Prevention of inflammation of the sciatic nerve

Prevention of sciatica is to strengthen the back muscles. To prevent sciatica necessary:

• keep your back straight: to walk with a straight back, do not sit heavily leaning forward;
• during sedentary work often get up and walk around the room;
• do regular physical exercise Myths about exercise: do not believe   to strengthen the back muscles;
• not to lift heavy weights;
• not supercool;
• Women, especially, have had recurring back pain, do not wear high heels.

Home treatment

These treatments help particularly well, if a person keeps the usual level of activity, avoiding only those kinds of loads that cause particularly severe pain. While the rest for a couple of days can alleviate some of the symptoms of sciatica, long rest is not recommended - it will only lead to aggravation of the condition.

• Cold compresses very well reduces inflammation and eases the discomfort. Compression can be used with bags of frozen vegetables or ice packs. Keep packs recommended 20 minutes a day. It is undesirable to use ice, since prolonged contact with skin, it can damage the blood vessels.
• Warmer. After two or three days to the homes of pain, you can start to put a hot water bottle. If you will still experience pain, try to alternate warm and cold packs.
• Stretching. Stretching exercises for the muscles of the waist to help relieve the symptoms of sciatica Symptoms of sciatica when the pain intensifies . When you exercise, avoid sudden movements and twists; possibly hold the target muscle groups stretch of at least 30 seconds.
• OTC drugs. Analgesics are divided into two groups - those that reduce pain and inflammation and those that eliminate only pain. When sciatica will be particularly useful tools in the first category, including - a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.), and paracetamol. It should be borne in mind that the possibility of these drugs is limited and severe pain, they do not help. Furthermore, side effects of NSAIDs can be nausea, gastric bleeding and stomach ulcers and paracetamol when receiving too large doses may cause liver problems. Often massage, exercise and compresses give the same results as the painkillers, but without the side effects.
• Regular physical activity is one of the best ways to deal with chronic discomfort and pain in inflammation of the sciatic nerve. Physical activity contribute to the production of endorphins - the hormones of joy, which significantly relieve pain.
• In the first stage of treatment may be recommended training exercises in water or not bike - such kinds of activity did not increase the pain at the same time, allowing a person to remain active. Gradually, the patient can move to combined aerobic and strength training, as well as exercises for the development of the vestibular apparatus.

Alternative Medicine

In addition to the above methods of treatment for sciatica can use the following means of alternative medicine:

• Acupuncture. Experts in acupuncture is used to treat various diseases, sterile stainless steel needles. They are inserted into specific points through which, according to the ideas of supporters of acupuncture extends the life energy qi. It is believed that the needle is removed from the block channels through which qi moves, and restore energy balance. In most cases, people almost feel pricks; on the contrary, many find this procedure very relaxing. Some studies have shown that acupuncture helps relieve the pain of sciatica, however, there is evidence in favor of that procedure is virtually useless.
• Chiropractic - a method of treatment based on the idea according to which the limited mobility of the spine causes a decrease in its functionality and pain. Manipulation used in chiropractic, aimed at restoring mobility and function of the spine. According to some studies, chiropractic is as effective and safe as some of the standard methods for treating inflammation of the sciatic nerve. However, the optimal number of sessions to be determined.
• Massage. Due to the large number of massage techniques and differences in the approaches of different massage therapists to conduct an objective study of massage as a treatment extremely difficult. However, it is well known that massage effectively facilitates back pain, and it is often recommended for patients with sciatica.
• Hypnosis. A person in a state of hypnosis, you can instill that its susceptibility to pain is reduced and / or that he can deal with it better than before. But, first, not all people are susceptible to hypnosis Hypnosis - ability, sent from above And secondly, its effectiveness as a means to reduce pain is extremely controversial. In the treatment of sciatica Treating inflammation of the sciatic nerve: possible methods   it is used very rarely, but hypnosis can simply be kept in mind as one of the alternative treatments.

Neuropathy of the sciatic nerve

Neuropathy - a general name of various kinds of disorders of the nervous system. Today, to the sciatic nerve neuropathy attributed mainly of nerve injury resulting from its pressure or circulatory disorders. These lesions can occur at different levels, as the sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the human body.

Causes

Neuropathy sciatic nerve appears most often as a result of non-inflammatory lesions of this nerve, developing under the influence of compression (compression) or persistent spasm of blood vessels (ischemic). The affected area of ​​the sciatic nerve often present painful compression or thickening of tissue, which cause narrowing of the bone-ligament-muscular sheaths through which the nerve (the tunnel). Therefore, these processes are called tunneling.

Piriformis muscle is located between the sacral spine and hip joints, it passes through the greater sciatic foramen in the pelvis with the sciatic nerve and blood vessels. Piriformis syndrome is a common tunnel neuropathy. Strong tension piriformis muscle can occur at squeezing the last lumbar root or the first sacral vertebrae or failed intramuscular injections in the gluteal region. Voltage piriformis leads to constriction of the sciatic nerve and blood vessels supplying it.

The sciatic nerve can be affected by various injuries and injuries of the pelvis, inflammatory diseases, malignant and benign tumors of large cysts and pelvic pathology at different gluteal region, the sacroiliac joint and the hip joint.

The defeat of the sciatic nerve at the level of space Subpiriforme

The defeat of the sciatic nerve at the level of Subpiriforme space can manifest as piriformis syndrome. For this syndrome is characterized by aching, nagging pain in the gluteal region, the sacroiliac and hip joints. Pain becomes stronger when walking in an upright position when activated thigh and subsides when lying and sitting with spread legs. Tapping in the piriformis muscle causes pain throughout the back surface of the lower limbs (symptom Vilenkin). When piriformis syndrome can cause problems with urination, often they appear mild urinary retention.

Piriformis syndrome is almost always accompanied by compression of blood vessels and the sciatic nerve. Pain while blunt spilled, give the entire leg. The pain may be aggravated by stress, change of weather or simply by warming the affected area. Compression of the blood vessels causes intermittent claudication (because of the pain the patient is forced to stop when walking), the skin turns pale legs while. After a rest and restore blood flow the patient continues to go, but the attacks are repeated.

Lesions of the sciatic nerve at the level of the thigh and lower

If the sciatic nerve is affected at the level of the thigh and lower, the patient has the following features in gait: straightened the leg while walking brought forward because of the predominance of tone specific muscles. This broken leg flexion in the knee joint, terminated active movement in the foot and toes as a result of paresis.

It noted an increase in skin sensitivity in the back and the outside of the leg, the rear feet, soles and toes. When lowering the foot pain may dramatically increase. In the defeat against the backdrop of blood disorders and innervation develop trophic disorders (eating disorders tissues): legs and feet become cold and have a bluish tint, nails change color and shape. The patient becomes difficult (or does not do) on the toes and heels.

Diagnosis and treatment

To assign adequate treatment, it is necessary to know the cause of the disease, that is, to find out why, and at what level was the defeat of the sciatic nerve. To do this, conducted various studies: X-ray of the spine, magnetic rezonanstnaya imaging, consulting a gynecologist, urologist, proctologist, the exclusion of inflammatory processes and tumors in the pelvis.

After identifying the main causes of the disease it trying to eliminate or minimize its impact on the sciatic nerve. For pain relief medication use (analgesics, relieves muscle spasm and improves blood circulation drugs) and non-drug (physiotherapy, therapeutic exercises, manual therapy) methods.

Often during the neuropathy of the sciatic nerve becomes long recurrent nature, in such a case is very good spa treatment.