How to Get Relief from Sciatica

If you’ve had the misfortune of dealing with sciatica, you may have experienced it as a lightning bolt of pain that shot down your leg. Or maybe your sciatica experience was better described as a deep, nagging ache you felt up into your lower back that didn’t relent, no matter what position you twisted yourself into. Sciatica refers to symptoms of buttock, thigh, and leg pain that persist, often affecting your day-to-day life.

Sciatica gets its name from the sciatic nerve, the body’s largest nerve. There’s one sciatic nerve on either side of the body. Each one starts in the spine and extends through the buttock and down the leg into the foot and toes. Most sciatica happens when a sciatic nerve root in the spine gets pinched and irritated, often from a herniated disc.

Regardless of the cause, most people with sciatica will get better without surgery, and within a few weeks. Home treatment may be all you need. Here are some things to try:

• Move. A few days of rest is okay but ideally you want to move as much as you can as soon as you can. Gentle stretching to increase flexibility in the hips and lower body can help to lessen the pain of sciatica and allow the nerve to heal. If moving seems to make the pain worse, it’s best to see a doctor and talk through what’s going on.
• Ice and heat. Ice is helpful for the first week. Place ice packs on your lower back and other areas where you feel pain. Ice can soothe discomfort by reducing blood flow and muscle spasms. Leave them in place for no more than 15 to 20 minutes at a time, with at least a 15- to 20-minute break in between. After that, applying heat can help. Heat treatments will increase the flow of blood to the muscles of the painful areas, which can speed healing. Heat also will relax the muscles to allow for gentle stretching that can help to relieve the pain.
• Over-the-counter pain relievers. Many people find some relief with over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, other brands), naproxen (Aleve, other brands), or aspirin. Don’t take more than the recommended dose.

Although most sciatica gets better on its own, it’s sometimes prudent to visit the doctor to make sure your pain doesn’t have a more serious cause. An office visit is in order if

• you are under age 20 or older than 55 and having sciatica for the first time
• your symptoms are severe
• you have weakness in a leg or foot
• you have a fever in addition to your pain.
• you have a history of cancer

To learn more about ways to ease your sciatica pain, purchase Finding Relief for Sciatica, an Online Guide from Harvard Health Publishing.

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