Sciatica

Sciatica is the term used to describe pain caused by your sciatic nerve. The largest nerve in your body, your sciatic nerve, runs from your lower back, through your hips and buttocks, down the back of your legs to your feet. It controls muscles and feeling in the lower legs, the soles of your feet, behind your knees, and the back of your thighs.

Sciatic nerve pain occurs when a bulging or herniated disc pinches the sciatic nerve in your spine. This can occur from a sports injury or from stretching, twisting, bending, or heavy lifting. You’ll feel symptoms ranging from back pain to numbness or tingling down the back of one leg.

Dr. Melepura can restore your range of movement and relieve the pain in the lower back and legs. We offer emergency, same-day appointments in Midtown Manhattan if you are in pain.

Symptoms of Sciatica

Your sciatic nerve lets you know when it’s unhappy. The doctors at the Sports and Pain Institute of NY report the most common symptom is pain radiating from your lower back down to the back of your thigh. Typically, it affects only one side of your body.

Sciatic nerve pain varies in intensity from mild to excruciating. Your pain can feel like a burning sensation, a sharp stabbing pain, or even an electric shock. The pain may be accompanied by muscle weakness.

A proper diagnosis is required to get the best sciatica treatment. Range of motion tests may reveal what’s triggering your pain. Additional diagnostic exams may be necessary if the pain is exceptionally strong or doesn’t improve with rest. Dr. Melepura and specialists at the Sports and Pain Institute know how to treat sciatica once they have a diagnosis.

Sciatica Pain Relief

You may find that staying active helps relieve sciatica pain. If your pain becomes too great, lie down for short periods. When your pain diminishes, take short walks at a gentle pace. Sitting increases the pressure on your sciatic nerve, making the pain worse. Your best option is to limit sitting and driving.

The good news is that relief occurs naturally over three to four weeks for 75 percent of the people who suffer from it. The challenge is how to manage your pain until you heal. The Sports and Pain Institute of NY specialists are experts in managing your pain. They know how to treat sciatica, so you get the pain relief you need.

Commonly prescribed medications by Dr. Melepura to quickly relieve the pain in the lower back radiating to the leg include:

• Anti-inflammatories
• Anti-seizure medications
• Muscle relaxants

Surgery for sciatica relief is necessary only in extreme cases. If severe symptoms persist, you may be advised to consider it. Symptoms that indicate the possible need for surgery include:

• Loss of bladder or bowel control
• Pain progressively worsening
• Significant muscle weakness

Sciatica treatment gets you out of pain and back to moving freely. Choosing the right medical practice, whose doctors are experts in lumbar radiculopathy treatments, is a giant first step to sciatica pain relief. Doctors at the Sports and Pain Institute of NY know how to treat sciatica nerve pain and get you out of pain as quickly as possible. They know which sciatica treatment will work best for you.

Febin Melepura, MD is a top rated, best in class interventional pain management doctor. He is a nationally recognized pain relief specialist and is among the top pain care doctors in New York City and the country. He is an award winning expert and contributor to a prominent media outlets.

Dr. Febin Melepura has been recognized for his thoughtful, thorough, modern approach to treating chronic pain and, among other accolades, has been named a “top pain management doctor in New York”, and one of “America’s Top Doctors™” for an advanced sports injury treatments.