Heat Therapy For Sciatic Pain

Sciatica is a common problem experienced by a number of people. It is a condition marked by extreme discomfort in the lower back and the legs. The sciatic nerve which arises in the lower back gets compressed due to some abnormal changes around the spine. The nerve compression causes pain to flare up and it becomes so intense at times that it feels like an electric shock. It becomes very challenging to deal with this chronic pain. But, the ones suffering from it need not panic. There is good news for you. Sciatica can be managed with heat therapy. This therapy can be administered in a number of ways and it is proven to be highly effective. Let's see how.

You must know that sciatica is not a disease in itself, it is a collection of symptoms of other problems like a herniated disc or a swollen disc which results in inflammation of the muscle tissue too. So, when the pain flare-ups are felt first, the most effective thing would be to give a cold therapy to the affected area to lessen the swelling. Once the swelling is under control, a heat therapy would be best to boost blood circulation in the area of pain.   

If you do not use the cold therapy, then you would have to wait for a few days after the onset of the pain to use the heat therapy. These few days of wait are meant for the swelling to subside. You must also know that using heat therapy on the affected area may aggravate the pain more to cause extreme discomfort.

The right way to apply heat therapy is from a heat pad or an easily available heat pack. Make sure that you do not apply heat for more than 20 minutes. You musty re-apply it after a couple of hours for another 20 minutes. For a speedy recovery, you must continue this cycle till you feel at ease. But, remember to give a gap of few hours in between each application.

It is seen that moist heat penetrates faster than the dry heat and is double effective also. If possible you must immerse yourself in a hot tub or Jacuzzi for immediate relief. A whirlpool bath is also as effective. It is a great idea to loosen your muscles and release them of tension that causes pain. It would rather be more beneficial to use a hand held shower-head to direct jetting water on the severe area. Prefer a combination of warm and hot in this case.

If you want the heat therapy to show its effect faster, it is very important that you do not stay stationary. This would strain the affected area again and limit the blood circulation there. Stay as active as possible. This will drive away the pain faster. Sciatica is more about self management; doing so would aide the external therapy too.

Learn how to fix the true causes of sciatica from the comfort of your home - click here