Sciatica in Boles, MO. Anyone who has ever experienced sciatica will struggle to adequately express the caliber of pain that accompanies it and the degree of distress and disability the condition can wreak on your life. If you suspect that you may have sciatica or have been diagnosed with a sciatic nerve condition, seek expert medical care right away.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of fifteen Boles, MO area physical therapy treatment clinics. Our clinics specializing in movement health and locally owned and operated are dedicated to providing you with sound, personalized, strategic care for your sciatica or other conditions near Boles, MO. Speak to a physical therapist in the Boles area about your sciatica today or request an appointment online now.

What You Should Know About Sciatica

Sciatica describes 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 low end of the spine to the pelvis, where it then reaches back to each buttock and travels down and through the back of each leg. People frequently confuse low back pain and sciatica, but sciatica is distinct in that the pain because the pain from sciatica follows this precise nerve path.

Sciatica itself is not a diagnosisas people commonly assume. In fact, sciatica is only a word used to describe conditions connected to the sciatic nerve that arise when an underlying medical condition results in the irritation, inflammation, pinching, or compression of the sciatic nerve. The symptoms of sciatica vary wildly, but often consist of pain sensations, weakness, numbness, or tingling down the buttock and 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), people with sciatica experience symptoms down into the glute area, legs, or feet.

Am I Suffering from Sciatica?

The type and severity of sciatica symptoms vary from case to case. Your sciatica’s exact presentation depends on where the damage or pressure is along the nerve root. Sciatica typically includes symptoms like pain, loss of sensation, loss of muscle function, tingling, and pain that worsens when in certain positions.

The hallmark of sciatica is 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 on both sides. This simply depends on where on the sciatic nerve the irritation or compression occurs.

With sciatica comes undeniable pain for anyone with the condition in Boles, MO. Pain from sciatica varies from:

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

If debilitating sciatica pain is degrading your quality of life, speak to a medical professional specializing in spine health right away. Axes Physical Therapy’s Boles, MO area physical and occupational therapists will lead you in your recovery and craft a treatment plan to return you to the life you want to live.

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 cured with physical therapy in the Boles area designed to target the underlying cause of your sciatica symptoms, and some 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.

Often, patients with conditions such as sciatica pain do not know what caused their pain to begin with. Whether you suffered an acute injury while playing sports or being active or woke up one day with sharp pains down your left leg that you can’t explain, our Boles, 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

Risk Factors for Sciatica near Boles, MO

You may be at a higher risk of developing sciatica and other physical and neurological conditions based on your background and activities. Risk factors tied to sciatica include:

• Age. Over the years, the tissues in our bodies degrade over time.
• 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. Trades 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 smoking can lead to inflammation and weakness.

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

There are a number of treatments that are often used to treat sciatica patients. These treatments, which run the gamnut from conservative recommendations like cold and heat applications to intensive operations, vary in their accepted level of efficacy. The one thing that medical professionals agree on when it comes to sciatica treatment is that being physically active is a critical component 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.

Remember that it is your responsibility to turn to a licensed medical professional prior to taking any actions related to your medical care. The physical and occupational therapists of Axes Physical Therapy in the Boles, MO area have dedicated our careers to guiding individuals of all types in the Boles, MO area to optimal movement health. In your case, that includes understanding your medical history, sciatica symptoms, and other key details. Your dedicated Axes Physical Therapy movement healthcare provider near Boles, MO will perform a complimentary screening prior to beginning any treatment so that we can best understand your condition and formulate a personalized treatment plan for your needs.

In addition to a history of success in treating Boles, MO area sciatica patients, our seasoned Boles area providers will deliver the care you need. Our team of experts in many different areas of the body and joint, nerve, and muscle conditions offer access to the care you need, 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

Treatments Options for Sciatica in Boles, 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 Boles, MO, and all other members of your treatment team 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 effective for patients with sciatica, but as with any medications for any condition, pharmaceuticals come with risk. Largely used in managing 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 impactful treatment for sciatica that should be included in most sciatica treatment plans. Your physical therapy will involve a number of treatment methods that target comprehensive movement health and directly heal the underlying cause of your sciatica pain. Working with a physical therapist in the Boles, MO area can help you reach pain relief, improve your ability to move, become physically healthier, avoid permanent damage and disability, and reduce the risk of future injuries or sciatica flair-ups. Your Boles, MO physical therapist will provide care that works to improve your posture, restore balance, increase flexibility, improve strength, and relieve pressure.
• Injections. For some patients with sciatica, a provider might try administering an injection or series of injections to the affected area. Common injection treatments for sciata are nerve root blocks, which are used to inject a steroid and local anesthetic directly to the affected sciatic nerve root, or epidural injections, which administer the steroid and anesthetic to the epidural space enveloping the nerve. As a sciatica sufferer in Boles, MO, you may use injections as a way to temporarily aleviate inflammation around the irritated nerve to provide pain relief and potentially preserve mobility. The effects can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months.
• Surgery. Due to its risk and inherent invasive nature, surgery is usually not considered unless you have severe symptoms or your condition has not responded well to more conservative approaches. There are a number of surgical procedures for sciatica depending on the cause of the condition, including a microdiscectomy where the surgeon removes the 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, operations should be paired with pre- and post-operative physical therapy care.
  You may be a candidate for sciatica surgery if:
  • you have loss of bowel or bladder control
  • imaging shows that 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 Boles, MO Physical Therapy for Sciatica

Staying active is one of the most important things for people with sciatica to do. Practicing physical activity, stretching, and practicing exercises that target the source of your sciatica are proven, necessary in the treatment of sciatica for anyone in the Boles, MO area.

Coincidentally, these are all major elements to any physical therapy care we provide Boles, MO area sciatica patients through the Axes Physical Therapy network of physical therapy offices. Your Axes physical therapist near Boles, MO will guide you in activities and exercises that strengthen and mobilize tissues in the lower back, pelvis, abdomen, buttocks, and thighs and find true relief from your sciatica.

Our physical therapy services work 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

Your dedicated Boles, MO physical therapist will design a plan incorporating a variety 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 Boles, MO physical therapist will work together with your full medical 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 Boles, MO now to explore your sciatica treatment options, including a quality, tailored physical therapy plan.

Get Relief for your Sciatica in Boles, MO Now

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

Access convenient, effective sciatica treatment from Axes Physical Therapy near Boles, MO today. 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.