Sciatica in Pacific, 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 caliber 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 group of multiple physical therapy treatment locations positioned near Pacific, MO and throughout Missouri. Our clinics specializing in movement health and owned and operated by our treating doctors are dedicated to providing you with thoughtful, individualized, strategic care for your sciatica or other movement complaints near Pacific, MO. Contact a physical therapist in the Pacific area about your sciatica today or schedule an appointment online now.

Understanding Sciatica

Sciatica is the irritation of the sciatic nerve, the most extensive nerve in the human body. The sciatic nerve begins in the nerve roots located in the lower spine, then from the pelvis it branches out to each buttock and travels 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 — contrary to popular assumption. In fact, sciatica describes a number of symptoms connected to the sciatic nerve that rear up when an existing medical condition causes the sciatic nerve to be irritated, inflamed, pinched, or compressed. Sciatica symptoms vary greatly, but generally include pain sensations, 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 buttock, hamstrings, calves, and feet and heels.

Symptoms of Sciatica

The type and severity of sciatica symptoms vary from case to case. 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, weakness, tingling, and pain that worsens when in certain positions.

The hallmark of sciatica is 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 on both sides. This is determined by where on the sciatic nerve the irritation or compression occurs.

With sciatica comes undeniable pain for anyone with the condition in Pacific, MO. Sciatica pain can range from:

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

If debilitating sciatica pain is preventing you from living your life, contact a medical professional with spine health expertise immediately. Axes Physical Therapy’s Pacific, MO area physical and occupational therapists will lead you in your recovery and design a plan of action with the best chance of success of restoring your mobility and freedom from pain.

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. Sciatic nerve inflammation is easily repaired with physical therapy in the Pacific area designed to target the underlying cause of your sciatica symptoms, or may even resolve on their own 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.

In most cases, 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 Pacific, 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

Are You at a Higher Risk of Developing Sciatica in Pacific, MO?

You may be at a higher risk of developing sciatica and other physical and neurological conditions based on your background and activities. Risk factors associated with sciatica include:

• Age. Over the years, 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 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 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 cause weakness and eventual irritation related to sciatica.

What Sciatica Treatments in Pacific, MO Are Right for Me?

There are numerous treatments that are commonly used to treat sciatica patients. These treatments, ranging from conservative recommendations like cold and heat applications to surgical procedures, vary in proven efficacy. The one thing that medical professionals agree on when it comes to sciatica treatment is that being physically active is an essential part 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 seek the advice of a licensed medical professional prior to taking any actions related to your medical care. Our Pacific, MO area physical and occupational therapists with Axes Physical Therapy are committed to providing Pacific, MO with access to healthcare that maximizes movement health and quality of life. For you, that means understanding your medical history, sciatica symptoms, and other key factors. Your Axes medical professional specializing in movement health in Pacific, MO will perform a free screening prior to beginning any treatment so that we can truly grasp the big picture of your physical condition and formulate an individualized treatment plan for you.

In addition to specializing in the Pacific, MO treatment of sciatica, our skilled Pacific 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 Pacific, MO with many forms of care, including the following

• 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
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy

Popular Treatments for Sciatica in Pacific, MO

The medical community and especially medical professionals who are specialists in spinal care recommend some of the following as treatment of sciatica for certain patients. Your primary care physician, Axes Physical Therapy doctor in Pacific, 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 disagreement surrounding which drugs are recommended for patients with sciatica, but just like with any medications for any condition, every medication comes with the risk of side effects, which can be severe. Largely used in reducing the experience of sciatica symptoms, some drugs that can be used for sciatca patients include:
  • Anti-inflammatories
  • Muscle relaxers
  • Antidepressants
  • Corticosteroids
  • Anticonvulsants
  • Opiod pain medications
• Physical therapy. Physical therapy is an effecitve sciatica care approach that is recommended for most patients with sciatica. Your physical therapy will involve a variety of treatment modalities that target comprehensive movement health and directly heal the underlying cause of your sciatica pain. Working with a physical therapist in the Pacific, MO area can help you reach freedom from pain, improve your mobility, become physically healthier, avoid permanent damage and disability, and protect against future injuries or sciatica flair-ups. Your Pacific, 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. In some cases, your health care professional might try administering 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 are used to inject a steroid and local anesthetic directly to the affected sciatic nerve root, or epidural injections, which aim the steroid and anesthetic to the epidural space surrounding the nerve. Injections in Pacific, MO area sciatica patients are often used to temporarily supress the irritation of the nerve to provide pain relief and potentially preserve movement abilities needed for daily living. The effects can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months.
• Surgery. Due to its risk and inherent invasive nature, surgical treatment is usually not considered unless you have severe symptoms or your condition has not successfully healed with more conservative approaches. There are a number of operations 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, surgery should be paired with pre- and post-operative physical therapy care.
  You may be a candidate for sciatica surgery 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 significant neurological dysfunction
  • other treatment methods have not helped or are no longer effective

Benefits of Pacific, MO Physical Therapy for Sciatica

The medical community agrees that physical movement is one of the best things for someone with sciatica to do. Practicing physical activity, stretching, and performing exercises designed to help address sciatica are highly effective and critical in the treatment of sciatica for anyone in the Pacific, MO area.

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

Physical therapy for sciatica and other conditions is meant 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 Pacific, 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 identify the sciatica treatment modalities you would benefit from most. Your Pacific, MO physical therapist will work together with 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 medical provider in Pacific, MO now to explore your sciatica treatment options, including a quality, tailored physical therapy plan.

Get Relief for your Sciatica in Pacific, MO Now

When the agonizing pain and infuriating limitations of sciatica prevent you from doing the activities that are important to you, find a trustworthy sciatica treatment provider right away. Receiving prompt and evidence-based physical therapy for your sciatica in the Pacific, 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 Pacific, MO. Our fifteen Missouri physical therapy locations make it easy for you to get the care you need. Find the location nearest you or request an appointment online right now.