Of the trillions of nerves throughout your body, the sciatic nerve is the longest. It starts at the bottom of your spine and goes down through your buttocks and the back of your legs. If there’s pressure placed on the nerve (e.g., from a herniated disc or bone spur), it can cause radiating pain known as sciatica.
Sciatica can be chronic for some people, and it can interfere with your everyday activities if you don’t find effective pain relief. A physical therapist can treat you with a variety of methods that can help alleviate the pain while improving the overall quality of the affected area to reduce the risk of future issues.
3 physical therapy treatments that can help sciatic pain
A physical therapist can determine what treatments will be the safest and most effective for your sciatica. They’ll consider the severity of the symptoms, your medical history and your overall wellness goals.
Here are three physical therapy methods that may reduce sciatic pain:
- Therapeutic exercises
Targeted exercises may help you reduce the pain surrounding your sciatic nerve while improving the quality of the affected soft tissue. Your physical therapist can guide you through stretching exercises to reduce the stress placed on the nerve and improve the flexibility of your hip and lower back, decreasing your pain. They’ll also show you strengthening exercises that improve spine stability for less compression on the nerve.
Physical therapy exercises that may help your sciatica include:
Your physical therapist can also design an exercise program for you to complete at home. It can help you continue progress in between sessions and after your treatment is complete.
- Manual therapy
A physical therapist may use manual therapy techniques, which are hands-on treatments for your sciatic area. An effective manual therapy approach for sciatic nerve pain is soft tissue mobilization. It involves the physical therapist moving their hands in massage-like movements on the sciatic area to break up tight tissue that’s causing pain and pressing on the nerve.
- Dry needling
There are several trigger points in your lower limb muscles that can cause sciatic pain if they become irritated, including in the gluteal and hamstring muscles. Your physical therapist can use a practice called dry needling, which involves using thin needles to stimulate the sciatic nerve’s surrounding muscles and trigger points. The needles cause the muscle to contract and release the tension that’s causing your pain, thereby reducing pain and improving mobility.
REPAIR SI provides effective physical therapy for sciatica
The pain and reduced mobility that comes from sciatica can affect your quality of life if left untreated. The good news is that REPAIR SI can help you address the issue with personalized treatment plans that can include exercises, soft tissue mobilization, dry needling and more.
Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.