Sciatica in Sappington, MO. Anyone who has ever experienced sciatica will struggle to capture in words the caliber of pain it causes 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, get the care you need right away.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of multiple physical therapy treatment locations positioned near Sappington, MO and throughout Missouri. Our clinics specializing in movement health and owned and operated by our treating doctors are dedicated to providing you with sound, personalized, strategic care for your sciatica or other movement complaints near Sappington, MO. Talk to a physical therapist in the Sappington area about your sciatica today or make 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 to the pelvis, where it then reaches back to each buttock and runs 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.

Sciatica itself is not a diagnosis, as many people believe. In fact, sciatica is only a word used to describe conditions connected to the sciatic nerve that rear up 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 pain, weakness, numbness, or tingling that can extend from the buttock all the way down the leg. Unlike low back pain, people with sciatica experience symptoms down into the glute area, hamstrings, calves, or feet.

Am I Suffering from Sciatica?

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

The hallmark 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. There are, however, exceptions, and some sciatica patients are affected down both nerve paths. 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 Sappington, MO. Pain from sciatica varies from:

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

If debilitating sciatica pain is degrading your quality of life, speak to a medical professional specializing in spine health as soon as possible. The physical and occupational therapists of Axes Physical Therapy near Sappington, MO will lead you on your journey to a full recovery and craft a care 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 some form of irritation to or inflammation of the sciatic nerve. These cases are nearly always successfully repaired with physical therapy in the Sappington area designed to target the underlying cause of your sciatica symptoms, 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.

Often, people with sciatica are not aware of what caused their condition. You may have been in an accident or developed nerve irritation over time. Whatever the case may be, our Sappington, 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 Sappington, MO?

You may be at a higher risk of developing sciatica and other physical and neurological conditions based on your background and activities. You are more likely to suffer from sciatica based on the following risk factors:

• Age. Over the years, 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. Diabetes causes a higher rate of nerve damage in patients, and conditions like osteoarthritis can result in pain and pressure on your spine and sciatic nerve.
• Occupation/Daily activities. Jobs 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 choices like a sedentary lifestyle or use of nicotine can lead to inflammation and weakness.

Finding the Right Sappington, MO Area Sciatica Treatment

There are a number of treatments that are commonly used for sciatica patients. Different treatment solutions, ranging from conservative recommendations like cold and heat applications to intensive operations, vary in proven 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 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 prior to taking any actions related to your medical care. The physical and occupational therapists of Axes Physical Therapy in the Sappington, MO area are committed to providing Sappington, MO with access to healthcare that maximizes movement health and quality of life. For you, that includes studying your medical history, sciatica symptoms, and other critical details. Your Axes medical professional specializing in movement health in Sappington, 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 a history of success in treating Sappington, MO area sciatica patients, our experienced Sappington area providers have what it takes to give you the care you need. We apply our knowledge and experience working with kinesiology and the musculoskeletal system toward providing people like you in Sappington, 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 Sappington, MO

Healthcare professionals and especially those specializing in spine health and neurology recommend some of the following as treatment of sciatica for certain patients. Your primary care physician, Axes Physical Therapy doctor in Sappington, MO, and any other necessary medical professionals will work in tandem to lay forth and carry out the most promising sciatica treatment plan for you.

• Medications. There is some disagreement about which drugs are recommended for treating sciatica, but just like with any medications for any condition, pharmaceuticals come with the risk of side effects, which can be severe. Largely used in managing 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 a powerful treatment for sciatica that should be included in most sciatica treatment plans. Your physical therapy will involve a wide range of treatment services that target comprehensive movement health and repair the underlying cause of your sciatica pain. Working with a physical therapist in the Sappington, MO area can help you reach pain relief, improve your ability to move, heal stronger, avoid permanent disability and nerve damage, and prevent future injuries or return of your sciatica. Your Sappington, 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. In some cases, your doctor might try administering one more more injections to the affected area. If you are considering injections for your sciatica, your options include nerve root blocks, which apply 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. As a sciatica sufferer in Sappington, MO, you may use injections as a way to temporarily supress inflammation around the irritated nerve to provide pain relief and potentially preserve mobility. 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, surgery is usually reserved for patients with the most severe symptoms or those who have not successfully healed with more conservative treatment methods. There are a number of surgical procedures for sciatica depending on the cause of the condition, including a microdiscectomy where the surgeon removes the 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, surgery should be proceeded and followed by pre- and post-operative physical therapy care.
  You may be a candidate for surgery for your sciatica if:
  • you lose control of your bowel and/or bladder
  • imaging shows that you have bone spurs, known as spinal stenosis, putting direct pressure 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 Sappington, MO Physical Therapy for Sciatica

The primary directive for sciatica patients is to stay active. 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 Sappington, MO area.

Coincidentally, these are all major elements to any physical therapy care we provide Sappington, MO area sciatica patients through the Axes Physical Therapy network of physical therapy offices. By working with a physical therapist near Sappington, MO, you can strengthen and mobilize tissues in the lower back, pelvis, abdomen, buttocks, and thighs and heal the source of 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 Sappington, 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 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 medical provider in Sappington, MO now to discuss your sciatica treatment options, including a quality, tailored physical therapy plan.

Get Relief for your Sciatica in Sappington, MO Now

When the excruciating pain and infuriating limitations of sciatica prevent you from doing the activities that are important to you, get quality care for your sciatica right away. Receiving prompt and evidence-based physical therapy for your sciatica in the Sappington, 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 Sappington, 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.