Posts Tagged ‘Minimal Risk’

Sciatica symptom relief has been hard to come by for many sciatica sufferers, but a new treatment option is now available that brings fast relief with a minimal risk of side effects to the vast majority of sciatica sufferers.

Sciatica (commonly misspelled as syatica) is an irritation of the sciatic nerve which is formed by nerves that arise in the low back. Most cases of sciatica are caused by herniations or bulges of one or more spinal discs. The spinal discs are soft tissue structures that separate the spinal bones (the vertebrae) and act as shock absorbers.

When a spinal disc is damaged through a single injury or multiple small injuries over time, the outer wall of the disc may not be able to contain the pressure from within and the disc bulges outward into the canals where the spinal nerves exit the spine. This results in compression and irritation of the nerves, which often produces sciatica that begins in the buttock muscles and may travel downward across the back of the leg to the bottom of the foot.

The treatment options for sciatica symptom relief vary depending on the case. The first line of sciatica treatment is usually medication to reduce pain and inflammation. Muscle relaxers may also be prescribed to reduce muscle spasm. Medication may be effective enough to provide relief short-term until inflammation subsides and/or the disc stabilizes. In more severe cases, oral medication may not be effective, and some patients may not be able to tolerate the common side effects of anti-inflammatory drugs and/or the diminished mental alertness seen with pain killers and muscle relaxers.

Steroid injections are often the next line of sciatica symptom relief treatment, and they are used to try to reduce inflammation around the discs and spinal nerves. While steroid injections often provide relief short-term, the long-term effects are less favorable. Due to the fact that the main effect of steroid injections is to reduce inflammation, once those effects wear off, inflammation and the resulting pressure on the nerves often builds up again, and symptoms return. Steroid shots come with a number of side-effects including bone thinning, damage to soft tissues, and suppression of immune function, so doctors limit the amount of steroids used in order to avoid adverse health effects from the treatment.

Surgical treatment is often suggested for sciatica sufferers, and in a few cases it may be the only real option. Surgery has a poor track record (about a 50% success rate overall), and in some cases, symptoms may worsen following surgery. Complications of surgery include problems from post-surgical scar tissue formation and increased stress on adjacent spinal discs which may result in additional problems with other discs in the years following surgery.

Fortunately, there is a new option in sciatica symptom relief that has a high success rate and a very low risk of side-effects. Spinal decompression is a new, advanced form of spinal traction that uses special computerized traction motors to gently and slowly apply a decompressive force to the spine, reducing pressure in the spinal discs. Spinal decompression systems can comfortably create negative pressure (suction) within the spinal discs that can pull disc bulges and herniations back in and away from sensitive nerve structures, as well as increase disc hydration and nutrition to help with disc healing. Unlike the old forms of spinal traction which could be painful due to the traction pull triggering muscle spasm, spinal decompression systems monitor and respond to the body to keep muscles relaxed so the treatment is comfortable and effective.

Preliminary studies have shown a success rate for spinal decompression of 80 to 90%, with the beneficial effects holding up well over the long-term. The one-year recurrence rate post-treatment is less than 5%. While spinal decompression is not appropriate for everyone with sciatica and is not effective in every case, it does represent a big improvement in sciatica treatment.