How To Ease Sciatic Nerve Pain At Home
Sciatic nerve pain, also known as sciatica, is a condition that causes severe inflammation or aches due to pressure on the sciatic nerve, as per Mayo Clinic. This nerve extends from the lower back to each leg while passing through the hips.
Because of sciatic nerve pain, you might feel numbness or even inflammation in the affected leg. According to Mayo Clinic, symptoms of sciatic nerve pain include stabbing electric shocks or tingling in the back of your thighs and calves. The symptoms may get worse if you sneeze, cough, or have been sitting for a long time.
According to Harvard Health Publishing, sciatica is one of the most misunderstood types of pain affecting a wide majority of people. Statistics reveal that as many as 40% of people experience sciatica nerve pain at least once. In addition, Dr. Jeffrey N. Katz, a professor of medicine and orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School, states that people with back pain are mainly susceptible to sciatic nerve pain. He further claims, "Your risk also rises if you're obese, if you smoke, or if you're sedentary."
There are several treatments for relieving sciatic nerve pain, including some remedies you can try at home.
Home remedies to relieve sciatic nerve pain
You can try various exercises to ease sciatic nerve pain, per Medical News Today. Physiotherapists recommend doing exercises that help strengthen the hips and spine and work on the core. For instance, according to Medical News Today, planking, knee-to-chest pose, and a special sciatic nerve mobilization workout can be critical in relieving sciatic nerve pain.
Besides, Harvard Health Publishing suggests hot and cold therapy for easing the symptoms of sciatica. Experts recommend using ice for at least the first seven days. However, be careful to not let the ice touch the skin otherwise it might cause frostbite. It's also important to take a gap of 15 to 20 minutes between hot and cold therapy.
Moreover, Spine Universe advises people with sciatic nerve pain to avoid sitting in one posture for a long time as it can aggravate the inflammation. It's necessary to keep moving or shifting the posture after every 20 minutes to ease pressure on the spine and legs.
They further suggest patients should seek immediate medical attention if sciatica causes severe leg pain, there's a loss of control over bowels or peeing, there's persistent tingling or numbness in lower limbs, or the aches don't improve after two weeks.