The Best Ways to Find Relief for Sciatic Pain

Sciatic pain is the pain that starts off at the bottom of the back and travels right down to the feet in a discomforting manner. The path of sciatic pain testifies as to the biological nature of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve is the longest and widest single nerve in the human body. It extends unabated from the base of the spinal column right to the toes on your feet. So when sciatic pain hits you the numbness, itchiness and inflammation around the legs is a direct result of the sciatic nerve. Sciatic pain is primarily caused by sitting or standing for long periods of time, weight lifting and even toe touching exercises. Fortunately, there is relief for sciatic pain.

Exercise those leg and back muscles with hamstring exercises. Hamstring exercises are pretty simple once you get the hang of it. You lie on your back and hold the back of your thigh. Gently you then proceed to lift your entire leg, holding it at a 90 degree angle with the ground. This stretching will get rid of any numbness and is one of the best forms of nerve pain treatment.

Together with the hamstring exercise you can try out the psoas stretch. With the psoas you again lie on your back but this time you bend both knees and raise them to your chest. This helps flex lower back muscles that may have been tightened and tensed up by prolonged periods of sitting.

Acupuncture is a form of physiotherapy whereby hair thin needles are pressed into skin pores to relieve tension related conditions. Try acupuncture of the lower back, right down to the feet. The flow of blood and energy is almost instantly increased and the result is a mild comforting feeling that comes quicker than the knockout feel of an anesthetic.

Ice packs can be used as an effective form of sciatic nerve pain treatment. Take your ice packs and rub them over the affected areas gently. The next thing you should do is apply a heat pack for the same duration of time. It is way better to use both because the changes in temperature help to optimize temperatures in the back.

A massage is worth it sometimes, especially if you want to release acute pain and replace it with good feelings. Massage therapy is good because it triggers the release of endorphins, feel good hormones. When these endorphins have circulated around the body you will start to notice how the pain begins to go away.

As an alternative you can try pharmaceutical medicines. There are drugs like naproxin that assist in fighting inflammation that comes with sciatic pain. But sometimes injections work faster if they are not excessively used. Injection treatment on the affected area can make use of epidural steroid injections.

Targeted exercises are one of the best treatments for sciatica you can find. Learn more about the causes and treatment options for this condition at the Sciatic Nerve Pain Treatment site.