Sciatica in Olympian Village, 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 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 fifteen Olympian Village, MO area physical therapy treatment clinics. These provider-owned and operated movement wellness offices bring you thoughtful, personalized, strategic care for your sciatica or other movement complaints near Olympian Village, MO. Speak to a physical therapist in the Olympian Village area about your sciatica today or schedule an appointment online now.

What You Should Know About Sciatica

Sciatica describes the irritation of the sciatic nerve, which happens to be the largest nerve in the human body. The sciatic nerve originates from the nerve roots in the low end of the spine, then from the pelvis it reaches back 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.

Sciatica itself is not a diagnosis — contrary to popular assumption. In fact, sciatica describes a set of symptoms related to the sciatic nerve that rear up when an underlying medical condition results in the irritation, inflammation, pinching, or compression of the sciatic nerve. The symptoms of sciatica range wildly, but frequently consist of various forms of 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), you may find that your sciatica symptoms exist down into the glute area, legs, or feet and heels.

Symptoms of Sciatica

Each sciatica patient experiences symptoms differently. The presentation of your sciatica depends on where the damage or pressure is along 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 distinguishing marker of sciatica is the sensation of 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 is determined by where on the sciatic nerve the irritation or compression occurs.

Pain is such a significant component of the sciatica experience for Olympian Village, MO sciatica sufferers. This nerve-related pain is described by patients as:

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

If debilitating sciatica pain is degrading your quality of life, get in touch with a medical professional with spine health expertise right away. The physical and occupational therapists of Axes Physical Therapy near Olympian Village, MO will lead you in your recovery and craft a treatment approach 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 cured with physical therapy in the Olympian Village area targeted specifically to the source of nerve inflammation, or may even heal 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.

A lot of times, patients with conditions such as sciatica pain are not aware of what caused their condition. 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 Olympian Village, 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

Major Risk Factors for Sciatica

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

• Age. As we age, the tissues in 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 more weight on your body, the harder your back muscles have to work, and the more pressure the tissue in your spine and pelvic joints face.
• 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. 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 activities like a sedentary lifestyle or smoking can cause weakness and eventual irritation related to sciatica.

Finding the Right Olympian Village, MO Area Sciatica Treatment

There are a variety of approaches that are commonly used to treat 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 being physically active 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.

Ultimately, you must consult with a licensed medical professional before taking any actions related to your medical care. Our Olympian Village, MO area physical and occupational therapists with Axes Physical Therapy have dedicated our careers to guiding individuals of all types in the Olympian Village, MO area to optimal movement health. In your case, that includes evaluating your medical history, sciatica symptoms, and other critical information. Your Axes medical professional specializing in movement health in Olympian Village, MO will provide a complimentary screening prior to beginning any treatment so that we can truly understand your condition and formulate a personalized treatment plan for you.

In addition to specializing in the Olympian Village, MO treatment of sciatica, our skilled Olympian Village 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, including the following

• 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 Olympian Village, MO

The medical community and especially medical professionals specializing in spine health and neurology have found the following methods to be helpful in the treatment of sciatica for certain patients. Your primary care doctor, Axes Physical Therapy doctor in Olympian Village, MO, and all other members of your treatment team will work in tandem to provide you with the sciatica care that is best suited for you.

• Medications. There is some conflicting information about which drugs are recommended for patients with sciatica, but as with any medications for any condition, 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 treatment for sciatica that should be included in most sciatica treatment plans. Your physical therapist will use a variety 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 Olympian Village, MO physical therapist and participating in your care can allow you to achieve pain relief, improve your mobility, heal stronger, halt or prevent permanent damage and disability, and prevent future injuries or sciatica flair-ups. Your Olympian Village, MO physical therapist will treat your sciatica pain with treatment methods that improve your posture, restore balance, increase flexibility, improve strength, and release pressure.
• Injections. For some patients with sciatica, a medical 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 administer the steroid and anesthetic to the epidural space enveloping the nerve. As a sciatica sufferer in Olympian Village, MO, you may use injections as a way to temporarily aleviate nerve inflammation to provide pain relief and maintain movement abilities needed for daily living. The effects can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months.
• Surgery. Because of how invasive and high risk it often is, surgery is usually reserved for patients with the most severe symptoms or those who have not responded well to more conservative approaches. There are a number of surgeries that can be used to address sciatic, 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, operations should be paired with pre- and post-operative physical therapy care.
  You may be a candidate for surgery for your sciatica if:
  • you experience incontinence
  • imaging shows that you have spinal stenosis, where bone spurs are pressing on your sciatic nerve
  • you have significant neurological dysfunction
  • you have not experienced or are no longer experiencing permanent relief or healing with other treatments

Benefits of Olympian Village, MO Physical Therapy for Sciatica

Staying active is one of the most important things for people with sciatica to do. Staying active, stretching, and performing exercises designed to help address sciatica are proven, necessary in the treatment of sciatica for anyone in the Olympian Village, MO area.

The physical therapy we offer to sciatica patients in the Olympian Village, MO area reflects the importance of movement. By working with a physical therapist near Olympian Village, 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 Olympian Village, MO area might include 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 movement health care team at Axes Physical Therapy to determine the sciatica treatment modalities best for you and 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 Olympian Village, MO now to explore your sciatica treatment options, including a quality, tailored physical therapy plan.

Get Relief for your Sciatica in Olympian Village, MO Now

When the agonizing pain and insurmountable limitations of sciatica get in the way of doing the activities that are important to you, seek quality care for your sciatica right away. Timely and thoughtful physical therapy for your sciatica in the Olympian Village, MO area can free you from the pain and restore the mobility you require to live your life.

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