Sciatica Treatment News

Sciatica treatment involves many options.

Sciatica, also known by the millions of people who suffer from it as the royal pain in the rear, is really a symptom of an underlying problem and not solely a condition.

The good news is that we know this. The bad news is that in sciatica treatment, many physicians will treat the condition without ever addressing the underlying cause.

The usual sciatic treatment programs first line of therapy consists of non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen, or even stronger drugs such as Vicodin or Oxycontin. The problem with this method of treatment is that one is truly only masking the pain and not getting to the origin.

It would be like going to the dentist with a tooth ache, getting the Novocain injections into your mouth, and going home only to find that 3 hours later the pain returns because nothing was done to correct the cavity or the cause of the tooth pain.  All too often this is seen as an appropriate method of treatment.  Hence the necessity of not only good sciatica treatment programs, but first and foremost, a good diagnosis as to what is the cause or irritation of the sciatic nerve in the first place.

There are really very few things that can result in sciatica.  One of the most common is called degenerative disc disease or dry disc disease.  This condition occurs approximately 85% of the time in adults by the age of 55.

In this condition, the center portion of the disc looses fluid over time due to age, trauma or just plain hard work and gravity.  When this happens, an area called the neural foramina (where the nerve exits from the spinal cord) gets smaller in diameter resulting in a condition called foramina stenosis.

At the base of the low back, at the disc space of the 4th and 5th lumbar vertebrae, the very large sciatic nerve exits.

When even the weight of a dime presses on this very sensitive nerve, the patient experiences pain that can be anywhere from the buttocks, all the way down to the foot.

It is truly the loss of disc fluid and resultant disc herniations or protrusions that most often causes the symptom of sciatica.

No matter how much medication you take, no matter how much physical therapy treatments you participate in, no matter how many chiropractic treatments you get… nothing will relieve the pain until you get to the cause, that being the degenerative disc or herniated disc disease.

Sciatica treatment has focused too much on symptoms rather than the actual condition causing sciatica. This treatment practice only serves to increase frustration in those suffering from this condition.  Often this frustration stems from wondering when this problem will finally go away, not realizing that it is virtually impossible to get well until you can get down to the cause of the problem.  By keeping this in mind when treatment options are explained to you it is certain to ensure a more satisfying and effective result.

Dr. Mark Schnitzer M.D.
Board Certified Neurosurgeon and Spine Specialist