Always speak with a healthcare provider and read all instructions to make sure that you can safely operate the unit. Up to 40 percent of people will struggle with sciatica at some point during their lives. Second, there are precautions and contraindications to using electric stimulation, for example with pacemakers or certain medical conditions. What causes sciatica to flare up Learning to identify common triggers can help you keep sciatica from flaring up, and recover quickly when it does. TENS doesn’t “fix” why you’re having pain. One, effects are temporary and not cumulative, so using it more doesn’t result in some magical cure. *A TENS unit can be a convenient non-drug way to manage pain, but there are two important details to understand. Wedge to elevate your legs and relieve low back pressure/pain.
Keep in mind that these treatments alone will not “fix” sciatica, but may help you along your way as part of a comprehensive treatment program. Sometimes, you just need to take the edge off the pain to make moving or exercising more tolerable. Helpful tools for sciatic pain relief at home However, whether or not they’re great for your sciatica is another story. There are plenty of great exercises for sciatica. There can be multiple conflicting issues occurring at once that change the appropriate treatments.If it’s piriformis syndrome, spinal range of motion exercises likely won’t help.If the discomfort results from an SI joint dysfunction, either of those movements might aggravate the pain.If the sciatica pain is due to lumbar stenosis, flexion exercises might be the way to go.If a lumbar herniated disc causes nerve compression, extension exercises might benefit the program.However, the sciatic nerve origin point is higher up on the spine, and many cases of sciatic pain are caused by swelling or damage to the discs between the vertebrae of the spine rather than a swollen or damaged piriformis. If sciatica is a symptom with several possible causes, there isn’t one magical sciatica exercise that magically fixes everyone. Other Causes of Sciatic Pain Most of the piriformis pain experienced during a flare-up is caused by the nerve that runs through the muscle. Taking an active role in your health doesn’t mean going rogue and self-diagnosing, and self-treating. Plenty of people out there are willing to offer you bad advice, especially in places like Facebook groups and message forums. Following the wrong advice can lead to feeling worse. The internet is an easy way to research and learn about health conditions (from quality sources, of course), but if you’re asking the wrong questions, you’re going to get the wrong answers. When you have sciatic pain, you’re looking for immediate relief.