Sciatica in Desloge, MO. If you have ever known the pain associated with sciatica, you know how difficult it is to capture in words the severity of pain it causes and just how disabling it can become. 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 group of fifteen physical therapy treatment locations positioned near Desloge, MO and throughout Missouri. Our locally-owned and operated movement wellness offices bring you thoughtful, personalized, intelligent care for your sciatica or other movement complaints near Desloge, MO. Speak to a physical therapist in the Desloge area about sciatica care for you today or schedule an appointment online now.

Understanding Sciatica

Sciatica describes the irritation of the sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the human body. The sciatic nerve originates from the nerve roots located 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 radiates from this precise nerve path.

Sciatica itself is not a diagnosis — contrary to popular assumption. In fact, sciatica is only a word used to describe conditions tied to the sciatic nerve that surface when an existing medical condition results in the irritation, inflammation, pinching, or compression of the sciatic nerve. The symptoms of sciatica range greatly, but frequently consist of pain sensations, 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), people with sciatica experience symptoms down into the buttock, legs, and feet and heels.

Symptoms of Sciatica

Each individual experiences sciatica symptoms differently. The presentation of your sciatica is dictated by the positioning of the pressure or damage to the nerve root. Symptoms that accompany sciatica include pain, numbness, loss of muscle function, tingling, and pain that worsens when in certain positions.

The distinguishing marker 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 down both nerve paths. 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 Desloge, MO sciatica sufferers. This nerve-related pain is described by patients as:

• 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 specializing in spine health immediately. The physical and occupational therapists of Axes Physical Therapy near Desloge, MO 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?

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 Desloge area targeted specifically to the source of nerve inflammation, and some even resolve on their own over time with proper exercise and self-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.

Usually, people with sciatica 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 Desloge, 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

Risk Factors for Sciatica near Desloge, 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. 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. Diabetic patients are suseptable to nerve damage, and conditions like osteoarthritis can cause 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 habits like a sedentary lifestyle or use of nicotine can lead to weakness and eventual irritation related to sciatica.

Finding the Right Desloge, MO Area Sciatica Treatment

There are a number of treatments that are often used to treat sciatica patients. Different treatment solutions, ranging 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 an essential part 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 does not improve disabiity or pain in patients.

Ultimately, you must turn to a licensed medical professional before making any decisions about your own medical care. The physical and occupational therapists of Axes Physical Therapy in the Desloge, MO area are committed to providing Desloge, MO with access to healthcare that maximizes movement health and quality of life. In your case, that includes evaluating your medical history, sciatica symptoms, and other key information. Your dedicated Axes Physical Therapy movement healthcare provider near Desloge, MO will provide a free screening before treating you so that we can truly understand your condition and formulate an individualized treatment plan for your needs.

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

• Neck Pain Treatment
• 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

Treatments Options for Sciatica in Desloge, MO

The medical community and especially medical professionals specializing in spine health and neurology recommend some of the following as treatment of sciatica for certain patients. Your primary care doctor, Desloge, MO Axes physical therapist, and all other members of your treatment team will collectively to lay forth and carry out the most promising sciatica treatment plan for you.

• Medications. There is some conflicting information about which drugs are recommended for treating sciatica, but as with any medications for any condition, pharmaceuticals come with risk. Largely used in mitigating 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 is recommended for most patients with sciatica. Your physical therapy will involve a wide range of treatment modalities that address the body as a whole and directly heal the underlying cause of your sciatica pain. Working with a physical therapist in the Desloge, MO area can help you achieve pain relief, improve your mobility, become physically healthier, avoid permanent disability and nerve damage, and prevent future injuries or return of your sciatica. Your Desloge, MO physical therapist will provide care that works to improve your posture, restore balance, increase flexibility, improve strength, and relieve pressure.
• Injections. In some cases, your 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 are used to inject a steroid and local anesthetic directly to the root of the irritated nerve, or epidural injections, which deposit the steroid and anesthetic to the epidural space enveloping the nerve. As a sciatica sufferer in Desloge, MO, you may use injections as a way to temporarily supress the irritation of the nerve for the purposes of pain relief and potentially preserve mobility. Injection treatment effects can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months.
• Surgery. Because of the risk involved, surgery 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 operations 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 maximize your chances of success, surgery should be proceeded and followed by pre- and post-operative physical therapy care.
  You may be a candidate for sciatica surgery if:
  • you experience incontinence
  • you have bone spurs, known as spinal stenosis, putting direct pressure on your sciatic nerve
  • you have significant neurological dysfunction
  • other treatment methods have not helped or are no longer effective

Benefits of Desloge, 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 performing exercises designed to help address sciatica are proven, necessary parts of any Desloge, MO sciatica treatment plan.

Coincidentally, these are all major elements to any physical therapy care we provide Desloge, MO area sciatica patients through the Axes Physical Therapy network of physical therapy offices. By working with a physical therapist near Desloge, 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

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

Get Relief for your Sciatica in Desloge, MO Now

When the harrowing 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 evidence-based physical therapy for your sciatica in the Desloge, MO area can free you from the pain and return you to optimal mobility.

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