What Are the Treatments for Sciatic Nerve Damage to the Back?

Many people suffer back pain due to damage to the sciatic nerve, which is the biggest nerve in the body. For many of them, the damage eventually heals on its own but the pain must be treated and managed during the healing process. Depending on the severity of the pain, a variety of treatment options exists, ranging from in-home with over-the-counter drugs, to outpatient with prescription drugs--or sometimes surgery as a last resort.

In-Home

• If back pain is tolerable but nagging, a few things can be done at home and be much less costly than going to a doctor. First try icing the area intermittently for the first 48-72 hours and using heat from then on. You can take over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen like Advil or acetaminophen like Tylenol. When you sleep, the best position is the fetal position, placing a pillow between your legs. If it is too uncomfortable to sleep on your side, lay on your back with the pillow placed under your knees.

Prescriptions

• Before resorting to surgery, doctors often prescribe strong painkillers to help a patient manage pain enough to keep moving and doing physical therapy. Some commonly prescribed medications that help relieve the stabbing pain around the sciatic nerve include phenytoin, carbamazepine, or tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline.

Injections

• In some cases a doctor may suggest the use of epidural steroid injections for sciatica treatment and pain management. These injections work to more effectively reduce inflammation around the sciatic nerve because the medication is injected directly to the painful area. The effects of this kind of injection can last anywhere from a few weeks to a year and can better allow a patient to exercise and perform physical therapy.

  While not an injection per se, acupunture helped many people suffering from sciatica. Acupuncture is a treatment in which very thin needles are inserted into the skin in and around the area of pain and are left in place for up to 30 minutes. This form of treatment has been approved by the USFDA as a treatment for back pain.

Physical Therapy

• In most cases of back pain caused by damage to the sciatic nerve, physical therapy is recommended because regular movement and exercise are necessary to strengthen and mend the low back muscles. Regular exercise can help patients recover more quickly when they are struck with a flare-up. Low impact exercises such as walking, swimming or doing light aerobic activity are usually part of a physical therapy regimen.

Surgery

• In some cases of sciatica, surgery is the last resort taken in an attempt to treat the condition successfully. There are two common surgeries; microdiscectomy, or microdeceompression, and a lumbar laminectomy. Microdiscectomy is performed when the pain is due to a herniated disc and involves the removal of such a disc. A lumbar laminectomy is generally only performed if the patient is unable to be active and involves the removal of most of the bony arch of a vertebra.