Sciatica Pain Relief: How Physiotherapy Can Help

Are you experiencing sciatica pain? While this painful condition can significantly affect your daily life, through the guidance of a physiotherapist and a personalized treatment plan tailored to your needs, you can manage and reduce your symptoms effectively. In this blog, we’re going to look at the common causes of sciatica and how physiotherapy can help alleviate your pain and discomfort.

What is Sciatica?

Sciatica is often a symptom of an underlying condition and manifests as pain that radiates along the nerve that runs from the lower back to the legs through the hips and buttocks.

Causes of Sciatica

Here are some of the most common causes of sciatica:

• Herniated disc in the lower spine – This occurs when the soft inner part of a spinal disc is pushed through the outer layer due to the presence of a tear, thus causing pain and irritation along the sciatic nerve.

• Spinal stenosis – This refers to the narrowing of the spinal canal, which may pinch and irritate the sciatic nerve.

• Piriformis syndrome – This refers to muscular spams in the buttock area.

• Spondylolisthesis – This condition occurs when a vertebra slips out of its normal position, resulting in pain and discomfort.

Using Physiotherapy to Treat Sciatica

Here are some of the methods that a physiotherapist may use to help treat your sciatica pain:

• Spinal mobilization – Through gentle, hands-on techniques, your physiotherapist can help reduce the pressure on the sciatic nerve to restore normal joint movement in the spine and alleviate pain.

• Manual therapy – Through hands-on techniques such as soft tissue massage and joint mobilization, your physiotherapist can help alleviate muscle tension and pain in the affected area.

• Strengthening exercises – Your physiotherapist will recommend exercises to strengthen your core muscles. This will help support your spine better and improve stability.

• Stretches – Likewise, your physiotherapist will teach you stretching exercises that will help improve flexibility and alleviate muscle tightness in the lower back, hips, and legs.

• Posture correction – Poor posture can both cause and worsen sciatica pain. With the guidance of your physiotherapist, you will learn about proper body mechanics and how to adjust your posture to diminish the strain you put on your spine.

• Mechanical traction – Using a specialized device designed to gently stretch the spine, your physiotherapist will be able to reduce the pressure on the nerve roots by widening the space between the vertebrae. In turn, this can help alleviate the pain.

• Cold and heat therapy – Cold therapy involves the use of ice backs to numb the affected area for short-term pain relief. Likewise, heat therapy involves using heating pad or taking warm baths to stimulate blood flow and alleviate pain.

• Acupuncture and dry needling – These methods consist of alleviating pain by stimulating the nervous system and releasing endorphins by inserting thin needles into targeted areas of the body.

Sciatica Pain Relief in the Lower Mainland

Are you seeking effective relief from sciatica pain in the Lower Mainland? At Legacies Health Centre, we offer a variety of treatment options, including specialized physiotherapy, to help alleviate sciatica and other painful conditions. Don’t let your sciatica pain get in the way of your daily activities. 

Contact us today to book an appointment with one of our experienced physiotherapists in Burnaby, North Vancouver, Surrey and South Surrey!

Sumit is an experienced physiotherapist with a diverse background, having worked in Canada, India, and New Zealand across public and private clinics. He specializes in treating sports injuries, ICBC/WCB claims, motor vehicle accidents, post-op rehab, and chronic pain. After earning his Physiotherapy degree in India (2011) and a Sports & Exercise Science qualification in New Zealand (2012), he spent a decade in New Zealand before moving to Canada in 2022. Fluent in English, Hindi, and Punjabi, Sumit connects easily with diverse patients. Outside work, he enjoys traveling, exploring cultures, and cooking.

Book online with Sumit Gosain in Nordel here.