Don’t Let Sciatica Keep You on the Sidelines: 3 Ways to Get Relief

Sciatica pain shooting through your lower back and legs can interfere with work, hobbies, and even relaxation.

If you’re looking for nonsurgical solutions to relieve sciatica symptoms, you can rely on our pain management expertise at AABP Integrative Pain Care and Wellness.

Our highly skilled medical team offers a variety of minimally invasive treatments to provide lasting pain relief, so you can stay active. We also specialize in advanced treatments like minimally invasive lumbar decompression (mild®) to treat severe or debilitating sciatica symptoms.

An overview of sciatica

The sciatic nerve is a large nerve that originates in the lumbar (lower) spine and extends into the buttocks, hips, and legs. This nerve provides sensation to the areas it travels through.

When pressure irritates the sciatic nerve, you can develop sciatica symptoms like:

• Tingling
• Burning
• Weakness
• Heaviness

A hallmark symptom of sciatica is an electric-shock-like sensation that radiates along the sciatic nerve. This type of pain stops people in their tracks and makes it difficult to sit, lie down, or walk.

Why you have sciatica

Pressure on the sciatic nerve or damage to its nerve fibers can result from injuries and degenerative conditions. Some of the most common reasons sciatica develops include:

• Bone spurs
• Spinal stenosis
• Herniated disc
• Osteoarthritis
• Tumor
• Diabetes
• Spondylolisthesis

You may also be at increased risk of sciatica as you age due to wear and tear on your spine. Obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and repetitive movements can also contribute to spinal degeneration and the onset of sciatica.

Treating sciatica early can slow down the progression of the condition. If ice or heat therapy, rest, and over-the-counter medications are no longer effective in easing sciatica symptoms, our interventional pain specialists at AABP Integrative Pain Care and Wellness can help.

3 strategies that provide sciatica symptom relief

Our skilled providers understand how frustrating sciatica symptoms can be when home care strategies no longer work. We customize a care plan to your individual needs based on the severity of your symptoms and your general health.

Three strategies to consider include:

1. Selective nerve block

A selective nerve block is an image-guided injection that delivers an anesthetic and steroid into the area around the sciatic nerve. The medications reduce inflammation and block pain signals before they reach the brain.

2. Epidural steroid injection

An epidural steroid injection delivers corticosteroids and a local anesthetic into the area surrounding your spinal cord. The injection can relieve sciatica symptoms and also ease the pain of a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, and other sources of sciatic nerve pressure.

3. Radiofrequency ablation

Radiofrequency ablation is a minimally invasive treatment that uses radio waves to generate heat that destroys damaged nerve tissue. The tissue can no longer transmit pain signals to the brain, providing lasting pain relief.

Pain relief with the mild procedure

If you’re not a candidate for injectable therapies or ablation, our providers may suggest the mild procedure for lumbar decompression.

The mild procedure involves removing excess ligament tissue to improve space in the spinal canal and prevent sciatic nerve compression. Our team uses small incisions to access the spine, so you can heal fast and with minimal complications.

Call AABP Integrative Pain Care and Wellness in Brooklyn, New York, today to schedule a sciatica evaluation or book a consultation online.