Physical therapy treatment and exercises are always considered the first-line treatment to relieve pain and other symptoms.
What Is Sciatica?
Sciatica is a nerve pain caused by an injury or irritation in the sciatica nerve that usually originates in the buttock area. The sciatica nerve is considered the longest and the thickest nerve in your entire body. It comprises five nerve roots, out of which two are from the lower back region, which is called the lumbar spine, and three from the final section of the spine, which is called sacrum. The five nerve roots come together to form the left and right sciatica nerve. On each side of your body, one sciatica nerve runs through your hips, buttocks, and down the leg that ends just below the knee.
How Does Sciatica Pain Feel Like?
Different people describe sciatica pain differently, which usually depends on its cause. Some describe it as sharp or shooting, while others describe it as burning pain.
There can be a constant pain, or the pain may even come and go. Also, the pain may be more severe in your leg than in your lower back. The pain may even feel worse if you sit or stay in a standing position for a longer period. A force or any sudden body movements like coughing or sneezing may also worsen the pain. A trained physical therapist for sciatica pain relief East Providence, RI, can be very helpful in helping you to get relief from the pain and discomfort.
Physical Therapy Exercise For The Treatment Of Sciatica
Physical therapy combines different types of physical or manual soft tissue mobilization, exercises, etc. The various kinds of physical therapy techniques used for treating sciatica pain are as follows:
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Extension And Flexion Back Exercises - It helps relieve pain by promoting movement in your spine. The main goal is the reduction of the radiating symptoms that originate from the spine. It is often seen that individuals with lower back pain and sciatica feel relief with various specific directional movements of the spine. A physical therapist usually evaluates an individual's directional preference before prescribing specific directional exercise because these are always specialized treatments depending upon the individual's condition.
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The Mckenzie Method - Mckenzie method is a technique that involves a series of active directional movements for identifying and treating the source of the pain in the muscles or the spine, or your joints. The process usually focuses on moving the radiating pain to the body's center. For example, it refers to the movement of the leg pain closer to your spine. The main theory behind the exercise is that centralizing the pain indicates improvement of the symptoms.
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Strengthening Exercises - Strengthening exercises refer to bodyweight and resistance exercises to strengthen the low back, hips, or legs muscles. Some strengthening activities include:
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Isometric Exercise - Isometric exercise involves contracting the muscles without any movement of the joints. Some examples of isometric exercise are plank or bridge hold, etc. These exercises can be beneficial in strengthening the muscles when the symptoms are acute. |
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Isotonic Exercise - Isotonic exercise includes the contraction of a muscle for resisting a constant load, such as resistance bands and weight training for helping to increase the muscle strength for resistance constantly to some specific motions.
A certified physical therapist Warwick, RI, can help you with proper guidance on performing these exercises.
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Functional Retraining - It involves reintroducing various movements such as carrying, lifting, squatting, or bending. Using proper technique and healthy movement patterns are incorporated for reducing the pain and preventing re-injury. A certified physical therapist of Warwick, RI, can help you with adequate guidance on performing these exercises.
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Joint Mobilization - Joint mobilization is a type of manual therapy technique. It is a therapy where the therapist applies pressure to the joint for mobilizing it and producing a therapeutic effect.
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Dry Needling - Dry needling is a technique where a certified physical therapist uses a small needle to target a muscle's trigger point. The method is usually performed to release hyper-irritable or hyper-contracted muscles to reduce pain.
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Myofascial Release - Myofascial release includes a therapist who uses their hands or any other instrument to mobilize the tissues present in your lower back, hips, legs for treating the fascial restriction and decreasing the muscle tension or spasm.
Conclusion
Physical therapy treatment methods can be very beneficial for providing long-term relief from pain or inflammation. There are various causes of sciatica pain, such as herniated disc, spinal stenosis, arthritis, etc., which can be treated well with multiple techniques or exercises of physical therapy. You may contact a certified physical therapist for sciatica pain relief at East Providence, RI, to guide you with the right kind of techniques and methods for providing relief from sciatica pain.
