7 Steps to Care for Sciatica / Disc Herniation

Extreme pain in your legs or back may be due to disc herniation or a pinched sciatic nerve (sciatica). 

Caring for Sciatica / Disc Herniation

1. Ice low back to reduce inflammation. Ice 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off, 10 minutes on again; every 2 hours for 24 hours. Then see your chiropractor. (After the inflammation is reduced your chiro can do more therapy.) Do NOT over do ice - It can make inflammation worse. Do NOT use heat, which will also make inflammation worse.. 
2. Take an over the counter NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory) such as ibuprofen. Take as directed on label.
3. Avoid sitting. To reduce pressure on the disc, lay in the position shown in the video or on your back with a pillow under your knees. Standing is not as bad as sitting but not as good on your back or the position described int he video. Bottom line: Do get into a position that relieves your pain.
4. Avoid lifting more than 5 lbs. A herniated disc takes about 6 weeks to fully heal. However. It CAN get worse if you do to much too soon. So take CARE!
5. Traction low back by using the method described in video, coming to our office for disc decompression, or by using an inversion table. The advantage of the disc decompression we do, (Cox Flexion / Distraction), over an inversion table is that we can stretch one disc at a time to dramatically reduce the pressure at the site of the disc injury. 
6. Release the pinched nerve. Sciatica can be caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve by a muscle or other soft tissue. We can release a pinched nerve using Active Release Technique. This relieves pain almost immediately.
7. Feet up the wall or over an ottoman. This is another way to gently traction the low back discs and also flood the disc area with fresh blood to help heal faster. The feet up the wall is also a hamstring stretch, but you do NOT need to straighten your legs for this to be effective. Simply bend your legs so you get a slight hamstring stretch instead. Feet over the ottoman is good but not as effective as feet up the wall. But do what you can do considering your pain and your ability to get up off the floor.

The video below shows a very gentle way to traction the discs of the low back. It takes the pressure off the sciatic nerve and helps the disc to heal by pulling fluid and nutrition into the disc. Do this exercise as often as you like. It may be one of the few positions that is comfortable for you.

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