Sciatica may affect up to 40% of people at some point during their lives. If radiating pain in your lower back, buttocks, or legs associated with sciatica negatively affects your everyday life, board-certified physician Anuj Gupta, MD, and his experienced pain management team can help. At Advanced Pain Management in Vista, California, they use advanced, innovative treatments to reduce pain and give you the quality of life you deserve. Schedule an appointment with Advanced Pain Management over the phone or online to learn more about sciatica treatments.
Sciatica is pain due to problems with your sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in your body. When the nerve gets pinched or damaged, it can cause pain along the nerve’s pathway, which begins in your lower back and travels down each leg.
Sciatica can result from lifting something heavy, a sports injury, or being in an automobile accident. It may occur after experiencing a ruptured intervertebral disc, narrowing of your spinal canal, a pelvic fracture, or a bone spur. Sometimes the cause of sciatica isn’t known.
Factors that increase your risk of developing sciatica include obesity, older age, carrying heavy loads, diabetes, and prolonged sitting.
The following signs and symptoms may indicate you have sciatica:
Sciatica symptoms vary from person to person. The pain may come and go or affect just one side of your body. If your discomfort is severe or long-lasting, see the Advanced Pain Management team for an evaluation.
To diagnose sciatica, Dr. Gupta reviews your medical history. He asks questions about your symptoms, completes a comprehensive physical exam, and may use X-rays, MRIs, or other imaging procedures to find the root cause of pain and establish the right treatment plan for you.
Your personalized sciatica treatment plan might include:
Your provider can show you strength and flexibility exercises that help relieve sciatica pain or prevent recurrences.
Dr. Gupta might recommend steroid, anesthetic, platelet-rich plasma (RPP), or nerve block injections to alleviate sciatica discomfort without addictive medicines or invasive surgery.
Radiofrequency neurotomy is a procedure in which Dr. Gupta inserts a tiny needle that emits heat energy into painful areas of your body to mask pain signals from nerves to your brain.
With spinal cord stimulation, Dr. Gupta inserts a tiny pacemaker-like device just beneath your skin to send mild electric currents to your spinal cord to reduce pain signals.
Don’t live with pain associated with sciatica when simple solutions are available at Advanced Pain Management. Schedule an appointment over the phone or online to learn more about your treatment options.