Sciatica in Arcadia, MO. If you have ever known the pain associated with sciatica, you know how difficult it is to adequately express the intensity of pain that accompanies it and the degree of distress and disability the condition can wreak on your life. If you have been diagnosed with or believe you suffer from sciatica, or a condition that affects the sciatic nerve, seek the care of a medical professional right away.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of multiple physical therapy treatment locations positioned near Arcadia, MO and throughout Missouri. Our clinics specializing in movement health and locally owned and operated are dedicated to providing you with thoughtful, individualized, intelligent care for your sciatica or other conditions near Arcadia, MO. Talk to a physical therapist in the Arcadia area about your sciatica today or book an appointment online now.

What You Should Know About Sciatica

Sciatica is the irritation of the sciatic nerve, which happens to be the most extensive nerve in the human body. The sciatic nerve begins in the nerve roots located in the lower spine, then from the pelvis it branches out to each buttock and travels down and through the back of each leg. Sciatica can be distinguished from general low back pain or other conditions because the pain from sciatica runs along the path of the sciatic nerve.

The term sciatica is not, in itself, a diagnosis — contrary to popular assumption. In fact, sciatica describes conditions connected to the sciatic nerve that arise when an existing medical condition causes the sciatic nerve to be irritated, inflamed, pinched, or compressed. Sciatica symptoms range wildly, but often include pain, weakness, numbness, or tingling that can extend from the buttock all the way down the leg. While low back pain in constrained to the immediate area around the back (though other conditions affecting the low back and lead to tightness, imbalance, and overcompensation that causes additional physical problems), you may find that your sciatica symptoms exist down into the glute area, legs, and feet and heels.

Symptoms of Sciatica

Each sciatica patient experiences symptoms differently. The presentation of your sciatica is dictated by the positioning of the pressure or damage to the nerve root. Sciatica typically includes symptoms like pain, numbness, weakness, tingling, and pain that worsens when in certain positions.

The hallmark of sciatica is the sensation of pain that travels along the sciatic nerve from the low spine to the pelvis, buttocks, and legs. Typically, a patient with sciatica will experience symptoms only on one side — either the left or right hip and leg. However, it is possible for a patient to experience sciatic pain and symptoms down both nerve paths. This is determined by the position of the compression or pinching of the nerve.

With sciatica comes undeniable pain for anyone with the condition in Arcadia, MO. This nerve-related pain is described by patients as:

• Sharp
• Jolting
• Shooting
• Burning
• Electric
• Stabbing
• Tingling

If debilitating sciatica pain is degrading your quality of life, contact a medical professional with spine health expertise right away. Axes Physical Therapy’s Arcadia, MO area physical and occupational therapists will lead you in your recovery and design a plan of action to return you to the life you want to live.

What Causes Sciatica?

Most instances of sciatica are caused, in one way or another, by some form of irritation to or inflammation of the sciatic nerve. These cases are nearly always successfully repaired with physical therapy in the Arcadia area targeted specifically to the source of nerve inflammation, or may even heal naturally as time passes and you practice safe exercise and home care. However, for patients suffering from sciatica due to the direct compression of the sciatic nerve, more aggressive treatments like invasive surgery may be used.

In most cases, people with sciatica do not know what caused their pain to begin with. You may have been in an accident or developed nerve irritation over time. Whatever the case may be, our Arcadia, MO area physical therapists have the clinical success and up-to-date evidence-based knowledge you need and deserve from your sciatica treatment professional.

Common Reasons for Sciatica

• Herniated disc
• Slipped disc
• Bone spur
• Spinal stenosis
• Piriformis syndrome
• Degenerative disc disease
• Spondylolisthesis
• Pregnancy
• Vertebral fracture

Are You at a Higher Risk of Developing Sciatica in Arcadia, MO?

Certain activities and conditions could put you at a higher risk of developing painful, restrictive, debilitating conditions like sciatica. Risk factors associated with sciatica include:

• Age. Over the years, our bodies undergo natural wear and tear and the bone and soft tissue in joints including the spine can wear away and increase your risk of sciatica.
• Weight. The back muscles in heavier individuals are forced to work harder to keep the body upright, and their spinal discs and other joints are under more pressure.
• Other medical conditions. Diabetes causes a higher rate of nerve damage in patients, and joint-related diagnoses like osteoarthritis can result in pain and pressure on your spine and sciatic nerve.
• Occupation/Daily activities. Jobs where you are required to lift heavy loads, perform frequent bending and twisting motions, or drive for long periods of time (which shakes the body through the vibrations of the vehicle on the road) can cause sciatica.
• Lifestyle. Lifestyle activities like a sedentary lifestyle or use of nicotine can lead to weakness and eventual irritation related to sciatica.

What Sciatica Treatments in Arcadia, MO Are Right for Me?

There are a variety of approaches that are often used for sciatica patients. Different treatment solutions, which run the gamnut from conservative recommendations like cold and heat applications to intensive procedures, vary in their accepted level of efficacy. Regardless of their respective disciplines, medical providers who work with sciatica can all agree that physical activity is a critical component of managing and treating sciatica. This is contrary to outdated recommendations to confine sicatica patients to bed rest, which is no longer an accepted treatment fo sciatica as it is not effective in addressing disabiity or pain in patients.

Remember that it is your responsibility to consult with a licensed medical professional before making any decisions about your own medical care. Our Arcadia, MO area physical and occupational therapists with Axes Physical Therapy have dedicated our careers to guiding individuals of all types in the Arcadia, MO area to optimal movement health. In your case, that means evaluating your medical history, sciatica symptoms, and other key details. Your dedicated Axes Physical Therapy treatment provider near Arcadia, MO will provide a complimentary screening before treating you so that we can best grasp the big picture of your physical condition and develop an individualized treatment plan for you.

In addition to a history of success in the Arcadia, MO treatment of sciatica, our experienced Arcadia area providers will deliver the care you need. We apply our knowledge and experience working with kinesiology and the musculoskeletal system toward providing people like you in Arcadia, MO with many forms of care, including the following

• Physical Therapy Clinic
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment
• Sciatica Treatment
• Sports Medicine
• Hand Pain Physical Therapy
• Foot & Ankle Pain Treatment
• Hip Pain Treatment
• Plantar Fasciitis Treatment
• Stroke Rehabilitation
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy

Popular Treatments for Sciatica in Arcadia, MO

The medical community and especially medical professionals who are specialists in spinal care have found the following methods to be helpful in the treatment of sciatica for certain patients. Your primary care doctor, Axes Physical Therapy doctor in Arcadia, MO, and any other necessary medical professionals will work together as a team to lay forth and carry out the most promising sciatica treatment plan for you.

• Medications. There is some conflicting information surrounding which drugs are recommended for treating sciatica, but just like with any medications for any condition, every medication comes with the risk of side effects, which can be severe. Largely used in reducing the experience of sciatica symptoms, some drugs that can be used for sciatca patients include:
  • Anti-inflammatories
  • Muscle relaxers
  • Antidepressants
  • Corticosteroids
  • Anticonvulsants
  • Opiod pain medications
• Physical therapy. Physical therapy is an effecitve treatment for sciatica that should be included in most sciatica treatment plans. Your physical therapist will use a variety of treatment methods that address the body as a whole and repair the source of your sciatica pain. With the help of a qualified Arcadia, MO physical therapist and participating in your care can allow you to reach freedom from pain, improve your mobility, heal stronger, halt or prevent permanent damage and disability, and protect against future injuries or sciatica flair-ups. Your Arcadia, MO physical therapist will provide care that works to improve your posture, restore balance, increase flexibility, improve strength, and release pressure.
• Injections. In some cases, your medical provider might recommend one more more injections to the affected area. Common injection treatments for sciata are nerve root blocks, which apply the steroid and anesthetic combination directly to the affected sciatic nerve root, or epidural injections, which aim the steroid and anesthetic to the epidural space enveloping the nerve. Injections in Arcadia, MO area sciatica patients are often used to temporarily supress the irritation of the nerve to provide pain relief and maintain movement abilities needed for daily living. The effects can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months.
• Surgery. Because of the risk involved, surgical treatment is usually reserved for patients with the most severe symptoms or those who have not successfully healed with more conservative approaches. There are a number of surgeries for sciatica depending on the cause of the condition, including a microdiscectomy to remove a herniated disc or a laminectomy to remove bone spurs or parts of vertebrae putting direct pressure on your sicatic nerve. To optimize your ability to be successful in your surgery, any procedures should be proceeded and followed by pre- and post-operative physical therapy care.
  You may be a candidate for surgery for your sciatica if:
  • you have loss of bowel or bladder control
  • you have spinal stenosis, where bone spurs are pressing on your sciatic nerve
  • you have severe neurological dysfunction
  • other treatment methods have not helped or are no longer effective

Benefits of Arcadia, MO Physical Therapy for Sciatica

One of the best things you can do for your sciatica is to move. Keeping an active lifestyle, stretching, and performing exercises that target the source of your sciatica are proven, necessary in the treatment of sciatica for anyone in the Arcadia, MO area.

The physical therapy we offer to sciatica patients in the Arcadia, MO area reflects the importance of movement. By working with a physical therapist near Arcadia, MO, you can strengthen and mobilize tissues in the lower back, pelvis, abdomen, buttocks, and thighs and find true relief from your sciatica.

The benefits of physical therapy for someone with sciatica include the following:

• Improve functional movement
• Relieve sciatic nerve pain
• Reduce muscle spasms
• Restore function of the lumbar spine and the sacroiliac joint
• Improve mobility of the lower body
• Foster a better healing environment in the lower back
• Restore overall balance and proper posture in the back and legs
• Promote neurologic adaptations to reduce the perception of pain
• Prevent future pain flareups and permanent nerve damage
• Foster confidence in your ability to move pain-free

Your dedicated Arcadia, MO physical therapist will design a plan incorporating a number of different treatment modalities in your sciatica treatment plan, such as:

• Hot and cold therapies
• TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stiumlation
• Ultrasound
• Flexbiliby and strength exercises
• Joint manipulation
• Soft tissue mobilization
• Dry needling
• Education and training for posure, safe technique, and activity modifications

Trust your spine and musculoskeletal expert at Axes Physical Therapy to identify the sciatica treatment modalities you would benefit from most and act as an integral player in your larger healthcare team to help you manage your sciatica symptoms, alleviate the underlying irritation of your sciatic nerve, and reclaim the strength, flexibility, and full range of motion of a healthy individual. Speak to a physical therapist in Arcadia, MO now to explore your sciatica treatment options, including a quality, tailored physical therapy plan.

Get Relief for your Sciatica in Arcadia, MO Now

When the excruciating pain and alarming limitations of sciatica prevent you from the life you want and the activities you enjoy, find a trustworthy sciatica treatment provider right away. Receiving prompt and strategic physical therapy for your sciatica in the Arcadia, MO area can free you from the pain and return you to optimal mobility.

Access convenient, effective sciatica treatment from Axes Physical Therapy near Arcadia, MO today. Our fifteen Missouri physical therapy locations make it simple for you to get the care you need. Find the location nearest you or request an appointment online right now.