Effect Of Weather On Sciatica

Sciatica is a painful and yet a very strange condition. At one point, the symptoms will disappear as if they never existed and later they reappear with great intensity. The reason behind this is not clear, but it is the compression of the sciatic nerve that causes trouble. Some elements of the spine compress the sciatic nerve and cause chronic pain in the lower back, legs or feet. There are various conditions that have been known to cause sciatica. But, it has been found out that the changing weather also increases the vulnerability towards it. Let's see how.

Come winters and there are a number of sciatica patients around. It has become a proven fact that a dip in temperature triggers sciatica. When the barometer air pressure decreases in the winters, the sciatica patients experience immense pain. Thus, these people have a strong susceptibility in the winter months. The chill in the weather increases the stiffness in the muscles and the joints.

The stiffness of the muscles and the joints can cause the muscles around the sciatic nerve to tighten up. This tightening of the muscles is a result of cold weather and this is how the weather affects sciatica. The tightness of the muscles results in extreme pain in and around the sciatic nerve. Even simple activities like walking and regular chores become impossible in this condition. The pain that is experienced is sharp and goes down the legs and to other body parts too.

Patients also experience more joint pain due to rise in humidity in the winters. The best way in this case is to stay indoors and keep yourself warm. If you expose yourself to extreme cold in the winters, you may also catch common cold and cough. Even regular sneezing results in sciatic pain. Regular cough and sneezing exert pressure on the lower back muscles which leads to discomfort and pain.

Therefore, it is very important that you have some of the winter treatments for the sciatic pain handy. You can use a good oil to massage the area of pain. Frequent massage will induce heat in the affected area and the tightened muscles will relax. This will ease the pain quite a bit. Other than this, you can keep topical ointments ready to combat pain. Apply this ointment on the affected area and keep yourself warm. The increased warmth will improve blood circulation in the affected area and alleviate the pain. Take a hot bath after you reach home from the day's work.

Never ignore your back pain if it becomes severe. Visit your health service provider regularly. If the sciatic nerve pain is left untreated, it may worsen the pain to cause an irreparable damage to the sciatic nerve.

Learn more about the true causes of sciatica - click here