sciatica treatment in Cheltenham
Sciatica is a pain that can appear anywhere along the sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in your body. It runs from your lower back through your buttocks and down your leg and sometimes even into your toes. The source of the pain often stems from irritation or compression of this nerve, and is frequently caused by a herniated disc in your spine.
Sciatica disrupts your daily life, whether you are an active person with running sciatica pain, or having difficulty driving with sciatica. We use physio for sciatica to strengthen and mobilize tissues in the lower back, pelvis, abdomen, buttocks, and thighs. We have successfully treated many patients with sciatica in Cheltenham. Unlike other medical professionals, we provide a full assessment, which reveals what’s aggravating the nerve in the first place.
When sciatica is severe, you may find the pain hard to bear and decide to rest for a day or two. However, resting for more than a couple of days is generally not advised, as prolonged rest or inactivity can increase pain and lead to deconditioning. Regular movement is important to allow the flow of healing nutrients to the injured structures that cause pain.
What type of pain is sciatica
The sciatic nerve is the largest in the body, it is up to 2cm wide, and rather than being one nerve it is actually a bundle of nerves. It starts in the lower or lumbar spine, then travels through the buttocks and down the back of the leg to the knee. Here it branches into smaller nerves which go to different areas of the lower leg and foot.
If the sciatic nerve is pinched, irritated or stuck then the nerve will start producing symptoms, usually a combination of pain, tingling, numbness, coldness, or heat. Despite popular opinion you do not have to have lower back pain to have sciatica.
Sciatica is the symptom of an underlying medical condition, this could be a result of compression of the nerve, inflammation, an abnormal immune system response, or a combination of these factors. It is often aggravated by a disc bulge, or a joint or muscle pinching the nerve. Physiotherapy treatment can be very beneficial in all cases.
How Long Does Sciatica Last
The length of time that sciatica lasts can vary greatly from person to person, and in most cases it will go away within 4-6 weeks, but in some cases it could last months.
Ultimately, the sooner you go and get treatment, the more likely you are to find long-term relief.
Sciatica rarely needs surgery, however in the rare circumstance where the nerve is severely compromised then surgery may need to be considered.
Symptoms of Sciatica
Sciatica is often accompanied by pain (sometimes intense, like an electric shock), tingling like pins and needles, burning and/or numbness in areas such as your lower back, thighs, knee, lower leg, ankle or toes. The pain you experience can be a stabbing or shooting sensation, and it may get worse if you perform actions such as coughing, sneezing, or lifting objects. In some cases, it can become difficult to bend your knee or lift your foot.
Understanding the root cause helps us focus on what’s aggravating the nerve, where we think it is appropriate we may refer you for a scan. Only when we know the root cause can any treatment be targeted so that you can achieve sciatic nerve pain relief.
WARNING - If you experience pain in both legs that's severe or getting worse, numbness around genitals or bottom, or have toileting issues then you could have a serious back problem that needs to be treated in hospital as soon as possible, so go to A&E or call 999.
How is Sciatica diagnosed
Sciatica is diagnosed by by physical examination, scans if necessary, and previous medical history history. We will be looking to determine the origin of your sciatic pain, such as muscle strength tests, nerve mobility tests, and testing your range of motion in the lumbar region.
These tests will usually involve checking:
- Walking, as sciatica often causes visible changes in how you walk.
- Straight leg raise test, where on the examination table we slowly raise your legs one at a time as ask when you start to feel the pain.
- Flexibility and strength checks to determine if other factors are causing or contributing to your sciatica.
using a physio for sciatica
We are often asked can a physio help with sciatica, the answer is that physiotherapy is a very effective treatment. It can reduce pain and inflammation, improve physical function and mobility, and with maintenance exercises can prevent sciatica from recurring.
The goal of physiotherapy is to gently relieve painful soft tissue tension by relaxing your body, it combines manual therapy, exercise, massaging the sciatic nerve, and other techniques such as dry needling, a form of acupuncture, to provide pain relief.
Physiotherapy and physical exercises focus on strengthening, stretching, and mobilizing tissues in the lower back, pelvis, abdomen, buttocks, and thighs. Specific exercises used on each individual will depend on their underlying cause of sciatica, the patients level of pain, and overall conditioning. Commitment and frequency are important attributes to a successful treatment outcome when using physiotherapy and exercise for sciatica.
- Strengthening exercises help to achieve strong core muscles which relieve pain by supporting the spine and improve spine movement that lessens the chance of injury.
- Stretching exercises are useful because tight hamstrings can often be a source of pain causing a posterior tilt in the pelvis.
- Manual Therapy
that involves the patient performing gentle muscle contractions as the physio moves painful joints through a specific range of motion.
- Conditioning
targets your whole body, it is used to build strength, speed, agility, and movement.
- Dry needling for sciatica
elicits a pain response from the tissues and relaxes the surrounding muscles. This decreases the strain on the sciatic nerve and increases blood flow to the area reducing pain and speeding up recovery of the injury that caused the sciatica.
- Shockwave therapy for sciatica
is a new, promising treatment option. While there is still much unknown about how exactly it works, there is evidence that it can be an effective treatment for the pain and inflammation associated with sciatica.
- Sports massage for sciatica helps because massaging the sciatic nerve provides a way to ease sciatica pain through a combination of: relaxing tight muscles, improving blood circulation, and reducing stress.
benefits of Physiotherapy for sciatica
We’re experts as assessing what’s going on and resolving issues swiftly so that you can achieve:
- Pain relief: We use a variety of techniques, such as stretching, and exercise, to help alleviate pain and discomfort in the affected area.
- Lasting results: We address the symptoms and the underlying causes of the pain. This means we can help you achieve long-term relief.
- Avoiding surgery: By using non-invasive techniques to target the pain, we can help you avoid more invasive treatments. This can save you time, money and discomfort.
- Improved flexibility: By using targeted stretches and exercises, we can help you improve your range of motion and flexibility in the affected knee, reducing the risk of future issues.
- Improved mobility: We can help you regain range of motion in the affected area by using targeted exercises and stretches - increasing joint freedom.
- Safe and non-invasive: We offer a safe and non-invasive form of treatment for sciatica. Unlike surgery or medication, physiotherapy does not carry the risk of side effects or complications.
- Reduced risk of further injury: Using targeted exercises and stretches, we can help strengthen the muscles around the affected area, which improves stability and reduces the risk of future issues.
Book now
If you are an active person enduring running sciatica pain, or trying to do a gym workout with sciatica, physiotherapy rarely requires scans or invasive treatments such as cortisone injections or surgery.
It is important to bear in mind that recovery from sciatica can be gradual, but private treatment for sciatica can achieve lasting results for the vast majority of people.
We understand that some people may want to find out a bit more about the cost before they book an appointment at our physiotherapy clinic. Our unique save as you recover packages can save you up to 20% on the cost of a single session.
Insured
We can either work directly with your insurance company or we can provide receipts for patients who use cash-based plans so you can reclaim your treatment costs.
Not Insured
You can book an appointment on a self referral basis, without the need for seeing your GP first.
Why Choose Us
No other local physiotherapy clinic can offer you the same level of physiotherapy and rehabilitation that we can, simply because they don't have our level of experience and our in-house gym facilities.
This is how we gained our reputation of treating patients when other physios may have failed.