Sciatica and Back Pain Relief

Sciatica and Back Pain Relief

It’s Time to Say “No More!” To Back Pain and Sciatica

Physical Therapy Can Help You Find Relief

Do you find yourself waking up with nagging or excruciating pain in your back? Your condition may be sciatica. While back pain and sciatica are similar, they still have their differences and are often confused with one another. Back pain is found specifically in the upper, middle, or lower back. Sciatica radiates pain down the buttock, thigh, and even into the legs.

If you wake up in the morning with back pain or notice aches in your back, buttock, or thighs, Holistic PT can help you find relief.

According to the American Physical Therapy Association, back pain is the most commonly reported pain across the nation, and one out of every four Americans has experienced back pain in the past three months. If you are suffering from back pain or sciatica, don’t rely on medicines to help you mask the pain!

At Holistic PT, our Therapists will get to the root of the problem and provide long-lasting relief. In many cases, our treatments are even able to eliminate the need for harmful painkilling drugs, such as opioids, or an invasive surgical procedure. Call us today and request an appointment, so you can begin kicking back pain to the curb!

What’s the difference between back pain and sciatica?

Back pain

“Back pain” is a very broad term that can be caused by an array of different conditions. For example, you may experience back pain due to having poor posture, a motor vehicle accident, or an injury sustained while lifting something heavy. You could also have back pain from poor posture.

Back pain can be described as acute, meaning it is short-term, or chronic, meaning it is long-term (typically lasting for three months or longer).

The treatment plan that our Tampa physical therapist set up for you, will depend on how you developed the back pain, in addition to its exact location and your past medical history.

Sciatica

Sciatica is a specific type of back pain that is pretty easy to diagnose, although it is reported as being highly uncomfortable. People with sciatica experience pain along the sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in your body.

The sciatic nerve begins at your lower back and then splits at the base of your spine to extend further down to your buttocks, legs, and finally ends at the bottom of each foot.

The sciatic nerve can become compressed or irritated, which causes a “shooting,” “stinging,” or “burning” sensation in your lower back, buttocks, legs, or feet.

Why you’re experiencing back pain and/or sciatica

The technical term for sciatica is “lumbar radiculopathy.” People who develop this condition are generally between the ages of 30 and 50. Most commonly, we find that people lose their flexibility in the hips and pelvis, which causes the gluteus and hip muscles to become tightened. This in turn, alters the mechanics of the spine, and compresses the sciatic nerve as it travels through these tissues.

Many different types of injuries can cause the development of sciatica, including arthritis, bone spurs, or any other injury that impacts the sciatic nerve.

General back pain typically develops as the result of an injury. This can be due to repetitive straining motions, such as leaning down multiple times throughout the day to pick up a toddler, or a more serious, sudden trauma, such as a motor vehicle accident.

Underlying conditions, such as herniated discs, can also cause immense pain in your back, and cause radiculopathy pain to the thigh, leg, or foot.

Degenerative disc disease is a common condition as we age, which can result in back pain. Those with this condition typically report dull, aching pains in their lower back, and have difficulty with prolonged standing or walking.

There are dozens of other reasons you might be experiencing these kinds of pain, and the best way to find out for sure what the source of your problem is, is to visit a physical therapist.

Our therapists can treat your back pain and sciatica

While there’s no denying these conditions are very painful and annoying to deal with, both back pain and sciatica are both completely treatable through physical therapy. Our Tampa physical therapists will create a specific treatment plan for you based upon your diagnosis.

For the treatment of sciatica, our physical therapists will implement specific leg stretches into your treatment plan to loosen the sciatic nerve. This restores the natural health of the nerve and quickly reduces symptoms.

Back pain may appear and disappear, however, it is always important to treat it! If not, it can lead to poor joint movement, core weakness, and poor muscle coordination, which can all lead to unwanted injuries in the future.

The early stages of your physical therapy treatment will focus on quick pain relief. Afterward, our physical therapist will expand your treatment to include strengthening your core muscle group with specific therapeutic exercises and stretches.

This helps improve your strength and range of motion to prevent re-injury of your spine. Our physical therapist will also provide you with ergonomic techniques for taking care of your spine during daily activities, such as sitting at a desk or driving.

Ready to find relief? Call us today!

Are you experiencing the symptoms of back pain or sciatica? If you are, you can find relief with Holistic PT today. You are not your pain. Our physical therapists are ready and willing to help get you on the way to recovery!

Give us a call at (813) 448-3493​ or click here to request your appointment!