As many as 4 out of 10 people will suffer from sciatica at some point in their life. Thankfully, there’s an expert approved treatment that could help ease the pain… massage
Wake up every morning feeling more ‘Ouch!” than ‘OK, let’s go’? You could be suffering from sciatica. Running from the lower back all the way down your leg to the heel, the sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the body. When it gets compressed by the muscles running alongside it, the nerve gets inflamed causing anything from a tingly niggle to all out reach-for-the-painkillers agony!
The sciatic nerve can be aggravated after a particularly excessive workout, if you’ve slipped a disc, have pore posture – perhaps from poring over a computer for the best part of a day – or due to extra pressure on the nerve during pregnancy. Treatment can include ice, heat or popping painkillers, but another option is massage.
“Massage is a great way of relieving the pain of sciatica,” explains Urban Massage therapist Vanessa Ramirez. “It can help loosen muscle tension and ease tenderness.”
Vanessa says that the benefits of massage in helping sciatica are both physical and psychological.
“Massage can help boost the ‘good’ hormones in your body, like endorphins, which can help promote healing and provide natural pain management,” she explains. “But it also helps psychologically by offering them a release. I had a patient who had been suffering terribly from sciatica. After her first massage she cried because she felt so much better.”
After a massage clients often find that they’re able to walk better because the muscles putting pressure on the sciatic nerve have relaxed and the position of their back has altered.
Vanessa suggests regular massages, at least weekly, or twice weekly if symptoms are particularly bad, with the use of aromatherapy oils, such as lavender and peppermint, which can help to release the muscle around the sciatica. Your massage therapist will also be able to advise on some massage techniques to try yourself.
References:
http://www.webmd.com/back-pain/guide/sciatica-pain-relief-options
http://patient.info/doctor/low-back-pain-and-sciatica
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