Balance and Gait Disorders

Relieve Your Back Pain and Sciatica Symptoms with Physical Therapy

Suffering from Back Pain or Sciatica? Get Help with Physical Therapy

Do you wake up with pestering back pain during the morning? Do you feel pain in your back, buttocks, or even your thighs? Do you have to watch what you’re doing, because you’re afraid that your back could be thrown out?

Back pain is the most widely recorded pain nationally, according to the American Physical Therapy Association, and in the past three months, one out of every four Americans has experienced back pain.

Back pain and sciatica are distinct from each other but are sometimes confused. The upper middle or lower back is specific to the back. Sciatica radiates pain down the buttock, thigh, and even knee, and is more diffuse. Radiculopathy, which is a radiant numbness, tingling, burning, or extreme pain in a particular part of the leg, can also be present. This is also associated with a herniated disc, or trapping of that area’s nerve as it leaves the spine.

Do not depend on drugs to mask the symptoms if you are looking for back pain relief or sciatica relief. Your body tells you that there is a more fundamental root cause that needs to be addressed. Be mindful that the first treatment of choice should be physical therapy. It removes the need for unnecessary painkillers, such as opioids, and can help you prevent potential invasive surgery.

How did my back pain or sciatica occur?

As a consequence of an injury, general back pain usually occurs. This can be attributed to frequent straining movements, such as bending down to pick up a toddler numerous times during the day or a more severe, unexpected shock, such as a motor vehicle accident. Underlying conditions can also cause immense pain, such as herniated disks, and cause pain in the thigh, shoulder, or foot with radiculopathy. A common disorder that develops when we age is degenerative disc disease, which may result in back pain. Those with this condition generally report dull, aching pain in their lower back, and have trouble standing or walking for a long time.

"San Jose Physical Therapy Clinic, Physical Therapist, Medical Clinic, Sports Medicine Clinic, Rehabilitation Center, Sciatica & Back Pain Relief Neck Pain Relief Headaches Shoulder Pain Relief Hip and Knee Pain Relief Elbow Wrist and Hand Pain Relief Foot and Ankle Pain Relief Balance and Gait Disorders Pain Relief for Arthritis Chronic Pain Relief Motor Vehicle Accident Injuries Neurological Condition Pre-Surgical Rehab Post-Surgical Rehab Sports Injuries TMJ Dysfunction Work Injuries Pre-Post-Natal Pain Relief Dizzines & Vertigo"

The technical name of Sciatica is “lumbar radiculopathy.” In general people who have this disease are between 30 and 50 years of age. The development of sciatica, particularly arthritis, bone spurs, or any other condition that affects the sciatic nerve, can cause several different types of injuries. Most often in the hips and pelvis, we notice that people lose their flexibility, causing tightening of the gluteus and hip muscles. This in essence, modifies the spine’s mechanics and induces compression of the sciatic nerve as it passes through these tissues.

How can I tell the difference between back pain and sciatica?

Back pain

“Back pain” is a concept that can be induced by a number of various conditions. Owing to poor posture, a motor vehicle accident, or a lifting injury, for instance, you can feel back pain. In addition to the exact location and your past medical history, the recovery plan that our San Jose, CA physical therapist sets up for you will focus on how you procured the back pain.

It can be defined as acute back pain, meaning that it is short-term or chronic, meaning that it is long-term (typically lasting for three months or longer). 

Sciatica

Sciatica is a particular type of back pain that is stated to be extremely painful. However, luckily, it is also very straightforward to diagnose. There is discomfort in individuals with sciatica along their sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in the body.

At the bottom of your back, the sciatic nerve starts and then separates at the base of your spine to spread farther down to your buttocks, thighs, and eventually to your foot’s bottom. The sciatic nerve may become squeezed or irritated in your lower back, buttocks, legs, or feet, which creates a “shooting,” “stinging,” or “burning sensation.

Relieve your back pain or sciatica today:

Back pain will come and go for most individuals. What many individuals do not know, though is that the underlying condition of poor joint movement, core weakness, and poor control of muscles can set them up for a potential back injury, which can be considerably worse.

Through physical therapy, back pain and sciatica are also fully treatable. Our physical therapist in San Jose, CA, establishes for you a personalized care plan that depends on your condition. The early stages of your physical therapy treatment focuses on quick pain relief. 

Our physical therapist will expand on improving your core muscle group with particular therapeutic exercises and stretches as your pain decreases. The purpose here is to improve your strength and range of motion to prevent your spine from being re-injured. Finally, we teach you ergonomics and how to ensure that you know how to take care of your back and prevent potential issues.

Our physical therapists will incorporate particular leg stretches into your care plan to loosen the sciatic nerve if you are suffering from sciatica. This restores the nerve’s normal health and decreases symptoms rapidly.

Request an appointment with one of our professionals at Pace Physical Therapy if you have back pain or sciatica. We will help you get on the path to recovery as soon as possible, no matter how intense the pain might be.