Sciatic Nerve Pain Self Help

Are you suffering from sciatic nerve pain (sciatica)? What are you using to relieve the pain, heat or ice? Many have the misconception, when it comes to sciatic nerve pain treatment, that heat is what will ease the pain. There are many opinions when it comes to sciatica treatment but, the rule of thumb to use, is to base the decision on the symptoms.

~If there is inflammation present which is indicated by swelling along with intense sharp pain then, ice is what you will want to use, just as you would with a sprain.

~If you are experiencing mild stiffness or are a little sore then this indicates that there isn’t a significant amount of swelling which means that heat will not worsen the pain and can help ease it instead.

Heat deadens the nerve receptors which is why heat almost always feels good however, when the sciatic nerve suffers injury or trauma, it swells and becomes inflamed. This is the sharp severe or intense pain you feel so, when you first experience the pain avoid heat for a minimum of 48 hours. This is to ensure that swelling and inflammation do not develop, if it does and you apply heat you will only worsen the inflammation and feel even more pain when you remove the heat.

Suffering from sciatica for many years I found this to be true. I have always been told to lay on heating pad, then after removing the heat suffered from even more severe pain until recently when I decided to try ice, that is when I discovered that the ice worked much better than the heat.

One of the best anti-inflammatory measures that you can implement is the use of ice packs. If you have ever visited a doctor for a sprain ankle, wrist or other injury where swelling and inflammation are present they would have told you that. The ice reduces the swelling as well as the inflammation, it may be uncomfortable when the ice is applied but the short term discomfort is well worth the long term relief.

If you have applied a topical analgesic such as, Icy Hot, Ben Gay, Theragesic, Biofreeze, or any other, do not apply ice or heat until the effects have completely worn off or you can suffer from skin damage or irritation. When you do use ice packs, or heat for that matter, be sure to place a cloth between the ice or heat and your skin this is also to help prevent skin damage.

When applying heat or ice you should only apply it for twenty minuets once every two hours, once an hour if pain is severe but, to help avoid skin damage try to do it every two. hours. It will take time to feel the heat or cold through a cloth so, wait until you actually feel the heat or cold before you start timing.

People who have impaired circulation or decreased skin sensitivity due to nerve damage, diabetes or from anything else, should check with a doctor first before applying ice or heat.

After many years of suffering from sciatica I finally found some information that help me cure my sciatica and also helped with long term preventive measures to keep it from recurring. Click Here to find out how I did it.