping to correct tissue damage to the disc or cartilage that may be resulting in the inflammation. As the tissue heals, the inflammation subsides, as does the pain.

Once the PRP therapy has had a chance to renew the damaged tissue, the treatment can continue with other non-surgical methods. The team may create a nutrition and exercise plan to help prevent the recurrence of sciatica, helping you grow and develop a more healthy, active lifestyle.

Regular exercise and weight loss can prevent the effects of the extra stress that being sedentary and overweight puts on the spine and, therefore, help prevent future episodes.

To be truly free from pain does not automatically mean pharmaceutical or surgical intervention, and exploring these alternative methods could bring the relief you are seeking.

To learn more about non-invasive sciatica treatments call our office today at (813) 968-5404 to schedule a free consultation.