LOWER BACK PAIN (SCIATICA)

LOWER BACK PAIN (SCIATICA)

·         Sciatica is a symptom caused by lumbar disc herniation and the pain generally affects the back, hip and leg.

·         Simply put, the disc between two lumber vertebra compresses over existing nerve routes and causes pain in one or both legs.

·         Symptoms of sciatica include

o        Tingling and numbness in one or both legs,

o        Increase in pain while walking and standing, and

o        Partial or complete relief while resting on it in a lying down position.

·         The condition can arise from

o        Irritation of sciatic nerve or its fibres,

o        Lumber disc herniation,

o        Degenerative vertebra and muscle inflammation,

o        Injury or a tumor.

TREATMENT OPTIONS

·         When you experience any of these symptoms, take rest, preferably even bed rest for a few days.

·         Avoid bending forward, lifting weights and sitting on the floor.

·         Doing back exercises and eating a healthy diet are helpful in treating sciatica.

·         Pain management includes treating such diseases with a technique called intervention.

·         Intervention is a small injection technique for the root cause of the problem so as to avoid surgery.

·         There are two lines of treatment for sciatica: transforaminal block and percutaneous disc decompression.

TRANSFORAMINAL BLOCK

·         A lumbar epidural injection near the nerve roots decreases swelling of the spinal nerve and gives relief to the patient.

PERCUTANEOUS DISC DECOMPRESSION

·         For chronic severe pain, part of the disc is removed through a technique called percutaneous disc decompression.

·         In this technique, that provides long term relief, a special instrument is used under x-ray guidance to remove a slipped disc from the back.

·         Using this procedure, hospitalization, surgery and intense rehabilitation, which are required in conventional surgery, are avoided.

HOME REMEDIES

·         Gently massage the muscles around the spine with oil at the point of pain, without pressing the spine, cover with a sheet and rest after switching off fans and ACs.

·         Using a hot water bottle or sitting in a warm water bathtub helps.

·         Avoid direct breeze of fans and ACs on your back.

·         Eat light and easily digestible food, and avoid rice, curd, and lemons till the pain reduces.

·         Keep your spine strong with calcium intake and walk in the sun for your daily dose of vitamin D.

·         Avoid becoming pessimistic and grumpy, as back pain can also be psychosomatic.

·         Lose your extra weight to reduce pressure on your back muscles.

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