Sciatica in Ellisville, MO. Anyone who has ever experienced sciatica will struggle to capture in words the intensity of pain it causes and just how disabling it can become. If you have been diagnosed with or believe you suffer from sciatica, or a condition that affects the sciatic nerve, seek expert medical care right away.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of multiple physical therapy treatment locations positioned near Ellisville, MO and throughout Missouri. Our locally-owned and operated movement wellness offices bring you sound, individualized, intelligent care for your sciatica or other conditions near Ellisville, MO. Talk to a physical therapist in the Ellisville area about sciatica care for you today or make an appointment online now.

Understanding Sciatica

Sciatica is the irritation of the sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the human body. The sciatic nerve begins in the nerve roots located in the lower spine, then from the pelvis it splits off 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 runs along this precise nerve path.

The term sciatica is not, in itself, a diagnosis — contrary to popular assumption. In fact, sciatica is only a word used to describe a number of symptoms related to the sciatic nerve that surface when an underlying medical condition results in the irritation, inflammation, pinching, or compression of the sciatic nerve. Sciatica patients’ symptoms vary wildly, but commonly include 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), people with sciatica experience symptoms down into the glute area, hamstrings, calves, and feet.

Am I Suffering from 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. Sciatica typically includes symptoms like pain, loss of sensation, 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 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 down the right buttock and leg or the left buttock and leg. There are, however, exceptions, and some sciatica patients are affected down both nerve paths. This is determined by where on the sciatic nerve the irritation or compression occurs.

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

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

If debilitating sciatica pain is preventing you from living your life, contact a medical professional specializing in spine health right away. The physical and occupational therapists of Axes Physical Therapy near Ellisville, MO will guide you on your journey to a full recovery and craft 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 the irritation or inflammation of the sciatic nerve. These cases are nearly always successfully resolved with physical therapy in the Ellisville area targeted specifically to the source of nerve inflammation, or may even resolve on their own 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 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 Ellisville, MO area physical therapists are equipped to provide you with accessible, epirically-supported restorative care.

Most Common Sciatica Causes

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

Are You at a Higher Risk of Developing Sciatica in Ellisville, 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, 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 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 “couch potato” daily routine or smoking can cause inflammation and weakness.

Finding the Right Ellisville, MO Area Sciatica Treatment

There are a number of treatments that are often used to treat sciatica patients. Different treatment solutions, 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 physical activity 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 seek the advice of a licensed medical professional prior to making any decisions about your own medical care. The physical and occupational therapists of Axes Physical Therapy in the Ellisville, MO area have dedicated our careers providing Ellisville, MO with access to healthcare that maximizes movement health and quality of life. For you, that means evaluating your medical history, sciatica symptoms, and other critical information. Your dedicated Axes Physical Therapy movement healthcare provider near Ellisville, 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 you.

In addition to a history of success in the Ellisville, MO treatment of sciatica, our experienced Ellisville area practitioners 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 Ellisville, MO with many forms of care. Learn more below.

• Back Pain Treatment
• 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

Treatments Options for Sciatica in Ellisville, MO

Healthcare professionals and especially those who are specialists in spinal care have found the following methods to be helpful in the treatment of sciatica for certain patients. Your physician, Ellisville, 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 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 aleviate 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 should be included in most sciatica treatment plans. Your physical therapy will involve a wide range of treatment services that address the body as a whole and repair the root cause of your sciatica pain. With the help of a qualified Ellisville, MO physical therapist and participating in your care can allow you to achieve freedom from pain, improve your ability to move, heal stronger, halt or prevent permanent damage and disability, and prevent future injuries or return of your sciatica. Your Ellisville, 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. For some patients with sciatica, a provider might recommend 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 affected sciatic nerve root, or epidural injections, which aim the steroid and anesthetic to the epidural space surrounding the nerve. As a sciatica sufferer in Ellisville, MO, you may use injections as a way to temporarily supress nerve inflammation to provide pain relief and potentially preserve movement abilities needed for daily living. Injection treatment effects can wear off in weeks or months.
• Surgery. Due to its risk and inherent invasive nature, surgical treatment is usually reserved for patients with the most severe symptoms or those who have not successfully healed with more conservative treatment methods. There are a number of operations for sciatica depending on the cause of the condition, including 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, surgery should be proceeded and followed by pre- and post-operative physical therapy care.
  You should consider sciatica surgery if:
  • you experience incontinence
  • imaging shows that you have spinal stenosis, where bone spurs are putting direct pressure on your sciatic nerve
  • you have severe neurological dysfunction
  • you have not experienced or are no longer experiencing meaningful relief or healing with other treatments

Benefits of Ellisville, MO Physical Therapy for Sciatica

The primary directive for sciatica patients is to stay active. Practicing physical activity, stretching, and practicing exercises that target the source of your sciatica are highly effective and critical parts of any Ellisville, MO sciatica treatment plan.

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

Your dedicated Ellisville, MO physical therapist will design a plan incorporating 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 determine the sciatica treatment modalities you would benefit from most. Your Ellisville, 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 medical provider in Ellisville, MO now to discuss your sciatica treatment options, including a quality, tailored physical therapy plan.

Get Relief for your Sciatica in Ellisville, MO Now

When the excruciating pain and alarming limitations of sciatica prevent you from the life you want and the activities you enjoy, get quality care for your sciatica right away. Receiving prompt and evidence-based physical therapy for your sciatica in the Ellisville, 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 Ellisville, 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.