Physical Therapy for Sciatica
AT EVOLVE
Physical Therapy for Sciatica
HOW CAN PHYSICAL THERAPY HELP MY SCIATICA?
If you are experiencing pain or pressure in the lower back, buttock, back of leg or foot you may have sciatica, also known as lumbar radiculopathy. These symptoms can be acute or chronic and while certainly uncomfortable, may also be interfering with your daily life. Sciatica typically responds well to physical therapy treatment which reduces the need for pharmaceutical and surgical management and helps you return to all the activities you need to do throughout your day.
WHAT DOES PHYSICAL THERAPY FOR SCIATICA LOOK LIKE?
The hallmark of a good physical therapy program for sciatica is that it is individualized. My team of therapists and I will always start by getting to know your concerns and goals and performing a thorough physical exam to look for the cause or contributing factors to your symptoms. With all of this knowledge in hand, we will create a custom program that may consist of hands-on techniques performed by our therapists to your spine and nearby areas combined with carefully prescribed movements and exercises performed by you in the clinic and at home.
WHAT DOES PHYSICAL THERAPY FOR SCIATICA LOOK LIKE?
While full resolution of symptoms can take some time, you may begin to see some results right away. Your physical therapist will help to relieve the irritation on the spinal nerves and support the body’s natural healing process. You should experience improvements in many symptoms such as pain, stiffness, and inflammation within a couple of weeks but returns in strength, flexibility and overall mobility may take longer. Achieving long lasting results may take some time, but dedication to your program will not only help you achieve these results but will help to decrease the likelihood of symptoms recurring in the future.
What Causes Sciatica?
The formal medical term for sciatica is “lumbar radiculopathy of the sciatic nerve.” Lumbar refers to the lower part of the spine between the lower ribs and the pelvis and radiculopathy means “pinched nerve.” We are born with 33 stacked vertebrae. In between each of the vertebrae in the neck, mid back and lower back is an intervertebral disc that acts as a cushion. Holes, or foramina, between adjacent vertebrae act as portals through which spinal nerves exit from the spinal canal and travel out to the skin, bones, joints, muscles and organs. In the lumbar spine or lower back, the nerves that exit the spinal canal provide sensory and motor information to the muscles, skin and joints of the hips, legs, feet, and the pelvis.
WHAT ARE THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF SCIATICA?
Symptoms of sciatica can be felt along the distribution of the sciatic nerve. Sensory symptoms like burning, aching or numbness may be felt in the lower back and along the buttock and posterior thigh, the posterior and lateral leg and the bottom and top of the foot. Muscle pain or weakness may be experienced in the hamstrings or inner thigh muscles, and the muscles of the lower leg and foot like the calf muscles or the ankle dorsiflexors. Often symptoms are experienced in one leg but in some cases may be experienced in both. If you are experiencing severe muscle weakness or pain that has not responded to conservative treatment, a surgical consult may be recommended. If you are experiencing sudden loss of bowel or bladder control, immediate surgery is often recommended to decompress the sciatic nerve roots.
In general, if you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you may be dealing with a case of sciatica:- Pain and/or pressure in the back, hip, leg(s), foot/feet
- Throbbing, aching, shooting, sharp, dull, or burning pain in those areas
- Numbness or tingling in the back, hip, leg, or foot.
- Weakness in the leg(s)
- Inability to bend or rotate the back.
- Increased pain when coughing, sneezing, reaching, or sitting
- Inability to stand up straight
- Difficulty getting up from a chair due to pain or weakness
- Inability to remain in one position for a long period of time, such as sitting or standing, due to pain
- Pain that is worse in the morning
- Limping when walking
End Injury Progression
Physical therapy for sciatica has proven to slow and even stop back pain issues and injury progression in many cases.
Relieve Pain
The movements used in this technique can target your lower back, upper back, hips, shoulders, and neck helping you to manage pain during the course of your physical therapy treatments.
Improve Range of Motion
Posture awareness is an important area to focus on due to the fact that certain positions may cause you further back pain.
Restore Mobility
You can gain mobility and flexibility by taking part in the stretches and exercises as prescribed by your physical therapist.
How Long Will Sciatica Physical Therapy Treatments Last?
If you decide to work with a physical therapist to help correct your lower back issues, your entire treatment plan could consist of around 8-20+ different Sciatica physical therapy sessions that will each last 60-90 minutes. Once you complete your customized back pain physical therapy treatment plan, you will be able to continue to do the prescribed stretches and exercises utilized during your back pain PT sessions yet in the comfort of your own home.
WHAT PHYSICAL THERAPY TECHNIQUES ARE USED TO ADDRESS SCIATICA?
The goal of physical therapy treatment for sciatica is to relieve the pressure and irritation on the nerve roots to provide symptoms improvement and to address any underlying or contributing factors that may predispose you to recurrence or progression of this problem. As mentioned above, my team and I will create an individualized treatment plan based on your unique presentation and the findings of our exam but here are some treatments commonly used to manage sciatica:
- Manual therapy: Manual therapy is a hands-on manipulative type of physical therapy that your physical therapist can use to address joint hypomobility and soft tissue impairments and to provide some pain relief. Joint mobilizations, soft tissue mobilization, myofascial release, are some examples of manual therapy techniques.
- Postural re-education and body mechanics training: learning to move well can be an important step to reducing symptoms of sciatica. By learning to adjust your posture and move in an efficient and safe way you can perform more activities with less pain and less irritation on the spinal nerves.
- Strength and flexibility training: Graded exercises to improve muscle strength and overall flexibility will be prescribed to meet your current abilities. Having adequate strength and flexibility around joints, muscles and other tissues in the back, hips and legs can help reduce symptoms of pain and help you feel more capable of moving and performing daily tasks.
- Education: understanding the mechanics of your pain and how things that you do in your daily life may be helping or exacerbating your symptoms is an important part of your physical therapy program. Our goal with education is to help you understand your condition and empower you to manage it well in the long run.
Mill Basin (located in Harbor Fitness)
6161 Strickland Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11234
Monday: 7am-8pm
Tuesday: 7am-8pm
Wednesday: 8am-5pm
Thursday: 7am-8pm
Friday: 8am-1pm
Park Slope (located in Harbor Fitness)
550 5th Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Monday: 9am-8pm
Tuesday: 8am-6pm
Wednesday: 9am-8pm
Thursday: 8am-6pm
Friday: 8am-3pm
Gravesend
372 Avenue U
Brooklyn, NY 11223
Monday-Thursday: 8am-8pm
Friday: 8am-3pm
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PHYSICAL THERAPY FOR SCIATICA AT EVOLVE!
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Call: 1-718-258-3300
