Sciatica Remedies

Which Sciatica Remedies Can Provide Immediate And Effective Relief?

Sciatica Remedies That Offer Immediate Relief

Sciatica is the term used to define the compression of nerve roots in the lower back of the spine due to a pinched nerve, irritation caused to the nerve, inflammation, twisting or sudden jerk movement, herniated disc, bulging or ruptured disc and any other spinal abnormalities. The Sciatica Nerve is the largest nerve in the human body, which originates from the lower back of the spine, travels through the back of the thigh and leg and ends up on the foot. Back Solutions Clinic can provide the best treatment for Sciatica nerve Melbourne. Lower back pain is the most common problem nowadays of which at least most of the population and people of the world suffers. Due to our sedentary lifestyles and changing routines we are bound to face lower back ache at or another point of time in our lives. It hampers and disturbs one’s personal life, daily routine and also makes it difficult to perform the day to day activities.

The Sciatica nerve pain has the similar impact and affects people’s work and life and also makes it difficult to walk, stand, sit or even sleep. The symptoms that are most common and one feels in sciatica are as follows:

  • -Severe Back and leg pain that sometimes transmits to the foot.
  • -Numbness, weakness and tingling sensation being felt in the leg and lower part of the body.
  • -Inflammation and burning sensation on the pain affected area.
  • -Difficulty in movements such as walking, sitting, lifting heavy weights, standing or even sleep.
  • -Discomfort and irritation in the body.
  • -All the above causes, back pain, buttock pain, hip and leg pain.
  • -Reduction in flexibility and cramps in legs.

Back Solutions Clinic has diagnosed the above-mentioned symptoms are have also suggested good and effective methods for treatment of Sciatica nerve Melbourne. The symptom mentioned above aggravates by excess physical movements and also by bending and twisting of back and is cured by rest. The various common causes of sciatica nerve pain are as follows:

  • Herniated disc.
  • -Piriformis Syndrome.
  • -Ruptured or bulging disc.
  • -Pregnancy.
  • -Lifting heavy objects or sudden wrong body postural movements.
  • -Being overweight.
  • -Lack of exercise or physical movement.
  • -Pinched nerve.
  • -Weak core area muscles.
  • -Sedentary lifestyle or long sitting or standing working hours.
  • -Arthritis.
  • -Spondylosis.
  • -Degenerative Disc Disease.

The various remedies recommended for Sciatica Nerve Melbourne are as follows:

  • Massages – Different muscle and nerve relaxing massages are done to relieve the pain and opening of nerves.
  • Ice and Heat Therapy –Ice packs and Heat therapy is given on the pain affected area as ice numbs the area and reduces inflammation and heat increases the blow circulation so as to provide pain relief.
  • Stretching and strengthening exercises – Various set of stretching and core strengthening exercises are performed under special supervision to strengthen the back and make it more flexible and immune from any kind of injury or nerve and muscle issues – A strong back leads to a healthy life.
  • Medications – Various pain relievers and steroid injection are available which are to be consumed only after prescription.
  • A balanced diet, maintaining weight and the equal amount of rest.
Rid of Sciatica

Top Natural Ways To Get Rid Of Sciatica

Natural Ways To Treat Sciatica

Have you ever suffered from an agonizing condition named ‘sciatica’? If you have, then I’m sure that you remember it very vividly because sciatica is something that people don’t forget easily because of the sufferings they had received in the hands of the same. The pain a person experiences when suffering from sciatica is clear cut; shooting or piercing pain in the lower back that radiates down the buttocks, thighs, and legs.

The sciatic nerve is the longest and largest nerve in our body, and it is formed by the roots that are branching out of the spinal cord in the lower back. These roots get together and go down along the back of your legs. So, when the sciatic nerve gets compressed, irritated or pinched anywhere in between, then you are going to feel the pain. When it comes to the most common cause of sciatica nerve pain is the bulging disc, which is commonly known as the herniated disc as well. You can get treatment for sciatica nerve Melbourne at affordable prices now.

There could be a number of phases that people are going to experience while they are suffering from sciatica. The pain is going to be sporadic or constant, mild or shooting. The pain is going to aggravate when you a cough, sneeze or make small movements. People who have taken sciatica Melbourne treatment know how tough it is when it is paining. The pain doesn’t come alone, but it brings a few other irritating elements as well such as numbness, tingling sensation or muscle weakness in the leg or foot.

Now coming to the symptoms of sciatica; they are going to subside in a month or two. You have to take enough rest along with muscle relaxants in order to alleviate the pain. There are multiple ways of reducing the pain, but if you want to get rid of the pain through natural ways, then here are some for you.

Hot and Cold Compresses

You can apply a heat pack on your lower back to relax the strained muscles and improve the blood circulation. If you don’t have a heat pack, then take a steamed towel in place of that or if you want, you can sit in the bath that is filled with warm water for 15 minutes. Do this a couple of times in a day and you will experience relieve. Apply ice packs on the damaged area for 15 minutes as it will help reduce the swelling around the sciatic nerve and also numbs the pain.

Massage Therapy

Massage is an evergreen method for treating any pain, so how can you ignore massage therapy when it comes treating sciatic pain? So, you can get great relief by getting massage therapy. You can get in touch with Back Solutions Clinic to get the best massage therapy for Sciatica Melbourne.

Chiropractic Care

If you are looking to get your spine adjusted, then you better take chiropractic treatment. This will help restore all the misaligned vertebral parts of the body and also bring the spinal column into its proper position. Get the best Chiropractic treatment for sciatica Nerve Melbourne at Back Solutions Clinic.

Topical Oils Or Creams

There are various types of oils and creams that are available today, which you can apply to reduce the pain occurring in your lower back, thighs or legs. You can get more information about the best topical oils on the web.

Relieving Sciatica Pain

Acupuncture, A Possible Remedy For Relieving Sciatica Pain

Relieving Sciatica Pain Through Acupuncture

Sciatica is the leg pain, which begins at the nerve roots on any side of the lumbar vertebrae. These nerve roots then go through the sciatic nerves that run the entire length of each leg starting from buttocks to the toes.

In your lower back region, there are nerve roots, which can get compressed or it has been seen in some cases that there is a crack or bulge near sciatic nerve. Sciatica is also referred to as pinched nerve. This results in leg pain, which is also known by the name of radiculopathy. A person suffering from sciatica is going to feel sharp, shooting pain at the time of sitting, standing, laying down and walking.

Sciatica can be treated by various methods, but today, we are going to discuss acupuncture, as to how it can bring relief to the patients suffering from sciatica. Every treatment methodology has its own primary role, and for acupuncture, the role is clearly set, i.e., it will provide relief to the patients. It does this by relaxing the muscles, which may be tight and putting pressure on the nerve. Nerves that are either coming from the lumbar region or from the muscles, acupuncture is going to loosen them up.

Acupuncture therapy starts off with taking the patient’s history and performing an examination of muscles along with the points where acupuncture procedure can be performed. The muscle is going to feel smooth to the touch followed by a sudden change in the skin texture, which will confirm that there is certainly a blockage in the muscle.

If there is a pain in the muscles then the acupuncture points are going to feel cold, warm, soft or really hard. The feeling will be a lot different than the surrounding muscles. These points are where needles must be placed.

Acupuncture while giving acupuncture therapy will never insert needles into nerves, but he/she will insert the needles into the muscle at the acupuncture site. It will pain a lot if the needle is inserted into the nerve, and you can relate that feeling to the pain of the dental work without numbing the working area. Moreover, it is not possible to needle a nerve, no matter what acupuncturists do.

The placement of needles has to be done very carefully. With the insertion of the needles, it should create a micro-trauma in the region, which will stimulate the body’s own ability to heal itself. A human body is constant repairing itself on a cellular level, but the benefit of acupuncture is that it channels the healing response to the specific areas of the body so that the blockage can be cleared in order to allow healing.

If you are in need to get acupuncture therapy for sciatica Melbourne, then you need to get in touch with Back Solutions Clinic. They will provide you with the best acupuncture therapy that will clear all the blockage from within your muscles.

Back Solutions Clinic has made a name when it comes to treating bad sciatica nerve Melbourne. So, don’t waste your time and consult this clinic right away.

Melbourne Lower Back Pain Treatment

5 Actions You Must Stop At Once To Prevent Sciatica

Five Actions You Need To Stop To Prevent Sciatica

Sciatic nerve pain is not a rare problem anymore and so is its remedy. With more and more people are dealing with this problem today, sciatic nerve remedy is now available in different forms.

Sciatic nerve remedy is only effective when a person knows as to what has caused the pain in the first place. It is imperative to find the root cause of the problem before finalizing sciatic nerve remedy. Back Solutions Clinic is providing great relief to people from sciatica Melbourne, so if you could visit this clinic, then your problem can be fixed as early as possible.

When you find out that you are suffering from sciatic nerve pain, then it is pointless to engage in the activities that further aggravate the problem. You should not indulge in those activities, which make your sciatic nerve more vulnerable because then, you will have to continue the remedy for a long-long time. What people usually do is that they keep on taking the remedies and carry on with activities, which they are not supposed to do. This is not helping the cause at all.

If you succeed in stopping the cause, then you can make the effect non-existent. So, now the question comes as to how you can stop the cause?

Well, this can be done by stopping the actions that you do in your day-to-day life. Remedies are only effective if you perform the right activities. You can’t put pressure on your lower back as it will nullify the effect of remedies.

In this article, we will discuss five actions that you should stop immediately to prevent sciatic nerve pain.

  1. If you work for long durations on the furniture that is not designed ergonomically or have lumber support, then you are susceptible to sciatica. You at least need to have an ergonomic furniture where you can sit comfortably without putting pressure on your back.
  2. Maintain the right posture when you are sitting, standing, lying down or walking. You need to be in the right posture, and by that, I don’t mean that you need to be in a military position, but at least straight enough to exert minimum pressure on your spine.
  3. Don’t eat junk food because it is not adding anything to your body nutrition-wise, but only fat and cholesterol, which act as a time bomb that will explode one day in the form of heart attack or high diabetes. So, stop eating junk food for the sake of your life. Moreover, your sciatic nerve pain issue will also be prevented, so make a habit of eating healthy food that fulfills the deficiency of nutrients in your body.
  4. Don’t lift weights that are too much for you. The main thing is to keep the pressure off the back, and lifting weights will do the opposite. So, don’t lift the weight until your back gets normal.
  5. While sleeping, make sure the surface is firm and not a fluffy feather mattress because the latter will make your back further vulnerable to injuries.

For the best treatment regarding sciatica nerve Melbourne, you need to contact Back Solutions Clinic. They will tell you what to do and what not to do.

Should I Tell My Employer That I Have Back Pain?

Should I tell my employer that I have back pain?

Let’s look at some different scenarios and which category you best fit into:

1. You hurt your back at work

If you have hurt your back at work then in most countries employers are obligated to have insurance to cover your medical, rehabilitation expenses and cover your income in the absence of work. Lower back injuries are extremely common, many heal naturally over time. Insurance and the law is in place to protect you so in this case we do recommend that you tell your employer that you have hurt your back at work.

2. You have long suffered from intermittent back pain in before you started with your current employer

Obviously the type of work you do will depend on your course of action. If you work in an office, the concern for you having a less than perfect back will be much less than if your job requires manual labour. If you are in an office we do recommend that you tell your employer, so you can work together on a plan to best assist or manage your back pain. Combining a standing and seated desk is one such solution, however simple things like taking regular breaks from your desk to get up and walk around can help limit the buildup of accumulated lower back tension.

If your work involves manual labour, then the decision to tell your employer will be more to your discretion. If you have a solid relationship with your direct report and managers and you are comfortable that you can stay on top of and manage your back pain then telling your employer will do no harm.

3. You are fearful that if you tell your employer that you have back pain, then you will lose your job.

In most countries there are laws to protect against unfair dismissal. Having said that even in first world countries such as Australia, large corporations can put a lot of pressure on individuals in an environment where productivity and profits rein. Everyone’s circumstances are different, some workers can leave, many cannot or feel they cannot due to the pressures of a mortgage and providing for their family. For people who do fall into this category we hope that you read the relevant articles on this site on a permanent solution to your back pain. One of the great fears for people who have no choice but to put up with the pain is that they are doing further damage to their spine/ back and the fear that it will be permanent. We want to reassure you that your body has a brilliant way of protecting itself from irreversible damage and responds extremely well to the right form of rehabilitation no matter how many days, months, years you have been suffering.

So for people stuck in this predicament, fearful that they will lose their jobs due to back pain, by all means explore other employment opportunities that will be easier on your back/ body. More importantly learn about why you have your back pain, and more importantly what you can do to strengthen your body so the pain never returns. We hope our website helps you in this quest.

Pexels Funkcines Terapijos Centras

Having back pain due to your age? You can help your back pain no matter what your age is!

Do all old people have back pain? Are all young people free of back pain?

Quite straight forward answers spring to mind when posing these questions.

So why are most older people who present with chronic back pain that won’t go away told by their GP and or health care practitioner that it is just wear and tear from old age and they will have to just live with it?

Up to 70% of older people have lumbar disc degeneration however the vast majority do not suffer from any back pain.   

Muscles and fascia cause back pain and they are almost always overlooked in diagnosis, scans and treatment. Regardless of your age, your muscles and fascia can change and you can change them to fix your back pain, no matter how many months, years or decades you have been suffering.

One thing that does make us more predisposed to back pain as we age is that we do not tend to move as often or dynamically as we once did. We retire from jobs, the kids or more accurately for most the grandkids grow up meaning the repetitious movements carried out on a daily basis are no longer a part of the daily routine.  

If you don’t use it, you lose it is the best catchphrase, but more accurately when you do lose it (muscle mass) you stiffened up.

In the absence of adequate muscular conditioning in the muscles integral to supporting and stabilising the weight of your own body, fascia or better known as connective tissue solidifies to make the body more rigid. The presence of solidified connective tissue in the lower back and hips of older people who have greatly reduced their daily activity is the most common source of their lower back pain.

We need to get you moving!

Despite the countless treatments, massage and drugs you have been prescribed over the years it all comes back to basics:

  1. Eradicate the solidified connective tissue
  2. Restore functional movement that will overcome the very imbalances that caused the muscular weakness and in turn the solidified connective tissue.
  3. Continue to carry out full compound functional exercises with resistance to ensure your posture remains sound, your muscles strong and symmetrical and your back free of pain.  
Lower Back Pain

Pilates and back pain.

Pilates is a fantastic and relatively passive way to strengthen your core and improve posture.

Many physiotherapists and other health care practitioners swear by pilates as the cure to chronic back pain. In this articles we will address. 1. Why pilates is a common referral pathway for back pain sufferers and 2. Whether pilates is indeed the best exercise based pathway for chronic back pain sufferers.

1. Why pilates is a common referral pathway for back pain sufferers

The most common cause for chronic back pain is muscular weakness and imbalances. The vast majority of sufferers who seek seek treatment only receive limited, short term relief from their pain. Treatment typically focuses on the tight/ restricted joints and muscles of the lower back. However the restriction soon returns after treatment due to the lower back pain sufferer not having the postural strength to support the weight of his/ her body. This results in the lower back carrying much of the load, which quickly compromises the muscles and joints, which in turn creates painful tension.    

Pilates is dedicated to improving core strength and postural symmetry, which is one of the reasons why the vast majority of allied practitioners refer their chronic back patients to a pilates instructor. Another reason is due to the passive/ gentle nature of pilates. Most chronic back pain sufferers lack the stability and confidence to carry out exercises that incorporate resistance. Pilates caters well for these patients, due to initially focusing on holding one’s own body weight, then making it more challenging as gains/ improvements are experienced.

2. Is Pilates the best exercise based pathway for chronic back pain.

Our answer is mixed: Some chronic back pain sufferers respond well to pilates, however many do not.

  • If you are responding well to pilates then that’s great, stick at it.

However:

  • If you are not responding at all (after 3-6 months)
  • If you responded well initially, however you improvements have plateaued out.  

Then we recommend looking to other exercise based rehabilitation programs dedicated to strengthening your back and the muscles that support it.

Some people do not respond well to passive resistance. Some back pain sufferers, are extremely weak in the major postural muscles that support the back, which results in them distributing weight forward of their midline. In order to address this, the major focus of the exercise program needs to correct the postural/ muscular imbalances.

Exercises that stretch/ elongate the tight dominate muscles of the body whilst simultaneously shorten and strengthen the weakened postural muscles of the body will in time restore neuromuscular symmetry. The focus is to take the excessive load of the back, and get the major postural muscles assisting everyday function and movement.

Functional compound movements are the best at achieving this, however it is absolutely imperative that you commence this rehabilitation approach with a back specialist who can:

  • Teach you the correct technique
  • Advise when it is safe to increase resistance
  • Monitor your form each time the resistance is increased.

Pilates is initially quite difficult to pick up technique wise. Functional compound movements likewise are difficult to pick up, however if you are not responding to pilates, then we strongly recommend that you make this your next approach.

For more information of how to fix your chronic back pain through functional compound movement patterns, please contact us for more information.

Back Solutions Clinic

Why do most practitioners treat the symptoms of back pain and not the underlying cause?

It is what we are taught at university. Regardless of whether you are a physio, chiro, osteo, myo, massage therapist you are trained to accurately diagnose the source of lower back pain, then trained in a unique (to your modality) set of techniques to alleviate the lower back symptoms.

There are two sides to chronic lower back pain:

  1. Tight and restricted tissues that cause pain (symptoms)
  2. Weakened postural muscles that comprise the structures of the lower back (underlying cause)

The problem with being solely trained as a practitioner is that years of conditioning and focus on the symptoms makes you blindsighted to the true underlying cause of back pain.

Think about it:

  • A massage therapist or myotherapist massages soft tissues
  • A chiropractor and osteopath manipulate joints.

It is their job! When back pain sufferers come along, they execute their years of training and clinical experience, focusing on freeing the pain and restriction present in the lower back.

This works fine for the acute back pain sufferers (less than 3 months), however for the chronic back pain sufferer (more than 3 months) all this results in, is short term temporary relief from their pain. The pattern continues – treatment – patient feels better for hours/ days after treatment – pain returns – repeat process.

The problem for the practitioner and more importantly the chronic lower back pain patient is that practitioners are not taught how to address patients who do not respond to their modalities techniques.

From experience the best health care practitioners are the ones who have had a particular condition themselves, exhausted all efforts within their modalities philosophy to fix themselves only to turn to alternative solutions. This leads to the practitioner striving to create a solution to their condition and forces them to think/ explore outside the box.

There are many terrific stories of health care practitioners who have gone on such journeys, healed their bodies then shifted their focus to helping chronic patients do the same. Back pain is no different, there are great books that go into such stories and more importantly they provide a how to – process to fix chronic back pain. Not surprisingly all such books mention that more needs to be done that just standard physio, chiro, massage, with the attention focused around restoring strength and symmetry to the body.

If you are suffering from chronic lower back pain and have tried many different modalities and practitioners without a long term solution to your pain, don’t be alarmed, you are not alone. Search for books and success stories from practitioners who have fixed their own back pain and follow their guidance. Please search through our website to find articles from such authors.

Pexels Karolina Grabowska

8 in every 10 Australians will suffer from back pain throughout their life

80% of Australians will suffer Lower Back Pain – Find out why

As a society we fail to move. From a young age, we are spending vast hours of the day bent over an iphone, ipad or parked at a desk focusing in on the screen of our PC.

Gone are the days where we spent every light hour of the day, on push bikes or in the courtyard playing ball sports. Video and computer games are par for the course nowadays.

With a bit of luck we mature into young adolescents and shift some of our focus away from video games and onto our studies. The demands and pressure placed on young kids is growing by the year, with hours and hours per week spent fixed to a desk studying away in the pursuit of making competitive grades.

As we mature into young adults, more of the same awaits us with university demands continuing to ensure a sedentary life. For most this only worsens as we enter the workforce, spending long hours in fixed positions as we make our impression on our new employers.

In attempt to zone out and unwind from work we head straight home to sit in from of the TV tuning into one of the many netflix series that entertain and distract us from the daily pressures.

When do we move?

Simply put, for most Australians we do not!!  We sit all day at work, we sit all evening at home, then we lay all night as we sleep.     

Muscles support our postural structure. Muscles support our back.  

Ironically the muscle group the plays the most significant role in supporting our back is the the group we spent the most time resting on – Our backsides (gluteal muscle group)

So if we are never using this muscle group because we are always sitting on it – would it not be natural for this muscle group to become weak, to noticeably atrophy away.

Back pain is a billion dollar industry, with money pouring into doctors surgeries and physiotherapy clinic all of the country each year. Not to mention the mega dollars spent on pain relief, all heading to the big pharma companies.

Millions of pointless dollars pour into research on why so many people suffer from ongoing back pain. However, there is no mystery as to why 8 in every 10 Australians will suffer from back pain. We become weak in the very areas integral to supporting our backs due to the lack of time and focus on activities that use our bodies functionally.  

If a mere fraction of the money and effort was spent on the research and promotion of simple non time consuming exercises that counteract our modern day inactivity then the percentage of australians who suffer from back pain will instantly plummet.

For more information on exercises and movement patterns to prevent and avoid back pain please refer to one of the useful links on our site.

Think Postural strength and symmetry NOT core strength to fix chronic back pain.

Find out the correct strengthening techniques to fix chronic lower back pain

Far too great an emphasis is placed on ‘core’ strengthening programs to address chronic back pain. The core is an ambiguous term referring to deep trunk muscles, with the majority of practitioners and personal trainers holding differing views on the specific muscles that fall in the core group.

Let’s look at the most common muscles believe to make up the ‘core’:

  • Pelvic floor muscles
  • Transverse abdominis
  • Multifidus

In comparison to the major muscles that support the pelvis and back, the above ‘core’ muscles pale in significance.  

Yes they are muscles that provide stability to the pelvis, the trunk and the spine – however no amount of strength to these muscles will override and counteract weak non functional postural muscles.

Lets now look at just one of the major muscles of the body that support our posture:

  • Gluteus maximus

The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the human body. It is large and powerful because it plays the role of keeping the trunk of the body in an erect posture. It is the chief antigravity muscle that aids in walking up a flight of stairs.

In essence if the back pain sufferer has a non functional and weak gluteus maximus muscles, no amount of ‘core strength’ will compensate for the lack of foundation and stability this creates.

It is like asking someone to stand on one leg, then try and push someone over who is standing on two legs. Or like placing a solid beam on top of a loose pile of bricks, and wondering why the beam is unstable.

As stupid as these examples sound, this is the exact approach that so many therapists and trainers recommend to their patients suffering from back pain. People dedicate hours upon hours focusing on core stability exercises, whilst completely ignoring the major muscles such as the gluteus maximus.  

Whilst the muscles we outlined earlier in this article, defined as core muscles hold their importance, it is imperative to understand that effective functional compound exercises that target the major postural muscles of the body, also strengthen these core muscles.

In fact they do so in a functional manner, they replicate everyday human movement.