Top Health Tips on Managing Sciatica

Ways To Treat Degenerative Disc Disease And Spondylosis!

MD, FIPP
Pain Management Specialist, Kolkata
Ways To Treat Degenerative Disc Disease And Spondylosis!
It is important for you to know about degenerative disc disease (DDD) and spondylosis. Spondylosis is an umbrella term for spine pain, which occurs because of degenerative conditions. Spondylosis refers to several conditions. They include spinal stenosis, which is the abnormal narrowing of the spinal canal, leading to leg pain, degeneration due to DDD and degenerative arthritis or osteoarthritis involving the spine. It may also include cervical osteoarthritis or neck arthritis.

Spondylosis is a common condition, which is age related. The joints and discs present in the neck are specifically affected as a result of this condition. It commonly develops on account of the wear and tear of the cartilage and bones present in the neck. This condition, in spite of being common, worsens with age. In many patients, symptoms are not observed externally, but pain and muscle spasms are experienced.

Many people with spondylosis do not undertake treatment in spite of suffering from the symptoms and pain. In case the symptoms are prevalent over a long time and tend to worsen, you have several modes of treatment to choose from. They may include medicines, corticosteroid injections, physical therapy and even surgery in some extreme cases.

How does DDD or spondylosis occur?

DDD is a spinal condition. It is caused due to the breakdown of the intervertebral discs. With ageing, the spine starts to show signs of wearing and tearing. This happens on account of the discs drying out and shrinking. All these age-related changes are responsible for arthritis, spinal stenosis and disc herniation. Because of these factors, pressure is likely to fall on your nerves and spinal cords, which may further cause back pain. DDD or spondylosis also develops on account of these factors.

Treatment for DDD and spondylosis

There are various modes of treatment, which are available for you to choose from in order to get relief from the symptoms and pain associated with DDD or spondylosis. It can be medicines. You may be prescribed typical painkiller medications, such as non- steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDS, muscle relaxants, oral steroids,etc, It can be physical therapy like ultrasound and massage, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) etc. When above modalities fails interventional pain management may do miracles. There are few interventional procedures like epidurals, Rami communicantes fibre RF, or some intradiscal procedures. Rarely these patients needs surgery.

Every mode of treatment has got its own benefits, but has its limitations as well.
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5 Causes Of Sciatica Pain And Its Treatment!

MD, FIPP
Pain Management Specialist, Kolkata
5 Causes Of Sciatica Pain And Its Treatment!
The sciatic nerve spreads down the spine till the legs. The pain in this nerve can feel like sparks running down your back of leg from buttock area. Anything that puts weight on or aggravates this nerve can cause pain that shoots down the back of one butt cheek or thigh. The amount of pain can increase gradually. Sciatica may feel like a gentle ache, a sharp sensation or extreme uneasiness. Sciatica can bring feelings of shivering, numbness and weakness.

Sitting, standing up, coughing, sneezing, lifting, or straining for a very long time, might aggravate pain. Now and then, individuals experience numbness or shivering in the leg, too.

Some of the most regular symptoms of sciatic pain include:

Pain in the buttock and/or back of leg when sitting or walking
Hip pain
Burning sensation in the leg
Numbness or trouble moving the leg or foot
Shooting pain that makes it hard to stand up properly
The most common causes of sciatic pain include:

Lumbar spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal channel in the lower back)
Degenerative disk disease (breakdown of discs, which go about as pads between the vertebrae)
Spondylolisthesis (a condition in which one vertebra slips over another)
Piriformis syndrome
Muscle spasms
How to treat:

Visit doctor early, have a proper diagnosis. As you can see that several diseases can cause sciatica, diagnosis is very important before starting treatment. Outline of treatment:

No exercises during acute painful condition. No absolute rest is also needed. Do normal daily activities.
Medications to relieve nerve pain, like pregabalin etc.
Interventional pain management is the best way to confirm the diagnosis, relieve pain, and cure the condition.
Surgery is rarely needed.
6955 people found this helpful

Top Ways To Get Pain Relief From Sciatica

MPT, BPT
Physiotherapist, Noida
Top Ways To Get Pain Relief From Sciatica
Sciatica is probably one of those things which is vaguely familiar but a person is not fully aware of it. The sciatic nerve is one which is part of the spine and then spreads out over the legs. When this nerve gets pinched, it leads to sciatica, or pain of the sciatic nerve, which is tremendous! But, then, what exactly is a person to do in order to reduce the pain caused on account of sciatica?


The best answer for this is not medication, though it does have its uses, but rather, exercises which help the situation improve and reduce the risk of the person going mad due to the pain! One of the simplest exercises that a person can start with is known quite commonly as the knee to shoulder exercise. All that one needs to do is to lie down on the back and then, raise one knee and pull it across the body, with hands wrapped around it, so that it touches the opposite shoulder. This position of the knee touching the shoulder is to be held for about half a minute. About 3 repetitions need to be done and the same with the other side.


While it is important in the effort to relieve pain due to sciatica, it is equally important not to push oneself beyond natural limits, especially initially as this can cause injury. After all, more pain is the last thing which a person with sciatica is likely to want!


Since it is important to keep in mind the fact that consistency is one of the key secrets to reducing the sciatic pain, it is worth keeping in mind the standing hamstring stretch. What this exercise can boast of is the fact that it is one which can be done nearly anywhere. Also, it is pretty simple, too!


To do the standing hamstring stretch, one leg needs to be kept on an elevated surface which is not as high as the level of the hip. It is important to keep in mind that the leg is to be kept straight. The torso needs to then be bent towards the elevated leg. This process should be done slowly and again, maintained for about half a minute.


The sitting pose is useful to remember, as well. Sitting on the floor, one leg s ankle should rest on the other s knee. Like the standing hamstring stretch, the upper torso is to be bent towards the extended leg. With all these exercises, relief is not far away!
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Sciatica - Things To Know About It

Bachelor in TCM, Diploma in Acupuncture, Diploma in Naturopathy & Yogic Science (DNYS)
Acupuncturist, Mumbai
Play video
Namaskaar,

I am Santosh Kumar Pandey. So today I'm in front of you to share something very special and which is very common nowadays I'm seeing lots of patients suffering from sciatica. Sciatica mostly app logo ko pata hai ki sciatica kya cheez hoti hai, lekin fir bhi I would like to just give you a brief about that and what we can help into that. So you know most of the problems are due to our lifestyle, so what is that and why it is? sometimes it's common, sometime it's uncommon, but it's still what I'm seeing at my clinic right from youngest to very old ages patients are coming for the lower back pain. The pain, it travels towards the knee, some time till the ankle from the mid of the back to side-ward of the legs, knees and it's reaching to the toes also, sometimes small toes. I'm seeing that patients are suffering from sciatica, so why is it so common?

First, what I do understand is due to our lifestyle, why lifestyle? we are not exercising properly, we are not taking care of the health properly or our working style, working hours, sitting longer hours. So most of the patients they are like in the 30s and 40s, 45s and sometimes 50s also and I would say it is the unbearable type of pain they are suffering. Most commonly what I have seen are the girls after the pregnancy, they are coming to us for the pain and people who are actually working on the computer all the time or sitting for longer hours or carrying weight. Jo log bahut jyada wajan dhote hain, proper stretches nhi karte hain, so sabse badi baat hai ki yadi unhone ne dhyaan nhi diya aur ye puraana hota gya, it becomes chronic then and it's really very difficult and then there they had it. So at our clinic we are taking a lot of care for that and we are getting lots of wonderful results and I would say within ten to twenty days they're out of the problem.

So what do we do? first we check a lot of things and then we check their muscles with piriformis assist, very tight, very stiff and then of course along with that we avoid their lifestyle problems and whatever they are suffering. So what we do normally? we start with checking SLR(straight leg raise), if SLR is positive, of many cases SLR is positive of course, so we do acupuncture for them, we do physiotherapy exercises for them and the third part is their diet. So in diet we suggest what is avoidable for them it's like khatta-teekha, people are having lots of sour and spice and all these things, so mostly we avoid their bad eating habits and acupuncture is one of the magical treatment from what I am seeing at my clinic and this month I think I have seen more than 30 sciatic patients and why I am talking eagerly about this case?

because if they are not taking care of sciatica or back pain, if it becomes very chronic then it is very difficult to handle. Log 10-15 saal suffer karte hain aur bahut saare cases mein kuch din ke liye dard kuch kam ho jata hai, subside ho jata hai and again it comes back and if it remains for a longer period, it is very difficult to deal with. so friends agar kabhi bhi yadi agar kisi ko bhi aapne dekha ki is tarah ka pain ho raha hai, sciatic nerve compress ho rahi hai. It is almost a disc like cell, open the reports or MRI scan and you will see their is a herniation of the disc. So acupuncture along with exercise, physiotherapy exercises and postural awareness and with the diet, it is very much curable very much treatable.

Thanks a lot!
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Slip Disk Problem - How To Avert It?

Multi Speciality, Chandigarh
Slip Disk Problem - How To Avert It?
Slip disk is a condition of the spinal column which consists of a stack of vertebras from the cervical, thoracic and the lumbar spine. The bones of the spine are cushioned by disks that are present to absorb shocks. Trauma to the spine may cause the disk to bulge or be ruptured. This may lead to pain in the neck and the back.

Causes of slip disk

Slip disk is caused when the jelly-like substance present in the disks bulges out. The damaged disk thus puts pressure on the adjacent nerve causing excruciating pain. The various causes of a slipped disk are:

1. Incorrect form during exercise
If you are into weight lifting, it is important that you use proper form during exercising. Moves like barbell squat and deadlifts can put pressure on the spine and lead to disk problems, if not done correctly. Make sure you work on your core strength and keep your lower back straight while exercising.

2. Smoking
Smoking causes the disks to lose their flexibility and thus, increases the risk of slipped disk.

3. Ageing
Ageing decreases the content of water in the spine, thus leading to inflexibility.

Symptoms

The symptoms of slip disk are:

1. Pain on one side of the body that tends to aggravate over time
2. Activities such as sitting and coughing may lead to pressure on the spine causing pain
3. Your range of motion on certain movements may be restricted
4. Pain in the neck while moving it
5. Numbness in the shoulder and the neck region
6. You may experience tingling sensations in the genitals, hips and the legs
7. You may have muscles spasms which lead to a sudden contraction of the muscles
8. It may also lead to partial paralysis of the lower body

Prevention

1. If you are overweight, try to reduce weight and then focus on maintaining healthy weight levels
2. Maintain proper posture while sitting or standing
3. Exercise on a regular basis to build strength and keep your joints healthy
4. Don't remain in seated position for an extended period of time. Take small breaks in between to stretch
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Sciatica - How Ayurveda Can Treat It?

BAMS, MD - Ayurveda
Ayurvedic Doctor, Hyderabad
Sciatica - How Ayurveda Can Treat It?
Gridhrasi is what Sciatica is known as in Ayurveda. It is the disorder that causes mild to agonizing pain in the sciatic nerve or neuralgia. These nerves, emerging from the pelvis, run along the hamstring and may cause intense pain in one or both the legs when a person suffers from Sciatica. Sciatic pains fill your life with misery as the simplest of daily activities cause sudden and excruciating pain. There are two types of sciatia i.e. true sciatica and pseudo sciatica. Sciatica may be caused due to bulging disc or herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, piriformis syndrome, pregnancy or trauma etc.

According to Ayurveda, Sciatica is caused due to impairment in Vata i.e. the dosha responsible for the functional ability and movement of the body, and also in some cases due to impairment in the Kapha i.e. the dosha that is responsible for body fluids and lubrication.

Ayurvedic herbs that improve the symptoms of Sciatica are:

1. Babunah is also known as Bitter Chamomile. Not only is it used to relieve and reduce the pain faced by a sciatica patient, but it is also used for treating problems such as rheumatism due to the advancement of age. Compressed bitter chamomile flowers are prescribed for sciatica.

2. Guggulu is also known as Indian Bdellium. Since guggulu is well known for its anti-inflammatory properties, it relaxes the sciatic nerves.

3. Rasna is also known as Vanda Orchid. Intense or agonizing pain due to the sciatic nerve issues can be reduced by this ayurvedic herb due to its anti-inflammatory properties.

4. Juniper oil is extremely helpful when massaged onto the thigh muscles with firm strokes or pressure. It is used extensively in massage therapy for treating sciatica since the extent of reduction in sciatic nerve pain is tremendous.

5. Jaiphal is also known as Nutmeg. After being mixed with sesame seeds oil, nutmeg is coarsely powdered and then fried till it turns brown. This is then applied to those areas where the sciatic pain is intense for instant relief.

6. Kumari is also known as Indian Aloe. Properties of Indian Aloe are extremely helpful in treating lower back ailments such as sciatica and lumbago.

7. Shallaki is also known as Boswellia or Frankincense. Containing anti-inflammatory properties, shallaki is applied externally to get relief from sciatic nerve pain.

Ayurvedic preparations such as yogaraja guggulu, Vataganjakusha, Saindhavadi taila are also very useful in treating Sciatica.
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Sign and Symptoms of Slipped Disc

BAMS, MD - Ayurveda Medicine
Ayurvedic Doctor, Jaipur
Sign and Symptoms of Slipped Disc
When do you know that one of your discs from the spine has been slipped off from its original position? Here are some conditions and cases, as per our knowledge and these are different from low back and neck. First let s talk about the neck; it s more upper and closer to the brain!

Giddiness, Pain travelling in the arms, pain and tenderness in the cardiac region of chest and certainly you can have numbness and tingling sensations in your hands- all this is not about any of the heart problems, always! These are the most common signs and symptoms of the cervical disc compression and in most the cases patients reached to us with some complaints of cardiac problems in all such cases.

Besides this, other patients start feeling that they have something in their brain and they would have gone for MRI or CAT SCAN of Brain for the same condition because of severe headache and giddiness with some nausea along with these!

Why does the pain reflect on the different locations?

When the disc compresses any segment of the spinal cord or one of the nerves emerging from the part, the nerve will carry the sensation, without any external trigger for the pain or burning sensation in the area, supplied by that part of the spine or corresponding nerves. Certainly, if nerves are tingling these will affect the muscles for sure, supplied by the same nerves.

When this condition appears in neck, it will affect the parts supplied by the cervical nerves which emerge from between C1-C2/ C2-C3/ C4-C4/ C4-C5/ C5-C6/C6-C7/C7-C8 or C8-T1 vertebral bodies. These nerves from cervical region supplies to the muscles of head, upper back, arms, neck itself, chest region and sides of the chest. So wherever the supply goes, pain appears in the corresponding regions.



Same is the story of the lower back well known as Lumbar Region or Lumbo-sacral region of the spine. Nerves emerging from the lumbar region, supply to the lower limbs up to the toe, lower back and

The symptoms of a herniated disc: symptoms will be according to the location. The mostly affected areas are cervical region (neck); and lumber region (lower back).

When it is in neck region the symptoms will be as follows:

Pain which may radiate in arms.
Numbness/ tingling sensation in arms
Stiffness in neck
Difficulty in neck movements
Headache and giddiness, specially, while rising from bed
Symptoms of herniated disc in lower back are:

Pain in lower back which radiates into one or both legs
Numbness or tingling or sensation of in areas of one or both legs
Stiffness in lower back
Pain increases if fellow remains in same posture for long time period.
Muscle weakness or wasting of muscle mass in certain muscles of one or both legs
Loss of the reflexes in one or both legs
Depending on the nerve affected by the herniated disc the location of above said symptoms will differ and not surprisingly, both the areas of the spine might be effected at a single time, because vertebral column is a unit, certainly it will behave like a unit. If you wish to discuss any specific problem, you can consult an ayurveda.
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Lower Back Pain - 4 Yoga Asanas For Treating it

MD, DYA, PGDCR
Ayurvedic Doctor, Nashik
Lower Back Pain - 4 Yoga Asanas For Treating it
Lower back pain is one of the most common ailments among adults all across the world. You may wake up in the morning with an energising drink before going out to work. After you arrive at work, you may have to sit there till lunch, which involves further sitting and you are required to sit for more hours for completing the remaining work. Then you come back home by sitting in the car and have the night s meal while again sitting. Did you know sitting through the day is the major culprit behind your back pain? Thankfully, yoga has effective ways of treating back pain to a considerable degree.

You can choose to do the following yoga poses for alleviating your back ache:

Supine hamstring stretch: You will have to lie back on your back and bend the right knee to the chest. Then you will have to place a rolled-up towel around the football and straighten the leg towards the ceiling and press both the heels. In case your lower back feels strained, you can bend your left knee and place the foot right on the ground. Hold the position for about 3 to 5 minutes and practice regularly for soothing back pain.
Two knee twist: You will have to bend your knees to the chest while lying on the back and try to bring out the arms forming a T-shape. Then try to exhale and lower down the knees on the ground towards your right side. Keep both the shoulders pressed down firmly and hold this position for about 2 minutes for best results.
Sphinx: You will have to prop yourself on the forearms while lying on the stomach. You will then have to align the elbows right under the shoulders and press through the tops and palms of the feet. You are likely to feel terrific sensations down your lower back, but it is advised to bear through it as it allows the flow of blood to that region which is required for healing. Practice the position regularly and hold it for at least one minute.
Thread the needle: This is quite an easier pose where you will have to lie flat on your back by bending both the knees with your feet flat on the ground. You will now have to bend the right knee by placing the outer left ankle through the right thigh. You will have to thread the right hand between the leg and interlace the hands behind the left thigh.
These positions would help in soothing your lower back pain, but it is recommended to consult a doctor if the pain still persists. Ayurvedic Tiktaksheer basti, massage therapy and certain oral medicines can help a lot in speedy recovery from spine/back related problems.

Ayurved has a very unique way of drug administration called Basti in which various medicines are given through the anus ( Rectal route)...For Lumbosacral / spine disorders a very specialised form of enema Tiktaksheer Basti (Medicated Bitter Milk enema) is given which shows amazing results. Kindly consult a specialized Ayurvedic practitioner for additional details.

Kati Basti (Vasti) is a traditional Ayurvedic treatment used for lower backache and disorders of lumbosacral region, including slip disc, lumbar spondylosis, sciatica, spinal problems etc. Kati Vasti is a part of external oleation (Snehana) therapy in Ayurveda. It is very safe, non-invasive and green category procedure.

In this procedure, you will get instant relief from backache. After completing a course of 7 to 21 days, you may not need any kind of oral medicines. It is a complete therapy for back pain and lumbosacral disorders.

However, the results vary person to person, but in most of cases, people get quick relief after the procedure.
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Disc Related Problem - Do you Think You Need Surgery?

B.P.T, M.P.T
Physiotherapist, Hyderabad
Disc Related Problem - Do you Think You Need Surgery?
You might be an elite athlete or just a commoner. There is always a possibility for you to develop back pain while carrying out your daily activities. You might not be aware, but regular activities like sitting at the computer, running on the treadmill or simply crawling into your bed for a good night's sleep can affect the health of your spine. You are always at the risk of damaging your spine. These damages lead to back pain. It has been found that faulty postures can cause back pain by causing straining of the back muscles, injuring the tendons and damaging the vertebrae or ligaments. Back pain can be caused due to the overuse of a particular activity or for undertaking a new activity. Besides all these possibilities, most people put the blame on their discs for back pain.

What is a disc?

The human spine is composed of 24 bony vertebrae. These are placed one on top of the other. There is a thin intervertebral disc between each vertebrae. These discs look like jam doughnuts. They are made up of a hard outer shell known as the annulus fibrosis. They have a soft, jelly-like inner core known as the nucleus pulposus. They are shock absorbers.

What Happens To The Discs When An Injury Occurs?

The jelly-like soft core in the discs can often get shifted as a result of the accident or injury. Thus, the discs become a reason behind back pain. The pain could be due to the problems with the disc while carrying out tasks like

Prolonged sitting

Bending

Lifting

Twisting

Pulling

Symptoms Of Disc-Related Pain:

Symptoms tend to vary due to the nature of the injury and the damage caused. However, some common symptoms have been listed below:

Localised back pain

Pain in thighs, lower legs and feet

Tingling sensations

Numbness or muscular weakness

Treatment-

It is best to consult a doctor to know about the treatment needed for back pain related to disc. Initial treatment after detection of the problem includes the following ways:

Intake of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and pain medication.

Application of heat and ice packs.

Physiotherapy.

Home exercise program as suggested by the doctor.

Practicing of core and lumbar strengthening exercises.

One must stop movements that aggravate the pain and don t take difficult physical activities. You must take adequate rest to set things right.

Do You Need Any Surgery?

It is not always needed for all disc related problems. Most issues with the disc vanish after a week. Surgery is sought only after nonsurgical treatments prove useless. The decision must be taken by a doctor.
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Cure for Slipped Disc

MD - Ayurveda
Ayurvedic Doctor, Jaipur
Cure for Slipped Disc
We have cured almost 10000 patients for slipped disc, few of them were in a complicated state and were not able to walk or move for few steps too. Those were relieved with complete Ayurvedic treatments and that too without any surgery or further distress. We do it by all Ayurvedic way, through Ayurvedic Remedies, Panchakarma and Yoga.testimonial_cured_withoutSurgery

How do we cure Slipped Disc?
When we claim that we can cure a condition where surgery is just like a mandatory condition- it sounds a false statement, a hoax call or just another overconfidence claim? This might sound like this! Not an issue!! We don t believe in making some calls, we do rely on the feedback of cured patients of slipped disc. This is all about those persons, patients who came to us crying with pain and departed with smiles on their faces.

We align the spine in its normal position- this is how we cure the condition! Yes, we do exactly the same. Spine or vertebral column is just like an axis of the body and if this axis shifts on one side- due to any reason- this will certainly imbalance the body. This imbalance is exerted on the spine in form of spasm of muscles and that forces the vertebrae to move out of its place and press the nerves. This slipped or protruded disc exerts pressure on the nerves which translates in making mild to severe pain in low back to the lowest of the leg. We do all this in three different steps-

Oleation of the spine and surrounding muscles
Relaxing the muscles and body
Aligning the spine in its real shape.
Oleation of the Spine and Surrounding muscles:

Stiff things are hard to move and if we force these to move, surely we will hurt the stiffened tissue. This is what modern conventional chiropractors and physiotherapists keep on doing in all these cases and have least success with them. We do it according to the ancient Vedic Knowledge and some time-tested techniques of Panchakarma and Ayurveda as per one s requirements and body type.

Relaxing the muscles and nerves of the body:

Along with the first step, we keep on relaxing the muscles so that there won t be a single percent of stiffness and hardness in the body. This is being done to make the neuromuscular junctions smooth and easy to maintain. This step ensures that we will be able to place the things in the right place in next step. This is done through Ayurvedic Medicines.

Aligning the spine in its real shape:

Spine is inverted S shaped and if we can maintain the curves of the spine everything will be in its own place. This we do with help of some Yoga techniques, we have developed in previous years.

These are the three steps we perform one by one or all together for making the spinal column in its own shape. This is what we do with a perfection and we have almost 95% percent results in curing the slipped disc condition without surgery. 5% patients are those who became very careless with the time and were not able to continue the treatment or follow the regime. Our team of dedicated physicians and therapists is well trained and we are working since last 7 years in field of Ayurveda.
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