How to Treat Sciatica Without Surgery

The term Sciatica is used to describe leg pain along sciatic nerve, with or without tingling, numbness or weakness that travels down from the low back. Sciatic nerve arises from each side of lower spine and passes deep in the buttock along the back of thigh and legs. The pain of Sciatica may be irregular/ infrequent or persistent causing severe agony to the patients. The pain of Sciatica may be confined to back of thigh & leg or may extend up to toes. The pain of Sciatica can be excruciating and "not relieved by painkillers". 

What causes Sciatica? 

Pain in Sciatica is due to irritation or pinching of nerve roots that form the sciatic nerve or pinching of Sciatic nerve after it is formed. This occurs most commonly due to prolapsed intervertebral disc (slip disc) causing nerve compression resulting in pain or it can be because of some similar conditions like Piriformis syndrome. 

Is surgery the only treatment for Sciatica? 

Most patients can be managed with medication, exercises or interventional procedures. So surgery is not the only way out. Patients who have severe pain can also benefit from "Epidural Steroid Injection" or " Ozone Nucleolysis". This treatment has proven to be effective in avoiding spine surgery in such patients. 

What is Epidural Steroid Injection? 

Epidural Steroid Injection is a procedure done by a Specialist (Interventional Pain) in an Operation Theatre using X-Ray (Image Intensifier) to locate at an exact level of injection. A drug mixture consisting of Steroid with Local Anaesthetic is injected at the epidural space of affected nerve root. The steroid washes away inflammatory mediators from the epidural space which decreases the pain. Steroid also decreases the inflammatory response of the body to the prolapsed disc. As a result, the pain arising from nerve inflammation is decreased. This is a day care procedure i.e. the patients are discharged the same day. 

What is Ozone Nucleolysis? 

This is a procedure similar to Epidural injection. Here Ozone-oxygen gas mixture is injected at prolapsed disc. Ozone shrinks the disc size and reduces inflammation of nerve. 

How is the possibility of surgery ruled out? 

Epidural Steroid Injection/Ozone Nucleolysis are proven, safe and an effective treatment that work on the concept of Interventional pain management - to provide relief from persistent and chronic pain of Sciatica. Generally, a single injection is sufficient to relieve patients of the pain. The procedure can be repeated for a maximum 3 times in a year, depending on the patient's response. With effective pain relief, surgery is negated.