LOWER BACK PAIN (SCIATICA)
· Sciatica is a symptom caused by lumbar disc herniation and the pain generally affects the back, hip and leg.
· Simply put, the disc between two lumber vertebra compresses over existing nerve routes and causes pain in one or both legs.
· Symptoms of sciatica include
o Tingling and numbness in one or both legs,
o Increase in pain while walking and standing, and
o Partial or complete relief while resting on it in a lying down position.
· The condition can arise from
o Irritation of sciatic nerve or its fibres,
o Lumber disc herniation,
o Degenerative vertebra and muscle inflammation,
o Injury or a tumor.
TREATMENT OPTIONS
· When you experience any of these symptoms, take rest, preferably even bed rest for a few days.
· Avoid bending forward, lifting weights and sitting on the floor.
· Doing back exercises and eating a healthy diet are helpful in treating sciatica.
· Pain management includes treating such diseases with a technique called intervention.
· Intervention is a small injection technique for the root cause of the problem so as to avoid surgery.
· There are two lines of treatment for sciatica: transforaminal block and percutaneous disc decompression.
TRANSFORAMINAL BLOCK
· A lumbar epidural injection near the nerve roots decreases swelling of the spinal nerve and gives relief to the patient.
PERCUTANEOUS DISC DECOMPRESSION
· For chronic severe pain, part of the disc is removed through a technique called percutaneous disc decompression.
· In this technique, that provides long term relief, a special instrument is used under x-ray guidance to remove a slipped disc from the back.
· Using this procedure, hospitalization, surgery and intense rehabilitation, which are required in conventional surgery, are avoided.
HOME REMEDIES
· Gently massage the muscles around the spine with oil at the point of pain, without pressing the spine, cover with a sheet and rest after switching off fans and ACs.
· Using a hot water bottle or sitting in a warm water bathtub helps.
· Avoid direct breeze of fans and ACs on your back.
· Eat light and easily digestible food, and avoid rice, curd, and lemons till the pain reduces.
· Keep your spine strong with calcium intake and walk in the sun for your daily dose of vitamin D.
· Avoid becoming pessimistic and grumpy, as back pain can also be psychosomatic.
· Lose your extra weight to reduce pressure on your back muscles.