Your Nonsurgical Treatment Options for Sciatica

The discomfort that comes with sciatica is like no other. The pain doesn’t only occur in your back, but it can shoot down one of your legs. With sciatica, even the simplest tasks, like bending over to pick something up, can be excruciating.

When you have sciatica, it’s understandable that you’re not keen on adding to your discomfort by undergoing an operation. The good news is that sciatica treatment is rarely surgical, and our team here at Pain Medicine Consultants offers effective and, more importantly, nonsurgical solutions.

Here’s a look at why sciatica is so problematic and the steps we can take to restore pain-free movement.

The road to sciatica

Your sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in your body, and it originates in your lower spine. From your lower back, your sciatic nerve splits into two and extends down each side of your buttocks and into each leg all the way to your feet.

The term sciatica is, in reality, a symptom of a problem in your lower back that irritates your sciatic nerve. In most cases, sciatica develops as a result of a herniated or bulging disc.

When this nerve compression develops, the symptoms can travel along the length of the nerve on one side of your body, which is why sciatica can lead to considerable pain in your buttock and/or leg. 

In addition to the pain, you may experience numbness and tingling sensations that also travel along the sciatic nerve.

To give you an idea about how common sciatica is, approximately 40% of people will experience sciatica at some point during their lives.

Treating sciatica

If you suspect you have sciatica, come to see us so we can make a definitive diagnosis. Your lumbar spine and lower back are complex areas, and we want to make sure that we first properly identify the problem.

If we find that your sciatic nerve is being compressed, our goal is to make you comfortable so that every movement isn’t a painful one. To do this, we typically start with one or more of the following treatments:

• Anti-inflammatory medications
• Corticosteroid injections
• Nerve blocks
• Rest
• Physical therapy
• Hot and cold therapies

We’ve also found great success using regenerative medicine to help your nerves and tissues heal and repair themselves. Using stem cell and platelet-rich plasma therapies, in particular, we supply your body with the tools it needs to accelerate healing and to relieve the pressure on your sciatic nerve.

While your treatment may take a little time, we assure you that we deploy every nonsurgical resource available until you’re able to move freely again.

For relief from your sciatica pain and other symptoms, please contact one of our Marin County offices in Pleasanton, Pleasant Hill, or Corte Madera, California.