Sciatica in Des Peres, MO. If you have ever known the pain associated with sciatica, you know how difficult it is to capture in words the ferocity 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, get the care you need right away.

Axes Physical Therapy is a network of fifteen physical therapy treatment locations positioned near Des Peres, MO and throughout Missouri. Our clinics specializing in movement health and owned and operated by our treating doctors are dedicated to providing you with thoughtful, personalized, intelligent care for your sciatica or other movement complaints near Des Peres, MO. Talk to a physical therapist in the Des Peres area about sciatica care for you today or book an appointment online now.

What You Should Know About Sciatica

Sciatica describes the irritation of the sciatic nerve, which happens to be the largest nerve in the human body. The sciatic nerve originates from the nerve roots in the lower spine, then from the pelvis it branches out 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 runs along the path of the sciatic nerve.

Sciatica itself is not a diagnosis — contrary to popular assumption. In fact, sciatica describes a set of symptoms tied to the sciatic nerve that surface when an underlying medical condition results in the irritation, inflammation, pinching, or compression of the sciatic nerve. Sciatica symptoms vary wildly, but often consist of various forms of pain, 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), you may find that your sciatica symptoms exist down into the buttock, legs, or feet and heels.

Do I Have Sciatica? – Sciatica Symptoms

Each sciatica patient experiences symptoms differently. The presentation of your sciatica depends on where the damage or pressure is along 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 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 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 simply depends on the position of the compression or pinching of the nerve.

Pain is such a significant component of the sciatica experience for Des Peres, 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, contact a medical professional with spine health expertise as soon as possible. Axes Physical Therapy’s Des Peres, MO area physical and occupational therapists will guide you on your journey to a full recovery and craft a plan of action with the best chance of success of restoring your mobility and freedom from pain.

What Causes Sciatica?

For most individuals, their sciatica is caused by the irritation or inflammation of the sciatic nerve. Sciatic nerve inflammation is easily resolved with physical therapy in the Des Peres area designed to target the underlying cause of your sciatica symptoms, or may even heal naturally over time with proper exercise and self-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, patients with conditions such as sciatica pain are not aware of what caused their condition. 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 Des Peres, 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 Des Peres, MO

Certain activities and conditions could put you at a higher risk of developing painful, restrictive, debilitating conditions like sciatica. You are more likely to suffer from sciatica based on the following risk factors:

• 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 more weight on your body, the harder your back muscles have to work, and the more pressure the tissue in your spine and pelvic joints face.
• 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. Trades 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 “couch potato” daily routine or smoking can cause weakness and eventual irritation related to sciatica.

Finding the Right Des Peres, MO Area Sciatica Treatment

There are numerous approaches that are commonly used to treat sciatica patients. Different treatment solutions, ranging from conservative recommendations like cold and heat applications to intensive procedures, vary in proven efficacy. Regardless of their respective disciplines, medical providers who work with sciatica all recognize that physical activity is an essential 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.

Ultimately, you must seek the advice of a licensed medical professional prior to making any decisions about your own medical care. Our Des Peres, MO area physical and occupational therapists with Axes Physical Therapy have dedicated our careers providing Des Peres, MO with access to healthcare that maximizes movement health and quality of life. In your case, that means examining your medical history, sciatica symptoms, and other key information. Your dedicated Axes Physical Therapy treatment provider near Des Peres, MO will perform a complimentary screening before treating you so that we can best understand your condition and formulate an individualized treatment plan for you.

In addition to a history of success in treating Des Peres, MO area sciatica patients, our seasoned Des Peres 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 Des Peres, 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

Treatments Options for Sciatica in Des Peres, MO

The medical community and especially medical professionals who are specialists in spinal care recommend some of the following as treatment of sciatica for certain patients. Your primary care doctor, Axes Physical Therapy doctor in Des Peres, MO, and all other members of your treatment team will collaborate 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 as with any medications for any condition, every medication comes with risk. Drugs for sciatica are most often used to supress symptoms, including the following types of medications:
  • Anti-inflammatories
  • Muscle relaxers
  • Antidepressants
  • Corticosteroids
  • Anticonvulsants
  • Opiod pain medications
• Physical therapy. Physical therapy is a powerful treatment for sciatica that is recommended for most patients with sciatica. Physical therapy employs a number of treatment methods that address the body as a whole and directly heal the root cause of your sciatica pain. Working with a physical therapist in the Des Peres, MO area can help you achieve freedom from pain, improve your mobility, become physically healthier, avoid permanent disability and nerve damage, and protect against future injuries or sciatica flair-ups. Your Des Peres, MO physical therapist will treat your sciatica pain with treatment methods that improve your posture, restore balance, increase flexibility, improve strength, and relieve pressure.
• Injections. In some cases, your health care professional might try administering an injection or series of injections to the affected area. Common injection treatments for sciata are nerve root blocks, which apply the steroid and anesthetic combination directly to the root of the irritated nerve, or epidural injections, which administer the steroid and anesthetic to the epidural space enveloping the nerve. As a sciatica sufferer in Des Peres, MO, you may use injections as a way to temporarily supress the irritation of the nerve to provide pain relief and potentially preserve mobility. The effects can wear off in weeks or months.
• Surgery. Because of the risk involved, surgical treatment is usually not considered unless you have severe symptoms or your condition has not responded well to more conservative treatment methods. There are a number of surgical procedures that can be used to address sciatic, such as 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 maximize your chances of success, any procedures should be paired with pre- and post-operative physical therapy care.
  You should consider sciatica surgery if:
  • you have loss of bowel or bladder control
  • imaging shows that you have spinal stenosis, where bone spurs are pressing on your sciatic nerve
  • you have significant neurological dysfunction
  • you have not experienced or are no longer experiencing meaningful relief or healing with other treatments

Benefits of Des Peres, MO Physical Therapy for Sciatica

The primary directive for sciatica patients is to stay active. Staying active, stretching, and practicing exercises that target the source of your sciatica are highly effective and critical in the treatment of sciatica for anyone in the Des Peres, MO area.

The physical therapy we offer to sciatica patients in the Des Peres, MO area reflects the importance of movement. By working with a physical therapist near Des Peres, MO, you can strengthen and mobilize tissues in the lower back, pelvis, abdomen, buttocks, and thighs and heal the source of 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

In order to restore your movement health and deliver you sustainable relief from sciatica pain, your Axes physical therapist in the Des Peres, 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 movement health care team at Axes Physical Therapy to identify the sciatica treatment modalities best for you. Your Des Peres, MO physical therapist will act as an integral player in your full 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 Des Peres, MO now to discuss your sciatica treatment options, including a quality, tailored physical therapy plan.

Get Relief for your Sciatica in Des Peres, 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. Timely and proven physical therapy for your sciatica in the Des Peres, MO area can free you from the pain and restore the mobility you depend upon to go about your life.

Access convenient, effective sciatica treatment from Axes Physical Therapy near Des Peres, 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.