If you’ve been diagnosed with sciatica you might be surprised to learn it’s not really a physical condition at all. Instead, sciatica is a description of a set of pain symptoms typically caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve.
The actual condition causing sciatic pain can be as diverse as a herniated disc pressing upon the sciatic nerve, or it being irritated as it passes down behind the piriformis muscle, which is often overly tight.
Traditional medicine often offers only symptomatic relief for sciatica pain. Options include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and naproxen, ultrasound, heat treatments and cortisone injections.
Natural treatments for sciatica tend to focus on both pain relief and correcting the underlying causes. Two of the most effective natural treatments for sciatica you should consider are inversion therapy and muscle balance therapy.
Inversion therapy has been used for thousands of years to treat back pain naturally by using gravity itself to apply gentle traction to the spine. This natural treatment is particularly effective for sciatic pain caused by herniated discs by increasing the space between the vertebrae and thereby relieving the pressure on the nerve.
Muscle balance therapy gets to the root cause of most back and sciatic pain: muscle imbalances. When opposing muscles pull unevenly against one another, postural dysfunctions develop leading to uneven and excessive stress on the muscles, ligaments, bones and joints. Since muscle balance therapy focuses on correcting or improving muscle imbalances, this is a great tool for naturally treating sciatica caused by a tight piriformis muscle.
Remember that simply ending pain does not mean you have corrected the problem. Be sure that whatever treatment you choose addresses the underlying causes of your sciatica pain or it will continue to return. For more information on natural treatments for sciatica pain you can request a free sciatica pain relief guide here.
Walk into the office of virtually any doctor, chiropractor, or physical therapist with a back pain complaint and chances are you’ll return home with the same sheet of paper they give to every patient who walks through their door. On it you’ll find various back pain exercises and stretches illustrated.
At first glance one might think following the exercises on the paper would be helpful. After all, exercise and stretching are important for recovering from issues causing back pain, right? Yes and no.
The truth is targeted corrective exercise and stretching is critical for addressing many underlying causes of back pain. But if you get the same set of generic exercises to perform as everyone else, with no direction as to which ones address your specific condition, how do you know which exercises are helpful and which are harmful?
Let’s say for sake of example you have severe lower back pain caused by a muscle imbalance between one side of your body and the other. Unless you first, know you have a muscle imbalance, and second, have identified what that imbalance is, you will be unable to effectively correct it. Following the sheet of generic exercises will have you stretching muscles which are already weak and overstretched. Then you’ll begin strengthening muscles which are already overworked and tight. End result: you will likely make your existing problem worse.
Here’s the take home lesson for today. Before you ever perform any stretching or strengthening exercise given to you for treating back pain, neck pain or sciatica, make absolutely certain it is targeting you specific condition. That means either you or your healthcare provider must first accurately identify the muscle imbalances and postural dysfunctions the exercises are intended to correct by performing a physical assessment.
If your healthcare provider cannot or will not tell you what postural dysfunctions and muscle imbalances are contributing to your back pain, do NOT perform any exercises given by them. Instead, consider conducting a Muscle Balance Therapy self assessment or find a different, more knowledgeable provider.
Imagine the pain of a sharp razor blade slicing open your lower back, through your buttocks and down the back of your leg. Then again, if you suffer from sciatica, you may not need to imagine it at all.
Sciatica is not an actual condition, but describes a very real set of back and leg pain symptoms. Fortunately you can almost always reduce or completely stop sciatic pain right at home without harmful drugs or surgery.
What causes sciatica pain
The sciatic nerve is the largest single nerve in the human body. It is also the thickest at over 3/4 of an inch across. It supplies nearly the whole skin of the leg, the back thigh muscles, and other muscles down to the feet. This length is why shooting pain down one or both legs is felt when the nerve is irritated.
Sciatica symptoms are caused by one of four conditions: a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, isthmic spondylolisthesis, or most commonly piriformis syndrome where the piriformis muscle places pressure on the sciatic nerve.
Get sciatica relief right at home
In each of the four common conditions causing sciatica, muscle imbalances either directly cause or contribute to the condition behind your pain. For sciatica relief, you can follow a simple three step process in the privacy of your own home.
First, identify the cause. This involves understanding the dysfunctions present in your body and the muscle imbalances which created them. These can be identified through a series of self assessments.
Second, treat the pain symptoms. Clearly you won’t be able to correct the problem if your pain is so severe that you can’t move.
Finally, begin working on the underlying dysfunctions and muscle imbalances which caused the condition leading to sciatica. Relief that lasts requires correcting the problem, not just covering up the symptoms.
Learn more about getting at home sciatica relief including a video which shows a quick stretch you can use to stop sciatica pain from piriformis syndrome in seconds plus complete details behind the causes and treatments for sciatica.
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If you’ve been diagnosed with sciatica you might be surprised to learn it’s not really a physical condition at all. Instead, sciatica is a description of a set of pain symptoms typically caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve.
Walk into the office of virtually any doctor, chiropractor, or physical therapist with a back pain complaint and chances are you’ll return home with the same sheet of paper they give to every patient who walks through their door. On it you’ll find various 
Imagine the pain of a sharp razor blade slicing open your lower back, through your buttocks and down the back of your leg. Then again, if you suffer from sciatica, you may not need to imagine it at all.
