Sciatica is pain that can occur in the lower back, buttock, leg or foot. If you are someone who is suffering from sciatica, at times you may feel muscle weakness, numbness, or tingling. Sciatica may be caused by a herniated disc, pregnancy, spinal degeneration or misalignment, spinal tumors (rarely), or trauma.
Physical therapy can be a useful method to help alleviate the painful side effects of sciatica in a healthy way. Physical therapy is a great aid used to help restore the body to normal movement and flexibility while reducing pain. Passive treatments, such as massage therapy, are used during physical therapy
for patients who suffer with sciatica in order to prepare the body for therapeutic exercise.
Physical Therapy for Sciatica includes ultrasound, massage, cold/heat therapies, low level laser therapy, electrotherapy and exercise. These practices include the following:
• Ultrasound: Ultrasound reaches deep into the muscle tissues with sound waves, decreasing pain, stiffness, cramping and muscle spasms.
• Massage: The tension that may be irritating the sciatic nerve and instigating pain can be released with a deep tissue massage because it works the tissues and muscle of the lower back.
• Cold/Heat Therapies: Cold therapy and heat therapy provide a temporary relief to pain by targeting different parts of the area that is suffering from pain. Cold therapy helps to minimize inflammation and pain, while heat escalates circulation in order to speed up the healing process.
• Low Level Laser Therapy: Low level laser therapy can help stimulate nerve functioning and can intensify circulation. This therapy uses a light (infrared or near-infrared) to stimulate impaired cells and support with healing and repair.
• Electrotherapy: This form of therapy stops a person from experiencing pain by disrupting the nerves from sending pain signals or neurological messages, to the brain.
• Exercise: Therapeutic exercise is crucial part of any treatment plan if it is supervised by trained professionals in Belmar, NJ who understand the needs and limitations related to lower back conditions such as sciatica. With proper exercise, our patients can start to rebuild their strength, increase their flexibility and restore the spine’s range of motion.
Sciatica Treatment at Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation in Belmar
Along with the six treatments explained above, Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation also offers PowerPlate technology in Belmar, NJ. The damaged tissues and muscles in the body can be restored by increasing circulation, which can be done with PowerPlate vibrations. These vibrations can also assist patients with restoring mobility and flexibility.
Besides physical therapy treatment, Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation provides chiropractic care and acupuncture as other options for patients who suffer from sciatica.Pain
Since we deliver several non-invasive treatments to treat sciatica, it is important for our doctors at Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation of Belmar to be able to complete full neurological and orthopedic examinations, including the use of x-rays. It is even more crucial that our doctors are certified to read and review results of MRI imaging to give our patients the most convenient options for healing.
