If you have ever found yourself in a situation where you have had to ask for help for the easiest of tasks, simply because your body didn’t want to work, then you may have experienced sciatica. People with sciatic nerve pain struggle to do things like make the bed, brush their teeth, or tie their shoelaces. The pain starts in their lower back and goes all the way down to their feet, because of inflammation, entrapment, or damage to the sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the body. Most people start by looking for treatment for sciatica, because they don’t feel it will ever happen to them. But once it has, they will also start to look at the best ways to prevent sciatic nerve pain, in an effort to never have to go through that experience again.
Causes of Sciatic Nerve Pain:
Experiencing sciatic nerve pain is usually due to some sort of trauma or injury, essentially presenting an acute event. However, it can also be caused by general wear and tear. There are five spinal nerve roots, and any of those can become compressed or irritated due to a variety of reasons, leading to sciatic nerve pain. How bad the pain is will also vary from one person to the next. Sometimes, it is only mild and poses nothing but an annoyance. But at other times, it could be so bad that mobility is restricted and quality of life is reduced. Once that happens, people become even more interested in finding the best ways to prevent sciatic nerve pain.
Treatment for Sciatic Nerve Pain:
Generally speaking, sciatic nerve pain gets better with rest and the pain only lasts for a few days or weeks. However, the condition can afflict people for much longer as well, sometimes even months. Usually, even if it lasts a long time, the body is capable of curing sciatica by itself and no further medical assistance is needed. Sometimes, physicians may prescribe Bromelain, a strong anti-inflammatory drug, to give the body a boost and help dissipate the pain to a certain degree.
In extreme cases, however, surgery may be required. This tends to be offered only to those who experience truly debilitating pain and are incapable of waiting for their body to resolve it. Surgery provides immediate relief. However, it is a major surgery and quite dangerous and it also doesn’t offer any guarantee of permanency.
Best Ways to Prevent Sciatic Nerve Pain:
There are a lot of ways to prevent sciatic nerve pain, and you should engage in this even if you have never experienced the condition. Taking part in proper exercise is often all that is required to improve the strength of the sciatic area. Yoga, back exercises, swimming, and Pilates are all advisable for people who want to avoid sciatica. At the same time, you should focus on adopting good posture at all times, while sitting, sleeping, standing, and even driving. Doing so should relieve a significant amount of pressure from the area and help to avoid excessive wear and tear of the spinal discs as well.
