Sciatica in Pinckney, MO. Anyone who has ever experienced sciatica will struggle to adequately express the severity of pain that accompanies it and the degree of distress and disability the condition can wreak on your life. If you suspect that you may have sciatica or have been diagnosed with a sciatic nerve condition, seek expert medical care right away.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of fifteen physical therapy treatment locations positioned near Pinckney, 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 conditions near Pinckney, MO. Contact a physical therapist in the Pinckney 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 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. 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 number of symptoms related to the sciatic nerve that rear up when an underlying medical condition causes the sciatic nerve to be irritated, inflamed, pinched, or compressed. Sciatica symptoms vary wildly, but frequently 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, legs, and feet and heels.

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. Sciatica typically includes symptoms like pain, numbness, loss of muscle function, tingling, and pain that worsens when in certain positions.

The hallmark of sciatica is the sensation of pain that travels along the sciatic nerve from the low spine to the pelvis, buttocks, and legs. Most of the time, symptoms appear 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 on both sides. This is determined by the position of the compression or pinching of the nerve.

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

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

If debilitating sciatica pain is degrading your quality of life, contact a medical professional specializing in spine health as soon as possible. Axes Physical Therapy’s Pinckney, MO area physical and occupational therapists will lead you in your recovery and design a care plan to return you to the life you want to live.

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 resolved with physical therapy in the Pinckney area designed to target the underlying cause of your sciatica symptoms, or may 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.

Often, patients with conditions such as sciatica pain 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 Pinckney, 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 Pinckney, 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, 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. Trades 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 activities like a sedentary lifestyle or tobacco use can cause inflammation and weakness.

Finding the Right Pinckney, MO Area Sciatica Treatment

There are a number of treatments that are often used for sciatica patients. These treatments, ranging from conservative recommendations like cold and heat applications to intensive operations, vary in their accepted level of efficacy. Regardless of their respective disciplines, medical providers who work with sciatica all recognize that being physically active is a critical part of managing and treating sciatica. This directly contradicts previous advice to confine patients to bed rest, which we now know is not effective in addressing disabiity or pain in patients.

Ultimately, you must turn to a licensed medical professional before making any decisions about your own medical care. Our Pinckney, MO area physical and occupational therapists with Axes Physical Therapy are committed to providing Pinckney, MO with access to healthcare that maximizes movement health and quality of life. In your case, that means evaluating your medical history, sciatica symptoms, and other key information. Your dedicated Axes Physical Therapy treatment provider near Pinckney, MO will complete a free screening prior to beginning any treatment so that we can best grasp the big picture of your physical condition and develop a personalized treatment plan for you.

In addition to specializing in the Pinckney, MO treatment of sciatica, our experienced Pinckney 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, including the following

• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy
• Workers Comp' Physical Therapy
• Sprain and Strain Treatment
• Geriatric Physical Therapy
• Injury Rehabilitation
• Pain Management Services
• TMJ Treatment
• Herniated Disc Treatment
• Rotator Cuff Tear Treatment

Types of Treatments for Sciatica in Pinckney, 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 Pinckney, MO, and any other necessary medical professionals will collaborate to provide you with the sciatica care that is best suited for you.

• Medications. There is some disagreement about which drugs are recommended for treating sciatica, but just like with any other drug, every medication comes with potential risks. Drugs for sciatica are most often used to aleviate 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 therapy will involve a number of treatment methods that target comprehensive movement health and directly heal the underlying cause of your sciatica pain. With the help of a qualified Pinckney, MO physical therapist and participating in your care can allow you to reach pain relief, improve your range of motion, heal stronger, halt or prevent permanent disability and nerve damage, and prevent future injuries or sciatica flair-ups. Your Pinckney, 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. For some patients with sciatica, a health care professional might recommend one more more injections to the affected area. If you are considering injections for your sciatica, your options include nerve root blocks, which are used to inject the steroid and anesthetic combination directly to the root of the irritated nerve, or epidural injections, which deliver the steroid and anesthetic to the epidural space enveloping the nerve. Injections in Pinckney, MO area sciatica patients are often used to temporarily aleviate the irritation of the nerve for the purposes of pain relief and maintain movement abilities needed for daily living. The effects can wear off in weeks or months.
• Surgery. Due to its risk and inherent invasive nature, surgical treatment is usually reserved for patients with the most severe symptoms or those who have 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 to remove bone spurs or parts of vertebrae putting 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 should consider sciatica surgery if:
  • you lose control of your bowel and/or bladder
  • imaging shows that you have bone spurs, known as spinal stenosis, pressing on your sciatic nerve
  • you have severe neurological dysfunction
  • you have not experienced or are no longer experiencing permanent relief or healing with other treatments

Benefits of Pinckney, 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 proven, necessary parts of any Pinckney, MO sciatica treatment plan.

Coincidentally, these are all major elements to any physical therapy care we provide Pinckney, MO area sciatica patients through the Axes Physical Therapy network of physical therapy offices. Your Axes physical therapist near Pinckney, MO will guide you in activities and exercises that strengthen and mobilize tissues in the lower back, pelvis, abdomen, buttocks, and thighs and find true relief from 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 Pinckney, 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 spine and musculoskeletal expert at Axes Physical Therapy to identify the sciatica treatment modalities best for you. Your Pinckney, MO physical therapist will 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 Pinckney, MO now to discuss your sciatica treatment options, including a quality, tailored physical therapy plan.

Get Relief for your Sciatica in Pinckney, MO Now

When the excruciating pain and alarming limitations of sciatica get in the way of the life you want and the activities you enjoy, get quality care for your sciatica right away. Timely and evidence-based physical therapy for your sciatica in the Pinckney, MO area can free you from the pain and return you to optimal mobility.

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