If you suffer from the painful symptoms of sciatica, you are not alone in wanting to find a non-invasive sciatica pain treatment option. Chiropractic intervention is one of the best non-invasive treatments for sciatica symptoms, but therapies used in conjunction with chiropractic care can accelerate healing and lessening of pain.
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation, or TENS, is a popular non-invasive therapy that can rapidly increase recovery from sciatica. It has been clinically proven to help reduce pain symptoms in the lower back and extremities, including sciatica, and can be done at home or under the care and supervision of a trained TENS technician.
Causes
Sciatica occurs when the sciatic nerve, the largest single nerve in the human body, is compressed or pinched by discs or muscles in the spine. The pressure on the nerve is caused by various conditions, including bulging or herniated discs, injury of the muscles in the pelvic region, degenerative disc disease, and spinal stenosis.
While sciatica symptoms can subside after a few days, many patients suffer from chronic flare-ups of the condition, especially if there is an injury or slipped disc involved. The risk of developing sciatica increases with age, with the disc spaces narrowing in the spine due to wear and tear and bone loss.
Symptoms
Most patients suffering from sciatic pain experience an aching that can radiate through the buttocks and hips down into the thighs, calves, and feet. If the sciatic nerve is being compressed severely, these symptoms can become worse and include electric shock sensations, burning sensations, weakness, and numbness.
These symptoms can greatly reduce movement, flexibility, and range of motion. For some, it can affect the use of the legs and impact walking or standing. Sciatica can have a devastating effect on the quality of life for someone who is suffering from these painful symptoms.
Treatment options
Treatment options range from invasive therapies such as surgery or injections, to non-invasive therapies such as massage, chiropractic care, cold laser, TENS, and electric muscle stimulation.
Surgeries and injections can actually cause symptoms to worsen, so many patients seek out non-invasive solutions to their sciatica pain. Non-invasive treatments help increase blood flow to the affected region, stimulating muscle and nerve regeneration. Chiropractic manipulation, coupled with stretches and exercises, can strengthen the muscles around the spine to help support its structure and prevent further slipping of discs.
TENS treatments
TENS therapy treatments differ from electric muscle stimulation (EMS) by targeting low-level electrical currents to the affected nerves. Electrodes are placed on the lower back near the affected portion of the sciatic nerve and deliver these low-voltage currents for 5-10 minutes. The current disrupts the pain signals running from the nerve into the brain and is believed to increase endorphins along with blood flow.
Patients who use TENS treatments usually begin to experience relief from their symptoms in 2-3 sessions, and after a few weeks, their pain is typically significantly reduced or eliminated.
TENS units can also be purchased for personal use at home, and many patients choose to use the TENS unit daily or a few times a week to help promote healing to the sciatic nerve. At-home TENS units can be incredibly effective at managing pain from chronic flare-ups of lower back and hip pain caused by sciatica.
TENS treatments can also be delivered by a trained technician, and when combined with massage therapy and chiropractic care, patients typically see their sciatica symptoms improve very quickly.
Final thoughts
If you’re thinking about using TENS for sciatic pain treatment, it is an excellent non-invasive treatment option. TENS promotes healing by increasing blood flow to the affected nerve which will help regenerate and restore damaged tissue. Patients who use TENS for chronic sciatic pain management usually experience relief very quickly, making it a convenient tool to use at home or your chiropractor’s office.
