Burning, tingling, shooting, throbbing – low back sciatica Pain is literally a pain in the butt. 😉
It probably started out feeling like an ice pick stabbing at your butt, or a fist squeezing your back and butt as hard as possible, but a few days later it turns into a burning rope running all the way from your back to your foot sensation.
This is only one of the reasons that the first signs of Sciatica should not be ignored or neglected – even for a day.
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In this post you’ll find tried and tested home treatments for sciatica pain relief – all of them are 100% natural, noninvasive, and side-effet-free.
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What Causes Sciatic Nerve Pain?
Sciatica occurs when the sciatic nerve is irritated or compressed in the low back, thus sending pain from the sciatic nerve down to the buttock and sometimes down the back of the leg.
Sciatica is not a physical condition.
It’s a set of symptoms describing radiating pain that travels down from a pinched or irritated sciatic nerve, many times accompanied by tingling, burning, numbness, and weakness of the legs.
The common causes are:
4. Spondylolisthesis
5. Piriformis syndrome
6. Spinal trauma (car accident, lifting)
The 4 Best Sciatica Home Treatments
Basically, to treat sciatica at home you need to accomplish 2 things:
1. Relieve the pressure on the irritated sciatic nerve.
2. Reduce inflammation (see the best remedies for low back inflammation)
Below you’ll find the best methods to relieve the pressure on your sciatic nerve while reducing inflammation in your lower back.
1. Home Spinal Decompression
Spinal decompression is by far the fastest and best sciatic pain relief method, in my experience.
Spinal decompression treatments have been shown to “fix” herniated and bulging discs pressing on nerves time and time again – without surgery.
Sciatica can be eliminated and even arthritis sufferers find tremendous relief (in minutes) using spinal decompression.
Here are some of the best options:
Spine Decompression Exercises for Sciatica
If your pain is not debilitating and you are able to move, spinal decompression exercises can be the best place to start your healing process (and pain relief!).
Above is an image with some of the best spinal decompression exercises you can do at home – daily – for quick sciatica pain relief.
You can also get your own back traction device to use anytime you need it in the comfort of your own home and save a fortune on chiropractor treatments.
Inversion Therapy
Using an inversion table can relieve your sciatic pain in just a few minutes. If you use it daily, it will allow you to gradually incline your body until you can remain upside down for 5-15 minutes a day.
While upside down, gravity pulls your spine allowing the vertebrae to relax enough for the spinal discs to recover their proper shape and increase circulation for faster healing.
👉Read: Do Inversion Tables work for Sciatica?
2. All Natural Pain Relief Cream
When you’re in pain, you want to get rid of it fast – without waiting around for pills to be absorbed or for smelly creams to sink in and only mask the pain with a burning sensation.
After trying many pain relief creams, I’ve found one that works best for me, and I love it because it works immediately, it doesn’t stink, it’s not greasy and it absorbs fast.
In my experience, the best topical pain relief cream for Sciatica will have only natural ingredients, and it’s called “Rub-On Relief“.
If you are feeling crafty and have some extra time, you can make a homemade lower back pain cream– by yourself.
3. Herbal Remedies for Sciatica (Especially Turmeric!)
Nature offers us some amazingly powerful herbs for pain relief and inflammation.
Some of the best herbs (and foods) for sciatica are:
Turmeric root, Ginger root, Proteolytic Enzymes, Bromelain, Papain, Boswellia, and Cayenne Pepper.
This is a formula that contains most of these herbal remedies, you may want to check it out.
👉 Turmeric is one of the best home remedies for sciatica inflammation, proven effective by hundreds of studies.
Curcumin is the most active constituent of turmeric, giving it its yellow color. It makes up about 6% of the spice, though it’s actually the most beneficial component, with both potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
4. Infrared Light Therapy
I hope I don’t get too emotional again about infrared light therapy, because I really can’t praise this little-known pain relief and healing method enough.
I’ve used infrared light therapy at home for 6 different health conditions that usually require pills and drugs, which I dislike.
My infrared heating mat helps me relieve any kind of pain, kick my stress and fatigue out the window, restore my energy, boost my immune system, and even detoxify.
And all I have to do is lie on it for a little while.
What Can Pregnant Women with Sciatica Do?
Sciatica is very common in pregnancy. Unfortunately, most of these home treatments for sciatica are not safe for pregnant women.
Heat therapy is supposed to be safe enough, you may want to use a heating pad and place it on the painful area in your back.
Avoid lifting and pushing heavy things and don’t make sudden movements.
If you have a too-soft mattress consider replacing it with a firm mattress, or at least a firm mattress topper.
Massage therapy can also be very helpful, but make sure you go to someone who specializes in pregnancy massage.
I would also recommend a U-shaped body pillow, which helps keep the pressure off your spine and prevent back pain and discomfort at night.
Is There a Pill That Cures Sciatica?
Treatments for sciatic pain relief commonly include some combination of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen or naproxen. If your pain is really severe you’ll probably get a Cortisone shot.
But, NSAID drugs are risky at best and deadly at worst. As for injections, the possible side effects and risks are frightening.
Most importantly, they won’t fix the underlying problem and won’t prevent your sciatica from coming back in the near future.
Have you tried any of these home treatments for Sciatica? How did they work for you?
To your health and happiness,
Meital
References
Hewlings SJ, Kalman DS. Curcumin: A Review of Its’ Effects on Human Health. Foods. 2017;6(10):92. Published 2017 Oct 22. doi:10.3390/foods6100092
Hamblin MR. Mechanisms and applications of the anti-inflammatory effects of photobiomodulation. AIMS Biophys. 2017;4(3):337‐361. doi:10.3934/biophy.2017.3.337
Gale GD, Rothbart PJ, Li Y. Infrared therapy for chronic low back pain: a randomized, controlled trial. Pain Res Manag. 2006;11(3):193‐196. doi:10.1155/2006/876920
