Sciatica in Lake Tekawitha, 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 intensity of pain that accompanies it 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, get the care you need right away.

Axes Physical Therapy is a network of fifteen Lake Tekawitha, MO area physical therapy treatment clinics. 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 Lake Tekawitha, MO. Talk to a physical therapist in the Lake Tekawitha area about your sciatica today or book an appointment online now.

What You Should Know About Sciatica

Sciatica describes the irritation of the sciatic nerve, the most extensive 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 travels 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 runs along the path of the sciatic nerve.

The term sciatica is not, in itself, a diagnosis, as many people believe. In fact, sciatica describes a set of symptoms related to the sciatic nerve that arise when an underlying medical condition results in the irritation, inflammation, pinching, or compression of the sciatic nerve. Sciatica patients’ symptoms 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.

Do I Have Sciatica? – Sciatica Symptoms

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, numbness, loss of muscle function, tingling, and pain that is aggravated by being in certain positions.

The distinguishing marker of sciatica is the sensation of pain that follows the path of 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 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 where on the sciatic nerve the irritation or compression occurs.

Pain is such a significant component of the sciatica experience for Lake Tekawitha, MO sciatica sufferers. Sciatica pain can range from:

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

If debilitating sciatica pain is preventing you from living your life, speak to a medical professional with spine health expertise immediately. Axes Physical Therapy’s Lake Tekawitha, MO area physical and occupational therapists will guide you in your recovery and design a 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. Sciatic nerve inflammation is easily resolved with physical therapy in the Lake Tekawitha area targeted specifically to the source of nerve inflammation, or may even heal 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.

A lot of times, people with sciatica do not know what caused their pain to begin with. You may have been in an accident or developed nerve irritation over time. Whatever the case may be, our Lake Tekawitha, MO area physical therapists have the clinical success and up-to-date evidence-based knowledge you need and deserve from your sciatica treatment professional.

Most Common Sciatica Causes

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

Risk Factors for Sciatica near Lake Tekawitha, MO

Certain activities and conditions could put you at a higher risk of developing painful, restrictive, debilitating conditions like sciatica. Risk factors tied to sciatica include:

• 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 conditions like osteoarthritis can cause 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 habits like a sedentary lifestyle or smoking can cause inflammation and weakness.

Finding the Right Lake Tekawitha, MO Area Sciatica Treatment

There are numerous approaches that are often used to treat sciatica patients. These treatments, which run the gamnut from conservative recommendations like cold and heat applications to surgical operations, vary in proven efficacy. Regardless of their respective disciplines, medical providers who work with sciatica can all agree 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 turn to a licensed medical professional before making any decisions about your own medical care. Our Lake Tekawitha, MO area physical and occupational therapists with Axes Physical Therapy have dedicated our careers to guiding individuals of all types in the Lake Tekawitha, MO area to optimal movement health. In your case, that means understanding your medical history, sciatica symptoms, and other critical details. Your Axes medical professional specializing in movement health in Lake Tekawitha, MO will provide a free screening prior to beginning any treatment so that we can best understand your condition and formulate a personalized treatment plan for your needs.

In addition to specializing in the Lake Tekawitha, MO treatment of sciatica, our skilled Lake Tekawitha area providers will deliver the care you need. Our team of experts in many different areas of the body and joint, nerve, and muscle conditions offer access to the care you need. 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

Types of Treatments for Sciatica in Lake Tekawitha, 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 primary care physician, Axes Physical Therapy doctor in Lake Tekawitha, MO, 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 effective for patients with sciatica, but as with any medications for any condition, every medication comes with risk. 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 a powerful sciatica care method that is recommended for most patients with sciatica. Your physical therapist will use a wide range of treatment modalities that target comprehensive movement health and directly heal the underlying cause of your sciatica pain. With the help of a qualified Lake Tekawitha, MO physical therapist and participating in your care can allow you to achieve pain relief, improve your mobility, become physically healthier, avoid permanent disability and nerve damage, and prevent future injuries or sciatica flair-ups. Your Lake Tekawitha, 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 medical provider might try administering an injection or series of injections to the affected area. Common injection treatments for sciata are nerve root blocks, which apply a steroid and local anesthetic directly to the root of the irritated nerve, or epidural injections, which aim the steroid and anesthetic to the epidural space surrounding the nerve. As a sciatica sufferer in Lake Tekawitha, 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 last anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months.
• Surgery. Because of how invasive and high risk it often is, 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 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. For best chances of success, operations should be paired with pre- and post-operative physical therapy care.
  You should consider surgery for your sciatica if:
  • you have loss of bowel or bladder control
  • imaging shows that you have spinal stenosis, where bone spurs are putting direct pressure on your sciatic nerve
  • you have severe neurological dysfunction
  • other treatment methods have not helped or are no longer effective

Benefits of Lake Tekawitha, MO Physical Therapy for Sciatica

The primary directive for sciatica patients is to stay active. Keeping an active lifestyle, stretching, and performing exercises designed to help address sciatica are proven, necessary parts of any Lake Tekawitha, MO sciatica treatment plan.

The physical therapy we offer to sciatica patients in the Lake Tekawitha, MO area reflects the importance of movement. Your Axes physical therapist near Lake Tekawitha, 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.

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 Lake Tekawitha, 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 determine the sciatica treatment modalities you would benefit from most. Your Lake Tekawitha, 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 specialist in Lake Tekawitha, MO now to discuss your sciatica treatment options, including a quality, tailored physical therapy plan.

Get Relief for your Sciatica in Lake Tekawitha, MO Now

When the agonizing pain and insurmountable limitations of sciatica get in the way of doing the activities that are important to you, find a trustworthy sciatica treatment provider right away. Timely and thoughtful physical therapy for your sciatica in the Lake Tekawitha, MO area can relieve your pain and restore the movement you require to go about your life.

Axes Physical Therapy offers accessible, convenient, and proven sciatica treatment near Lake Tekawitha, 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.