How To Treat Sciatica

The stabbing, shooting pains that immobilize you and keep you awake will certainly leave you desperate to know how to treat sciatica. Sciatica is the name for the pain that starts in the lower back and shoots or radiates down the legs. It is not a disorder itself, but rather a symptom of an underlying back problem. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to reduce the pain of sciatica and get back to feeling normal again more quickly.

A few things you may need to treat sciatica:

• a heating pad
• a hot bath
• a latex exercise band
• steroids or cortisone shots from your doctor

The following are things you can do to treat sciatica:

1. Rest with a heating pad under the small of your back. Do not go to sleep while using a heating pad. Make sure that you always use the pad with a cover.
2. Try resting in a hot bath for twenty minutes at a time. The heat can help relax your back and reduce your pain. Make sure that the water is hot, but not so hot that you burn yourself.
3. Try stretching to relieve pain. An exercise band can help if your sciatica is keeping you from moving. One of the best stretches  to treat sciatica is one that stretches your hamstrings. Go slowly and gently to avoid causing more pain.
4. Even if you are in a lot of pain, try to move as regularly as possible. Staying immobilized for too long can actually increase back pain. Even a short walk can help you to treat sciatica.
5. If the sciatica pain is very severe or lasts for many days, visit your doctor. Your doctor can, if it's deemed necessary, give you a prescription for a steroid like Prednisone to help with the inflammation. You can also get cortisone shots if the pain is severe. However, save the shots for a last resort, as they cannot be repeated often.