If the severe back pain you are feeling whether on the left side or the right side is radiating downward through your buttocks and down the back side of the leg then, you are most likely suffering from sciatica.
Following are three things that may help you ease the pain.
1. When the pain first occurs, use ice packs on the affected area for fifteen to twenty minutes once every two hours or so for the first 24 – 48 hours. The initial onslaught of the pain is generally caused by inflammation and cold helps reduces inflammation where as heat makes it more severe.
2. When sciatica is being caused by a herniated or ruptured disc, sitting can aggravate it so, avoid sitting. Sitting also compresses the spine so, here again, if the cause is a pinched nerve sitting will aggravate it. One of the two following positions should help to ease pressure on the disc and nerve. For the first one, lay on the floor with a pillow under the back, this will stretch the spine backwards. The second lay on your side with a pillow between the knees, and you can use both of these when sleeping.
3. Short walks, although it may be painful, can help reduce the spinal compression that causes the pressure on the sciatic nerve and discs. Since it is painful, it is suggested that you only walk a few short yards at a time then rest. Since sitting worsens the spinal compression, you should lie down when resting, flat on the back with a pillow under the back so; take your walks in your home.
There are many more things that you can do to ease the pain, as well as things that you can do regularly to keep sciatica from coming back in the future. These are just three of them to help you immediately.
If you are tired of constantly dealing with sciatica and want to know how I fix my sciatica then, click here to discover how I fixed it and how I prevent it from returning. You only have to live with it if you want to.
