Sciatica pain relief begins by obtaining a proper diagnosis from a doctor specializing in back pain and disorders. Many times, sciatica is associated with over-exertion or a back injury. In these cases, it's important to determine if conservative measures including cold compression therapy, Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, moderate activity, and ultrasound therapy such as MendMeShop Ultrasound Therapy are adequate. Conservative treatments are effective but if the injury is more serious; considerable loss of feeling and numbness, injury was brought on by sudden trauma, suspected nerve damage, loss of bladder and bowel control, muscle weakness or if the pain lasts and gets progressively worse, then medical attention should be sought. Bed rest has long been accepted as necessary for relieving back pain and sciatica. In more recent years the long term benefits of bed rest have been challenged. While rest may temporarily relieve pain within the first day or two of an injury, prolonged bed rest may be detrimental to healing. Inactivity includes muscle atrophy (loss of muscle mass), tightness and low blood flow, all of which are disadvantageous for healing. Rather, treatments should be geared at maximizing mobility and maintaining lumbar strength.

Our Cold Compression Freezie Wraps allow you to actively treat yourself using the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) method within the first couple days of injuring your back. And because the cold wraps serve to numb nerves the wraps also reduce pain! Furthermore, our wraps keep the ice off the skin preventing frostbite and keep the cold in the area that you need it. You want to ice in 20 minute intervals with at least 45 minutes between each interval. Within a week or two it may prove useful to see your doctor about passive and more active stretching and strengthening for your injured back.

Physical Therapy - Extension exercises may be part of the daily regimen recommended by your chiropractor or therapist. This includes lying on the stomach in a prone position and propping the upper body up on the elbows. Keep the hips on the floor and gently stretch by holding the position up to 30 seconds if possible. This change in position from bending forward may relieve the pressure temporarily on the sciatic nerve. Advanced forms of extension exercises will be given as the inflammation causing sciatic nerve pain begins to resolve. The use of ultrasound or our warm wraps before stretching and exercising the lower back will help compensate for impaired movement enabling a thorough stretch and/or workout.

Medication - Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications are another sciatica home treatment. Since sciatica is caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve complex, reducing the swelling around the nerve endings is necessary for lowering the pain intensity. Anti-inflammatory medications are generally not as effective when used alone as when used in combination with other sciatica home treatments such as exercise. And besides, physical therapy like stretching and massage often provide the same pain relieving benefits as medication but without any side effects. Steroids may help with nerve inflammation related to a herniated disc, but their use should be minimized.

A Back/Hip Inferno Wrap is one of the most helpful tools for treating a wide varity of sciatic back pain problems. Through the absorption of deep penetrating energy waves, tissues are safely and gently heated - increasing blood flow within the treated area. Your body’s natural response to this increased temperature is to try to maintain a condition of homeostasis — a balanced environment or state of equilibrium throughout the body. To do this, your body responds with a rapid increase in blood flow to the area (this is known as vasodilation), increasing the supply of nutrients to injured cells and flushing out toxins (including lactic acid, commonly found in trigger points) to promote healing. Our Back/Hip Inferno Wrap provides effective, non-invasive, non-addictive pain relief with no side effects.

Our Cold Compression Freezie Wraps are recommended by countless medical professionals. That's why we sell them, because they are the best. We have noticed over time that our customers are so fond of our cold wraps that they are frequently coming back and ordering a second one. The wraps are becoming very popular with baseball and soccer trainers, and the wraps can be conveniently stored in a cooler for quick application on the field when needed.

Ultrasound therapy is also a helpful tool for pain prevention of sciatic nerve related problems, and having a portable ultrasound device at home can be a powerful and convenient treatment tool. If you have symptoms or are recovering from a sciatic related injury or problem, using ultrasound on a regular basis before your activity or throughout the day will help relax your muscles, tendons and tissues, diminish pain and inflammation, soften scar tissue and contribute greatly to the healing of your injury.

If you suffer from pain after certain activities or movements use ultrasound therapy when you complete the activity and then rest. Limit the application of ultrasound to a couple of treatments per day (the manual will recommend treatment frequency depending upon the injury). In between ultrasound treatments, maximize your pain relief and injury recovery by using the Freezie Wrap for pain relief and damage control and the Inferno Wrap to speed healing and strengthen your weakened muscles. Proven Performance, Proven Relief - only found at MendMeShop.com. If you have been given a treatment plan by your health professional, make sure you adhere to it to ensure pain free living. In general, people who are committed to their therapies and exercises will have the best medical outcomes.