Medical Keywords - Everything you need to know about health.

The Osteopathic Treatment of Sciatica

Sciatica is a common condition that has sent many patients to the operating room. Doctors of osteopathy (D.O.s) have also weighed in on this condition, and they have come up with several much more natural ways of curing the problem and actually avoiding it in the long run. Patients are relieved to learn that their pinched sciatic nerve does not necessarily need to land them in the OR, yet at the same time they must realize that the natural or osteopathic cures take a lot more time than a surgery and a course of treatment with painkillers.

Perhaps the first and foremost tool in the belt of the osteopathic practitioner is musculoskeletal manipulation. During this application of the healing touch, the D.O. will attempt to relax muscles and limber up joints to such an extent as to avoid further pinching of the sciatic nerve. In some cases, this may be done over a period of treatments that may span weeks or even months, depending on the severity of the condition and the overall health of the spine.

Being at home in the alternative medicine cabinet, your D.O. may also suggest that you apply an exterior mixture that relies on horseradish as its main ingredient. Although it smells somewhat obnoxious, there are several active ingredients in mashed up horseradish that will affect the muscles and nervous system and you will be surprised to experience the actual muscle relaxation it brings about.

Although this kind of relaxation is short lived and should not be applied overnight for fear of skin irritation, a hot water bottle or heating pad may be used overnight for the continued relaxation of muscles in the back. In the past there were some incidents of heating pads overheating when kept on for prolonged periods of time and it is a good idea to test your for accurate heating and also for the prevention of overheating.

Osteopaths will most likely prescribe a number of stretching exercises that the patient needs to do at home repeatedly. Remember that obeying the instructions to the letter is truly the only way to ensure that proper healing will take place and forgetting to do your exercises is actually going to adversely affect your sciatic nerve relief. Osteopaths will ask you to perform these stretching exercises a number of times in the office just to make sure that you completely understand how to do them.

Other suggestions your osteopath will make are water exercise in the form of regular swimming and also massage therapy. A weekly visit with a masseuse can help you keep your muscles from potentially contributing to a recurrence of sciatica and it will also assist you in reducing your stress levels, which is a nice side effect for a change.

Although it is next to impossible to put a distinct time line on this kind of alternative or complementary healing, the only way that it will for sure yield results is through judicious and consistent application of the exercises. Cutting corners or forgetting to do what is prescribed is going to adversely affect your chances of healing and relief.