bone, joint, and muscle disorders
Sciatica
Treatment of Sciatica
Measures to relieve pain Sometimes surgery for severe pain Often, the pain goes away on its own. If it does not, people can try several methods of pain relief or may require surgery. Stretching the hamstring muscles gently after warming up may help. One to two days of bed rest may provide pain relief. Longer bed rest weakens the core muscles and increases stiffness, thus worsening back pain and prolonging recovery. For many people, sleeping on their side with the knees bent and a pillow between the knees provides relief. People who sleep on their back can place a pillow under their knees. People can continue to sleep on their stomach if they are comfortable doing so. Applying Cold therapy (cryotherapy) (such as ice packs) or Physical Therapy (PT) and stretching the hamstring muscles gently after warming up may help relieve muscle spasms. (See also If a herniated disk is causing relentless or chronic sciatica, especially if accompanied by weakness and/or loss of sensation, surgical removal of the bulging part of the disk (diskectomy) and sometimes part of the vertebra (laminectomy) may be necessary. A general anesthetic is usually required. The hospital stay is usually 1 or 2 days. Often, microsurgical techniques, with a small incision and regional spinal anesthesia (which numbs only a specific part of the body), can be used to remove the herniated portion of the disk. Hospitalization for this procedure is usually not required. After either procedure, most people can resume all of their activities in 6 weeks to 3 months. Surgery tends to result in faster recovery than treatment without surgery. However, after about a year or two, people treated with and without surgery have about the same degree of recovery. Different surgical procedures are needed for people with sciatica due to other disorders such as lumbar spinal stenosis or spinal tumor. 