Sciatica in Meacham Park, MO. If you have ever known the pain associated with sciatica, you know how difficult it is 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 the care of a medical professional right away.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of fifteen Meacham Park, 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 thoughtful, personalized, strategic care for your sciatica or other conditions near Meacham Park, MO. Speak to a physical therapist in the Meacham Park area about sciatica care for you today or book an appointment online now.

What is Sciatica?

Sciatica describes the irritation of the sciatic nerve, which happens to be the most extensive nerve in the human body. The sciatic nerve begins in the nerve roots located in the lower spine to the pelvis, where it then branches out 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 radiates from the path of the sciatic nerve.

The term sciatica is not, in itself, a diagnosis, as many people believe. In fact, sciatica is only a word used to describe conditions connected 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 greatly, but generally consist of various forms 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, and feet.

Do I Have Sciatica? – Sciatica Symptoms

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, numbness, weakness, tingling, and pain that is aggravated by being in certain positions.

The distinguishing marker of sciatica is the sensation of 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 the left or right hip and leg. However, it is possible for a patient to experience sciatic pain and symptoms 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 Meacham Park, 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, get in touch with a medical professional specializing in spine health right away. Axes Physical Therapy’s Meacham Park, MO area physical and occupational therapists will lead you on your journey to a full recovery and craft a plan to return you to the life you want to live.

Common Causes of Sciatica

For most individuals, their sciatica is caused by the irritation or inflammation of the sciatic nerve. These cases are nearly always successfully repaired with physical therapy in the Meacham Park area designed to target the underlying cause of your sciatica symptoms, and some even heal naturally as time passes and you practice safe exercise and home 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, people with sciatica 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 Meacham Park, 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 Meacham Park, 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. As we age, 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 result in 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 habits like a sedentary lifestyle or tobacco use can lead to weakness and eventual irritation related to sciatica.

What Sciatica Treatments in Meacham Park, MO Are Right for Me?

There are a number of treatments that are commonly used for sciatica patients. Different treatment solutions, which run the gamnut from conservative recommendations like cold and heat applications to intensive procedures, vary in their accepted level of 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 does not improve disabiity or pain in patients.

Ultimately, you must turn to a licensed medical professional before taking any actions related to your medical care. The physical and occupational therapists of Axes Physical Therapy in the Meacham Park, MO area have dedicated our careers providing Meacham Park, MO with access to healthcare that maximizes movement health and quality of life. For you, that means studying your medical history, sciatica symptoms, and other critical details. Your Axes medical professional specializing in movement health in Meacham Park, MO will perform a complimentary screening before treating you so that we can best understand your condition and formulate a personalized treatment plan for your needs.

In addition to a history of success in the Meacham Park, MO treatment of sciatica, our experienced Meacham Park area practitioners 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.

• 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 Meacham Park, MO

Healthcare professionals and especially those specializing in spine health and neurology have found the following methods to be helpful in the treatment of sciatica for certain patients. Your physician, Axes Physical Therapy doctor in Meacham Park, 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 regarding which drugs are effective for treating sciatica, but just like with any other drug, pharmaceuticals come 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 an impactful sciatica care approach that is recommended for most patients with sciatica. Your physical therapist will use a variety of treatment services that target comprehensive movement health and repair the root cause of your sciatica pain. With the help of a qualified Meacham Park, MO physical therapist and participating in your care can allow you to reach freedom from pain, improve your range of motion, heal stronger, avoid permanent disability and nerve damage, and protect against future injuries or return of your sciatica. Your Meacham Park, MO physical therapist will provide care that works to improve your posture, bring your body into balance, increase flexibility, improve strength, and relieve pressure.
• Injections. In some cases, your provider might try administering an injection or series of injections to the affected area. Common injection treatments for sciata are 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 surrounding the nerve. As a sciatica sufferer in Meacham Park, MO, you may use injections as a way to temporarily supress the irritation of the nerve to provide pain relief and potentially preserve mobility. Injection treatment effects can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months.
• Surgery. Due to its risk and inherent invasive nature, surgery is usually reserved for patients with the most severe symptoms or those who have not responded well to more conservative treatment methods. There are different surgeries that can be used to address sciatic, including 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 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 bone spurs, known as spinal stenosis, 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 Meacham Park, MO Physical Therapy for Sciatica

One of the best things you can do for your sciatica is to move. Staying active, stretching, and performing exercises designed to help address sciatica are highly effective and critical parts of any Meacham Park, MO sciatica treatment plan.

Coincidentally, these are all major elements to any physical therapy care we provide Meacham Park, MO area sciatica patients through the Axes Physical Therapy network of physical therapy offices. By working with a physical therapist near Meacham Park, MO, you can strengthen and mobilize tissues in the lower back, pelvis, abdomen, buttocks, and thighs and find true relief from 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 Meacham Park, 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 and act as an integral player in your larger 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 Meacham Park, MO now to learn about your sciatica treatment options, including a quality, tailored physical therapy plan.

Get Relief for your Sciatica in Meacham Park, MO Now

When the excruciating pain and infuriating limitations of sciatica get in the way of the life you want and the activities you enjoy, find a trustworthy sciatica treatment provider right away. Swift and effective physical therapy for your sciatica in the Meacham Park, MO area can relieve your pain and restore the movement you require to go about your life.

Access convenient, effective sciatica treatment from Axes Physical Therapy near Meacham Park, MO today. 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.