The very best treatment for sciatica is one that actually works. Since virtually all treatments are unable to cure sciatic nerve pain syndromes and most are even not effective at treating the symptoms of sciatica, finding the best treatment seems like an impossible quest.
However, all is not so grim. There are therapy choices that statistically work better than others to relieve pain. There are also true sciatica cures available for many patients. But, these methods of care are not universally indicated or effectual for all possible causes of sciatica. Therefore, in order to find the best treatment, it is necessary to consider the actual causative process that is enacting the symptomatic expression in every single patient. Once a diagnosis is definitive, then treatment selection can begin in earnest.
This helpful essay delves into the sciatica therapy sector in order to highlight the most effective methods of symptomatic and curative care. Each recommended therapy modality will be described in full and weighed against each other for overall positive and negative aspects of treatment.
Best Treatment for Sciatica-Symptomatic Care
When it comes to symptom-based care, there are many possible candidates that vie to be called the best treatment for sciatica. Just remember that these methods of therapy will never resolve the causative reason for the pain to exist. They will merely make coping with the symptoms easier.
The universal downside to symptomatic therapy is that it must be continued indefinitely in order to remain effectual. This might entail an ongoing investment of time, money and effort in professional care or may be successfully implemented using sciatica home remedies.
Remember that some symptom-based methods involve considerable risk factors, which often multiply as time goes by in treatment. Also, no matter how successful symptomatic care might be, it always is considered poor medical application, since it does nothing to resolve the condition and may actually perpetuate suffering in many scenarios. These disclaimers being understood, the following therapies are statistically cited as being the most effective for temporarily relieving sciatica:
Sciatica drugs are the most commonly utilized and popular methods of care. These might be analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic or even anti-depressants. All of these substances are dangerous and involve sizeable health risk factors.
Acupuncture is not a patient favorite, due to the needles involved. However, the treatment is cited as being especially effective for relieving sciatica symptoms, including both pain and neurological expressions in the legs and feet. Acupuncture can be expensive and is often not covered under many health insurance plans.
Botox injections are especially well suited for relieving sciatica cramps and muscle spasms. They are not generally effective for general pain or other symptoms. Botox is expensive and demonstrates significant risk factors, especially when not administered by a trained specialist.
TENS is hit or miss, with just as many patients reporting good benefits as those who cite a complete lack of efficacy. However, since the treatment can be performed cheaply at home, and demonstrates little risk, it is worth consideration for a trial run by any curious patient.
Massage is a relaxing and positive therapy that also demonstrates good temporary results for reducing the effects of sciatic nerve pain syndromes. Massage can be expensive, depending on the geographic location of services and might also not enjoy coverage under many health insurance programs.
Exercise therapy shows promise for many patients. Exercises can be done as part of a physical therapy program or can be performed without professional assistance. Results for relieving pain are about equal from both types of fitness activities. However, the duration of the effectiveness leans heavily towards patient-controlled activities, rather than professional physical therapy. This citation might have more to do with the emotional interest in a particular activity done for pleasure, when compared to the often clinical nature of physical therapy.
Best Curative Treatment for Sciatica
Curative treatments seek to target the actual source process that is causing sciatica. Since many possible causations exist, including spinal, non-spinal structural, disease-related and mindbody variants of sciatica, curative modalities will each work on very different principles when contrasted against one other:
Spinal decompression is perfectly suited to treat intervertebral disc-related sciatica. Decompression therapy can actually resolve problematic herniations in many patients. However, decompression is costly and may not enjoy insurance reimbursement.
Specific instances of surgery might demonstrate good results. In these cases, patients must be diagnosed with particular types of sciatic nerve conditions that are enacted by verified structural problems which can actually be corrected without causing more harm than good. It must be known that only a minority of patients fall into these categories and most sciatica procedures feature poor results for providing permanent resolution of pain.
Dietary and pharmaceutical treatment can work wonders for some types of pseudo-sciatica, such as those enacted by diabetes. However, for spinally-motivated conditions, these are purely symptomatic modalities.
Knowledge therapy is a great curative option for mindbody types of sciatica. While ineffective for aiding structural pain syndromes, there are no negative effects and there are no inherent costs. Therefore, the program is worth investigating for any patient who may include stress or psychological factors as contributors to their pain.
Best Treatment for Sciatica Recommendations
There is no ubiquitous best treatment for sciatica. There is only the best treatment for a particular type of sciatica, in a particular patient. We wish things were different, but this is statistical fact. Therefore, it is crucial to take an active role in your own healthcare and become knowledgeable in whatever conditions are theorized to be causing your pain.
Be sure to understand if your treatment recommendations are symptomatic or curative in nature before beginning any care regimen. You need to understand how proposed treatments work and how they will act on your symptoms or how they will act on the underlying cause of the symptoms.
Talk to several different doctors, as well as different types of complementary care providers, to get personalized treatment recommendations from each. Research and compare the pros and cons of each method, before making a choice on the best therapy.
In summation, there is no such thing as a best treatment for sciatica. There is only the possibility of finding an ideal treatment for your particular form of sciatica. Keep this in mind and be sure that whatever treatment you choose will be effective for the diagnosed source of your symptomatic expression.
