Sciatic nerve pain can have a number of causes from degenerative changes within the spine, most often involving the intervertebral discs, to the presence of an underlying spinal condition like scoliosis.
Sciatica pain can range from mild and intermittent to chronic and disruptive; for long-term pain relief, treatment that addresses the underlying cause of the sciatic nerve irritation is necessary, and heat can help with short-term pain relief through relaxing muscles and increasing blood flow.
Before getting to the long-term effects of addressing the underlying cause of sciatica pain, let's discuss what heat therapy can offer.
Although the term sciatica is commonly regarded as a clinical condition, sciatica more accurately refers to symptoms felt along the sciatic nerve's extensive pathway, without indicating the cause.
The sciatic nerve is the largest in the body, consisting of 5 nerve roots that start in the lower back (lumbar spine) and extend down the back of the lower body.
The sciatic nerve is also a mixed nerve, containing both sensory and motion fibers, so if the nerve becomes irritated and/or damaged, it can cause a range of symptoms felt anywhere along the nerve's pathway: lower back, hip, buttock, leg, and foot.
Sciatic nerve pain can be mild and intermittent or chronic and debilitating. Pain can worsen at night and is often described as sharp and burning, or electric shock-like sensations.
As muscle weakness can also develop and because the sciatic nerve runs down the back of the leg, leg pain is common and can affect lower-body mobility.
Sciatica pain can result from the sciatic nerve being compressed (exposed to uneven and/or excessive pressure) and impinged, and it's not always easy determining the cause of sciatic nerve pain because nerve pain can be felt far from its source of origin.
When it comes to sciatic nerve pain, there are a number of relief options, but it's also important to understand the difference between addressing sciatica pain quickly as a symptom, or addressing the underlying cause of the sciatica pain for a long-term solution.
When a patient is experiencing unexplained lower back, hip, buttock, and leg pain, particularly when felt down the left side of the body, sciatic nerve health may be the cause.
If the sciatic nerve becomes inflamed, impinged, and/or compressed, it can have a number of effects including pain and disruptions to mobility.
Heat therapy can help provide short-term pain relief by relaxing surrounding muscles and increasing blood flow around the nerve and can be recommended for chronic pain.
Immediately following sciatic nerve irritation, however, cold therapy is recommended to decrease inflammation, which can increase pressure on the nerve.
After inflammation has passed through the use of cold therapy, it's recommended to apply heat to relax the nerve's surrounding muscles for improved oxygen/nutrient delivery, and increased blood flow to the affected area.
Some individuals find alternating between cold and heat therapy to be effective, and as some sciatic pain involves flare ups, applying cold and heat therapy during a flare up can help minimize symptoms.
However, it's important to understand that pain relief reached through short-term solutions such as cold and heat therapy isn't the same as pain relief reached through proactively addressing the underlying cause of the sciatic nerve’s irritation.
So while heat therapy can help relieve pain quickly during flare ups, for sustainable long-term pain relief, and to prevent future nerve damage, a proactive treatment plan is necessary.
Too often, modern medicine focuses on quick fixes and immediate symptom relief; while this is understandable as many patients enter doctors’ offices looking for that exact thing, this does little for long-term pain relief.
And in addition, it can be dangerous to address pain as a symptom, offering short-term solutions that can conceal the severity of the condition, and its underlying cause.
If the sciatic nerve is being affected by degenerative changes in the spine, this often involves the discs that sit between adjacent vertebrae, so in these cases, focus is on improving the health of the spinal discs.
The discs provide the spine with structure, prevent friction during movement by acting as a cushion between adjacent vertebrae, combine forces to facilitate spinal flexibility, and act as the spine's shock absorbers.
If one or more discs change shape due to injury or degenerative changes, it can affect the spine and its immediate surroundings, including muscles and nerves.
If a disc is desiccated, bulging, and/or becomes herniated in the lumbar spine, where the sciatic nerve starts, it can cause sciatic nerve compression and irritation, but the nerve pain may be a symptom of the larger issue: disc degeneration.
Disc degeneration can be difficult to reverse and/or improve, but improving disc health through increasing blood flow and muscular support is at the center of a nonsurgical treatment approach, and when successful, can relieve pressure on the sciatic nerve, addressing the underlying cause of the pain and discomfort.
Sciatic nerve compression can also be caused by an unnatural spinal curve, as is the case with lumbar scoliosis.
If scoliosis develops in the lower back, the lumbar spine has an unnatural sideways curvature that also rotates, and as a progressive condition, the nature of scoliosis, and its effects, is to increase over time.
To relieve pressure on the sciatic nerve, the spine's unnatural bend and twist needs to be addressed, and as a structural condition, the spine's alignment needs to be improved. If as much of the spine's healthy curves as possible are restored, pressure is taken off the spine and its surrounding muscles and nerves.
Through customized chiropractic-centered treatment plans that are scoliosis-specific and exercise-based, a variety of therapies are combined to impact scoliosis on every level, including the central nervous system.
If a curvature reduction is achieved through scoliosis-specific chiropractic adjustments, along with improving the spine's surrounding muscle balance and strength through physical therapy, sciatic nerve health can be restored for long-term pain relief.
Heat therapy can help ease sciatic nerve pain quickly through relaxing strained muscles and improving blood flow to the area. Nerves need a healthy supply of oxygen, blood, and nutrients, and applying heat to the lower back can stimulate blood flow for healthier discs and nerves.
Soothing and relaxing sore and tight muscles surrounding the lumbar spine can mean less pressure on the sciatic nerve, and more support and stability for the lumbar spine in general.
A spine that's surrounded by strong and balanced muscles is one that has help maintaining its healthy curves and alignment and is also less likely to experience degenerative changes early due to uneven wear and tear.
When it comes to symptoms of sciatic nerve compression, this includes pain and discomfort felt anywhere along the sciatic nerve's path, and the best long-term remedy for sciatic pain is a proactive treatment plan that's shaped around its severity, symptoms, and cause.
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