So this last week or so my clinic has been flooded with people suffering from back pain.
But not just any old type of back pain – the most severe of all in my humble opinion, “sciatica”.
There’s only one word to describe the pain that people suffer at the hands of sciatica and that’s “horrendous”!
In case you’re not familiar with what it is – you’d recognise it by having a severe pain running right down the back of your leg and into your toes.
Common Cause of Sciatica
And it’s often made much worse when you sit.
And there’s the real, true, underlying cause of most peoples trouble: sitting.
How much of it have you been doing lately?
Because it’s the time of the year when you’re more tempted than ever not to go outside and exercise. When the wind blows and the ice is on the ground, it often IS sensible to stay in doors and just cabin up.
But the problem is the increase the sitting that you do, which adds pressure to your back and so onto your sciatic nerve, eventually, a disc at the bottom of your back will give up and the fluid inside it touches the nerve which runs down your leg – AKA sciatica.
Symptoms of Sciatica
It can cause pins and needles in your foot, numbness, and a cold sensation as well as the pain – and unfortunately, it’s often so painful that nothing in the way of medication – Morphene included, can ease it.
And despite what a few town GP’s seem to think these days, there are things that can be done other than rest and painkillers, just hoping for it to go.
How To End Sciatica Pain
Physio can help. It often makes it worse before it gets better – but it does get better. Specific exercises are needed too. Again, they are painful at first, but if you persist, the pain begins to drop.
More: Limiting the amount of time you spend sitting can help too. And there’s something to note – I see a lot of people sitting on my couch in my clinic with back pain and they tell me that “sitting doesn’t make it worse” – but what they’re doing is sitting in a modified or slouched way that means they’re just avoiding the pain – making the whole thing last longer and often leaving the person with an awkward looking posture long after the back trouble has gone.
For easy at-home sciatica pain relief, watch the video below from Jade, one of our expert physios:
So, to sum up todays “health lesson”…
Sciatica is a painful and life limiting condition. But, unless you’re in the small 5% of people who nothing can be done other than surgery, there ARE things you can do. And I think what is best understand about sciatica – and something that should be communicated a lot more by health professionals trying to help people suffering – is that often when you’re trying to make sciatica better in the long run, an increase in pain in the short run is normal. Not nice. But par for the course!
And in the end, will mean for a much more speedy return to better health than sitting and praying for time, popping more and more painkillers!
More Natural Ways To Solve Sciatica Pain
For more back pain tips, download a copy of our FREE back pain report and discover ““How to Put an End to Back Pain and Stiffness – Without Taking Painkillers, Without Risking Surgery and Without Having to Wait to See the GP!”
Click Here To Download Your FREE Back Pain Report
Or to read more of our back pain related blogs.
Click Here To Read More Back Pain Blogs
Or if you are in pain right now, and want more than free health tips, arrange a FREE taster consultation where you can speak to a member of our physio team in one of our four North East clinics: Darlington, Durham, Hartlepool or Guisborough.
Click Here to Arrange Your Free Taster Consultation
Kayla, our General Manager, recommends booking a free taster consultation because:
“People who book taster consultations usually talk about how nice it is to actually be listened to, and be able to get simple, jargon-free, personalised advice – Which is something we rarely get when we have been to the GP with our problems).”
Our team would love to see you in clinic to help you recover from Sciatica.
Finally, if you are wanting to end your Sciatica pain and you are wondering “How long does sciatica last?” and “How long does it take to recover from Sciatica”, Jade covers this in one of our latest YouTube videos:
For more expert advice, read our other blogs or check out our YouTube channel:
Read Our Blog – How to Fix Sciatica and Finally Overcome the Agonising Pain
Read Our Blog – What Are The Signs Of Sciatica Improving?
Read Our Blog – Why Does My Sciatica Cause Pain Down the Back of My Leg?
Visit Our Paul Gough Physio Rooms YouTube Channel
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Article originally written by Paul Gough and to be published in the Hartlepool Mail, “Feeling Great” weekly health column on Wednesday the 28th Jan, 2015.
You might know Paul as an expert Columnist who writes weekly health articles for TWO of the North East's biggest daily Newspapers, The Northern Echo And The Hartlepool Mail, he is a regular Speaker at Industry Seminars around the globe and a Radio Personality, often heard on the BBC. Paul has been an expert guest on dozens of Radio shows and regularly interviewed in newspapers, magazines and trade journals all over the world, including the Guardian.
Paul’s background included working extensively in the Premier League with a Top Professional Football Team, and since quitting his job in Professional Football in 2007, his Physio Practice has become the fastest growing in the UK and biggest in the North East. So successful, that companies like BUPA, ASDA, The Vela Group And Coast & Country, repeatedly retain his Physio company's services to keep healthy their own staff and workforce. Paul Gough Physio Rooms is now a large multi-physio, multi clinic speciality practice in Darlington, Durham, Guisborough and Hartlepool.
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