Sciatica in Berkeley, MO. Anyone who has ever experienced sciatica will struggle to find words powerful enough to convey the caliber of pain it causes 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, get the care you need right away.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of fifteen Berkeley, MO area physical therapy treatment clinics. Our locally-owned and operated movement wellness offices bring you sound, personalized, strategic care for your sciatica or other movement complaints near Berkeley, MO. Speak to a physical therapist in the Berkeley area about your sciatica today or book an appointment online now.

Understanding Sciatica

Sciatica is the irritation of the sciatic nerve, the most extensive nerve in the human body. The sciatic nerve begins in the nerve roots located in the lower spine to the pelvis, where it then reaches back to each buttock and runs 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 follows the path of the sciatic nerve.

Sciatica itself is not a diagnosis — contrary to popular assumption. In fact, sciatica describes a set of symptoms related to the sciatic nerve that surface when an underlying medical condition causes the sciatic nerve to be irritated, inflamed, pinched, or compressed. Sciatica patients’ symptoms range wildly, but often consist of various forms of pain, weakness, numbness, or tingling down the buttock and leg. Unlike low back pain, people with sciatica experience symptoms down into the glute area, legs, or feet.

Do I Have Sciatica? – Sciatica Symptoms

Each sciatica patient experiences symptoms differently. Your sciatica’s exact presentation depends on where the damage or pressure is along the nerve root. Symptoms that accompany sciatica include pain, numbness, loss of muscle function, tingling, and pain that worsens when in certain positions.

The hallmark of sciatica is the sensation of pain that travels along the sciatic nerve which begins in the lower spine and travels through the hips and posterior, down the back of each leg. Typically, a patient with sciatica will experience symptoms only on one side — either the left or right hip and leg. There are, however, exceptions, and some sciatica patients are affected down both nerve paths. This is determined by the position of the compression or pinching of the nerve.

Pain is such a significant component of the sciatica experience for Berkeley, MO sciatica sufferers. Pain from sciatica varies from:

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

If you are suffering from the debilitating pain and other limiting symptoms of sciatica, reach out to a medical professional with spine health expertise immediately. The physical and occupational therapists of Axes Physical Therapy near Berkeley, MO will lead you in your recovery and design a care plan with the best chance of success of restoring your mobility and freedom from pain.

Common Causes of 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 resolved with physical therapy in the Berkeley area designed to target the underlying cause of your sciatica symptoms, or may even resolve 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.

A lot of times, patients with conditions such as sciatica pain are not aware of what caused their condition. You may have sustained trauma or developed nerve irritation over time. Whatever the case may be, our Berkeley, 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 Causes of Sciatica Pain

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

Major Risk Factors for Sciatica

Certain activities and conditions could put you at a higher risk of developing painful, restrictive, debilitating conditions like sciatica. Risk factors tied to 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. Diabetic patients are suseptable to nerve damage, and joint-related diagnoses like osteoarthritis can result in pain and pressure on your spine and sciatic nerve.
• Occupation/Daily activities. Occupations 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 choices like a sedentary lifestyle or tobacco use can cause inflammation and weakness.

What Sciatica Treatment Options Do I Have in Berkeley, MO?

There are a variety of treatments that are commonly used to treat sciatica patients. Different treatment solutions, which run the gamnut from conservative recommendations like cold and heat applications to surgical procedures, vary in proven efficacy. The one thing that medical professionals agree on when it comes to sciatica treatment is that being physically active is an essential part of managing and treating sciatica. This directly contradicts previous advice to confine patients to bed rest, which we now know is not effective in addressing disabiity or pain in patients.

Ultimately, you must turn to a licensed medical professional before taking any actions related to your medical care. Our Berkeley, MO area physical and occupational therapists with Axes Physical Therapy are committed to providing Berkeley, MO with access to healthcare that maximizes movement health and quality of life. For you, that means studying your medical history, sciatica symptoms, and other key factors. Your dedicated Axes Physical Therapy movement healthcare provider near Berkeley, MO will complete a free screening prior to beginning any treatment so that we can truly grasp the big picture of your physical condition and formulate an individualized treatment plan for your needs.

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

• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy
• Workers Comp' Physical Therapy
• Migraine Relief
• Sprain and Strain Treatment
• Geriatric Physical Therapy
• Injury Rehabilitation
• Pain Management Services
• TMJ Treatment
• Herniated Disc Treatment
• Rotator Cuff Tear Treatment

Popular Treatments for Sciatica in Berkeley, MO

Healthcare professionals and especially those who are specialists in spinal care recommend some of the following as treatment of sciatica for certain patients. Your primary care physician, Axes Physical Therapy doctor in Berkeley, MO, and any other necessary medical professionals will collaborate to lay forth and carry out the most promising sciatica treatment plan for you.

• Medications. There is some conflicting information regarding which drugs are recommended for patients with sciatica, but as with any medications for any condition, every medication comes with potential risks. Drugs for sciatica are most often used to aleviate symptoms, including the following types of medications:
  • 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 number of treatment modalities that target comprehensive movement health and directly heal the root cause of your sciatica pain. Working with a physical therapist in the Berkeley, MO area can help you achieve pain relief, improve your range of motion, become physically healthier, halt or prevent permanent disability and nerve damage, and protect against future injuries or sciatica flair-ups. Your Berkeley, MO physical therapist will treat your sciatica pain with treatment methods that improve your posture, bring your body into balance, increase flexibility, improve strength, and relieve pressure.
• Injections. For some patients with sciatica, a doctor might try administering an injection or series of injections to the affected area. Common injection treatments for sciata are nerve root blocks, which apply a steroid and local anesthetic directly to the affected sciatic nerve root, or epidural injections, which deposit the steroid and anesthetic to the epidural space enveloping the nerve. Injections for Berkeley, MO area sciatica patients are often used to temporarily aleviate inflammation around the irritated nerve to provide pain relief and maintain the ability to function. Injection treatment effects can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months.
• Surgery. Due to its risk and inherent invasive nature, surgical treatment is usually not considered unless you have severe symptoms or your condition has not successfully healed with more conservative treatment methods. There are different surgeries that can be used to address sciatic, including a microdiscectomy where the surgeon removes the herniated disc or a laminectomy where the surgeon removes part of the vertebral bones to remove direct pressure on your sicatic nerve. To optimize your ability to be successful in your surgery, operations should be paired with pre- and post-operative physical therapy care.
  You may be a candidate for sciatica surgery if:
  • you lose control of your bowel and/or bladder
  • you have spinal stenosis, where bone spurs are putting direct pressure on your sciatic nerve
  • you have severe neurological dysfunction
  • other treatment methods have not helped or are no longer effective

Benefits of Berkeley, MO Physical Therapy for Sciatica

One of the best things you can do for your sciatica is to move. Staying active, stretching, and performing exercises that target the source of your sciatica are highly effective and critical in the treatment of sciatica for anyone in the Berkeley, MO area.

Coincidentally, these are all major elements to any physical therapy care we provide Berkeley, MO area sciatica patients through the Axes Physical Therapy network of physical therapy offices. By working with a physical therapist near Berkeley, MO, you can strengthen and mobilize tissues in the lower back, pelvis, abdomen, buttocks, and thighs and find true relief from your sciatica.

Physical therapy for sciatica and other conditions is meant to:

• 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

In order to restore your movement health and deliver you sustainable relief from sciatica pain, your Axes physical therapist in the Berkeley, MO area might include 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. Your Berkeley, MO physical therapist will work together with 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 medical provider in Berkeley, MO now to explore your sciatica treatment options, including a quality, tailored physical therapy plan.

Get Relief for your Sciatica in Berkeley, MO Now

When the agonizing pain and insurmountable limitations of sciatica get in the way of doing the activities that are important to you, seek quality care for your sciatica right away. Timely and thoughtful physical therapy for your sciatica in the Berkeley, MO area can relieve your pain and return you to optimal mobility.

Axes Physical Therapy offers accessible, convenient, and proven sciatica treatment near Berkeley, MO. Our fifteen Missouri physical therapy locations make it possible for you to get quality care. Find the location nearest you or request an appointment online right now.