Sciatica in Dardenne Prairie, MO. If you have ever known the pain associated with sciatica, you know how difficult it is to find words powerful enough to convey the severity 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, seek the care of a medical professional right away.

Axes Physical Therapy is a network of fifteen physical therapy treatment locations positioned near Dardenne Prairie, MO and throughout Missouri. Our clinics specializing in movement health and owned and operated by our treating doctors are dedicated to providing you with sound, personalized, intelligent care for your sciatica or other conditions near Dardenne Prairie, MO. Contact a physical therapist in the Dardenne Prairie area about sciatica care for you 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 originates from the nerve roots in the low end of the spine to the pelvis, where it then reaches back to each buttock and runs down and through the back of each leg. People frequently mistaken low back pain for sciatica, but sciatica is distinct in that the pain 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 is only a word used to describe a set of symptoms tied to the sciatic nerve that rear up when an existing medical condition results in the irritation, inflammation, pinching, or compression of the sciatic nerve. Sciatica symptoms range wildly, but frequently include pain sensations, weakness, numbness, or tingling down the buttock and leg. Unlike low back pain, you may find that your sciatica symptoms exist down into the glute area, hamstrings, calves, and feet.

Symptoms of 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. Symptoms that accompany sciatica include pain, loss of sensation, loss of muscle function, tingling, and pain that worsens when in certain positions.

The distinguishing marker 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. Most of the time, symptoms appear only on one side — either down the right buttock and leg or the left buttock and leg. There are, however, exceptions, and some sciatica patients are affected on both sides. 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 Dardenne Prairie, MO. This nerve-related pain is described by patients as:

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

If debilitating sciatica pain is preventing you from living your life, contact a medical professional with spine health expertise right away. Axes Physical Therapy’s Dardenne Prairie, MO area physical and occupational therapists will guide you in your recovery and design a treatment plan with the best chance of success of restoring your mobility and freedom from pain.

Causes of Sciatica

For most individuals, their sciatica is caused by the irritation or inflammation of the sciatic nerve. These cases are nearly always successfully cured with physical therapy in the Dardenne Prairie area designed to target the underlying cause of your sciatica symptoms, or may even heal on their own as time passes and you practice safe exercise and home care. Other cases, when the sciatica is a result of direct compression of the sciatic nerve, may call for a more invasive treatment such as surgery.

Often, people with sciatica 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 Dardenne Prairie, 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 Dardenne Prairie, MO

You may be at a higher risk of developing sciatica and other physical and neurological conditions based on your background and activities. You are more likely to suffer from sciatica based on the following risk factors:

• Age. As we age, 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. Occupations that require lifting heavy loads for long periods, frequent bending and twisting, or driving (causing the up-and-down movement and vibration of the body) can cause sciatica.
• Lifestyle. Lifestyle choices like a sedentary lifestyle or tobacco use can lead to inflammation and weakness.

Finding the Right Dardenne Prairie, MO Area Sciatica Treatment

There are numerous treatments that are commonly used to treat sciatica patients. These treatments, ranging from conservative recommendations like cold and heat applications to intensive operations, vary in proven efficacy. The one thing that medical professionals agree on when it comes to sciatica treatment is that being physically active is a critical 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 seek the advice of a licensed medical professional prior to taking any actions related to your medical care. Our Dardenne Prairie, MO area physical and occupational therapists with Axes Physical Therapy have dedicated our careers providing Dardenne Prairie, MO with access to healthcare that maximizes movement health and quality of life. For you, that means understanding your medical history, sciatica symptoms, and other critical details. Your dedicated Axes Physical Therapy treatment provider near Dardenne Prairie, 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 develop an individualized treatment plan for your needs.

In addition to a history of success in the Dardenne Prairie, MO treatment of sciatica, our skilled Dardenne Prairie 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 Dardenne Prairie, MO with many forms of care. Learn more below.

• 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

Types of Treatments for Sciatica in Dardenne Prairie, 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 physician, Dardenne Prairie, MO Axes physical therapist, and any other necessary medical professionals will work together as a team to provide you with the sciatica care that is best suited for you.

• Medications. There is some disagreement about which drugs are effective for treating sciatica, but as with any other drug, pharmaceuticals come with the risk of side effects, which can be severe. 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 sciatica care approach that should be included in most sciatica treatment plans. Physical therapy employs a variety 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 Dardenne Prairie, MO area can help you obtain freedom from pain, improve your movement ability, become physically healthier, avoid permanent damage and disability, and reduce the risk of future injuries or sciatica flair-ups. Your Dardenne Prairie, 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 medical provider might recommend an injection or series of injections to the affected area. If you are considering injections for your sciatica, your options include 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. As a sciatica sufferer in Dardenne Prairie, MO, you may use injections as a way to temporarily aleviate nerve inflammation for the purposes of pain relief and maintain the ability to function. Injection treatment effects can wear off in weeks or months.
• Surgery. Due to its risk and inherent invasive nature, surgery is usually reserved for patients with the most severe symptoms or those who have not responded well to more conservative treatment methods. There are a number of surgical procedures for sciatica depending on the cause of the condition, such as a microdiscectomy to remove a 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 should consider surgery for your sciatica if:
  • you lose control of your bowel and/or bladder
  • 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 Dardenne Prairie, MO Physical Therapy for Sciatica

The medical community agrees that physical movement is one of the best things for someone with sciatica to do. Staying active, stretching, and practicing exercises that target the source of your sciatica are essential in the treatment of sciatica for anyone in the Dardenne Prairie, MO area.

Coincidentally, these are all major elements to any physical therapy care we provide Dardenne Prairie, MO area sciatica patients through the Axes Physical Therapy network of physical therapy offices. Your Axes physical therapist near Dardenne Prairie, 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.

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

In order to restore your movement health and deliver you sustainable relief from sciatica pain, your Axes physical therapist in the Dardenne Prairie, MO area might include 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 movement health care team 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 medical provider in Dardenne Prairie, MO now to explore your sciatica treatment options, including a quality, tailored physical therapy plan.

Get Relief for your Sciatica in Dardenne Prairie, MO Now

When the harrowing pain and insurmountable 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 evidence-based physical therapy for your sciatica in the Dardenne Prairie, MO area can relieve your pain and restore the movement you require to live your life.

Access convenient, effective sciatica treatment from Axes Physical Therapy near Dardenne Prairie, 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.