Sciatica in Labarque Creek, MO. If you have ever known the pain associated with sciatica, you know how difficult it is to adequately express the ferocity 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, seek the care of a medical professional right away.

Axes Physical Therapy is a network of fifteen physical therapy treatment locations positioned near Labarque Creek, MO and throughout Missouri. Our clinics specializing in movement health and locally owned and operated are dedicated to providing you with sound, individualized, intelligent care for your sciatica or other movement complaints near Labarque Creek, MO. Speak to a physical therapist in the Labarque Creek area about your sciatica today or make an appointment online now.

What is 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 in the lower spine to the pelvis, where it then reaches back 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, as many people believe. In fact, sciatica is only a word used to describe a set of symptoms related 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 vary wildly, but often consist of pain, 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 glute area, hamstrings, calves, or feet and heels.

Symptoms of Sciatica

Each sciatica patient experiences symptoms differently. Your sciatica’s exact presentation is dictated by the positioning of the pressure or damage to the nerve root. Symptoms that accompany sciatica include pain, loss of sensation, loss of muscle function, tingling, and pain that is aggravated by being in certain positions.

The hallmark of sciatica is the sensation of pain that follows the path of 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. However, it is possible for a patient to experience sciatic pain and symptoms down both nerve paths. 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 Labarque Creek, MO. Sciatica pain can range from:

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

If debilitating sciatica pain is preventing you from living your life, reach out to a medical professional specializing in spine health immediately. Axes Physical Therapy’s Labarque Creek, MO area physical and occupational therapists will guide you in your recovery and craft a plan of action 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 some form of irritation to or inflammation of the sciatic nerve. These cases are nearly always successfully repaired with physical therapy in the Labarque Creek area targeted specifically to the source of nerve inflammation, or may even heal naturally 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.

A lot of times, patients with conditions such as sciatica pain are not aware of what caused their condition. You may have been in an accident or developed nerve irritation over time. Whatever the case may be, our Labarque Creek, 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

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

What Sciatica Treatment Options Do I Have in Labarque Creek, MO?

There are numerous approaches that are often used for sciatica patients. Different treatment solutions, which run the gamnut from conservative recommendations like cold and heat applications to surgical 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 is contrary to outdated recommendations to confine sicatica patients to bed rest, which is no longer an accepted treatment fo sciatica as it is not effective in addressing disabiity or pain in patients.

Remember that it is your responsibility to 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 Labarque Creek, MO area are committed to providing Labarque Creek, 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 Axes medical professional specializing in movement health in Labarque Creek, MO will provide a free screening prior to beginning any treatment so that we can truly understand your condition and formulate an individualized treatment plan for you.

In addition to a history of success in the Labarque Creek, MO treatment of sciatica, our seasoned Labarque Creek 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 Labarque Creek, MO with many forms of care, including the following

• Shoulder Pain Treatment
• 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

Treatments Options for Sciatica in Labarque Creek, MO

Healthcare professionals and especially those who are specialists in spinal care recommend some of the following as treatment of sciatica for certain patients. Your physician, Axes Physical Therapy doctor in Labarque Creek, MO, and any other necessary medical professionals will collectively to provide you with the sciatica care that is right for you.

• Medications. There is some disagreement surrounding which drugs are recommended for patients with sciatica, but just like with any other drug, pharmaceuticals come with potential risks. Drugs for sciatica are most often used to quell symptoms, including the following types of medications:
  • Anti-inflammatories
  • Muscle relaxers
  • Antidepressants
  • Corticosteroids
  • Anticonvulsants
  • Opiod pain medications
• Physical therapy. Physical therapy is an effecitve treatment for sciatica that should be included in most sciatica treatment plans. Your physical therapist will use a wide range of treatment services that target comprehensive movement health and repair the root cause of your sciatica pain. Working with a physical therapist in the Labarque Creek, MO area can help you enjoy freedom from pain, improve your ability to move, become physically healthier, halt or prevent permanent damage and disability, and reduce the risk of future injuries or return of your sciatica. Your Labarque Creek, MO physical therapist will treat your sciatica pain with treatment methods that improve your posture, bring your body into balance, increase flexibility, improve strength, and release pressure.
• Injections. In some cases, your doctor 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 deposit the steroid and anesthetic to the epidural space enveloping the nerve. As a sciatica sufferer in Labarque Creek, MO, you may use injections as a way to temporarily aleviate nerve inflammation for the purposes of pain relief and maintain mobility. The effects can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months.
• Surgery. Because of the risk involved, surgery 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 surgeries for sciatica depending on the cause of the condition, such as a microdiscectomy where the surgeon removes the herniated disc or a laminectomy where the surgeon removes part of the vertebral bones to remove direct pressure on your sicatic nerve. To maximize your chances of success, surgery 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 bone spurs, known as spinal stenosis, pressing on your sciatic nerve
  • you have severe neurological dysfunction
  • other treatment methods have not helped or are no longer effective

Benefits of Labarque Creek, 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 performing exercises designed to help address sciatica are proven, necessary in the treatment of sciatica for anyone in the Labarque Creek, MO area.

Coincidentally, these are all major elements to any physical therapy care we provide Labarque Creek, MO area sciatica patients through the Axes Physical Therapy network of physical therapy offices. Your Axes physical therapist near Labarque Creek, MO will guide you in activities and exercises that 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 Labarque Creek, 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 spine and musculoskeletal expert at Axes Physical Therapy to identify the sciatica treatment modalities best for you. Your Labarque Creek, MO physical therapist will work together with your larger 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 Labarque Creek, MO now to discuss your sciatica treatment options, including a quality, tailored physical therapy plan.

Get Relief for your Sciatica in Labarque Creek, MO Now

When the harrowing pain and alarming limitations of sciatica get in the way of doing the activities that are important to you, get quality care for your sciatica right away. Receiving prompt and personalized physical therapy for your sciatica in the Labarque Creek, MO area can relieve your pain and restore the mobility you require to live your life.

Access convenient, effective sciatica treatment from Axes Physical Therapy near Labarque Creek, 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.