Do you often feel a little pressure or pain on your lower back and a leg cramp followed by the pain?
Do you know what causes this and what it may be a sign of? Mostly there is no reason to panic, but sometimes you are experiencing a difficult condition that is not actually a diagnosed condition itself – sciatica.
What is sciatica?
Sciatic pain, normally known as sciatica, is common and it is happening to more people that you would imagine. Sometimes, people also get confused and think what they have is a regular leg cramp or back pain. They treat it with no movements and ibuprofen or other pills they have at home or in the nearest pharmacy.
What is happening is that there is another issue which causes pressure and a pinching feeling on the sciatic nerve. This sciatic nerve is considered to be the biggest one in our entire body system. It stretches from the lower spine all the way down to our feet.
In this path, this nerve serves to provide strength, movement, and feeling in both of the legs. Sciatic pain can happen on one or both sides and, thus, can numb or weaken your muscles and joints. It does not usually happen on both legs simultaneously, but it usually “burns” particular areas of your leg, foot, or buttock.
When pain occurs, it is usually very strong, sharp or in the form of a cramp, and is happening because the nerve was probably compressed/pinched by a physical injury, by inflammation of the soft tissue surrounding the nerve, or by a narrowing of the spinal column and a short spasming buttock muscle.
The burning pain in the lower back usually continues to travel down the sciatic nerve from the hips and all the way down to the feet. Despite the pain, you may also feel a burning or tingling feeling down the leg, or numbness that continues even in the toes sometimes.
This eventually makes the body have difficulties in performing simple activities, such as walking, sitting, standing, or lying down. Despite difficult, they are very hurtful as well. However, often times it is possible that pain is felt in only certain positions, not in all of them.
For instance, you may walk without any pain after you’ve come out of your painful position of getting up.
What causes sciatica?
Sciatica is most often caused by a slipped or a herniated disc, spinal injury, spinal stenosis, isthmic spondylolisthesis or piriformis syndrome, and it may also occur during pregnancy. Luckily for many people, they can get out of the pain with the right pain relief remedy and by resting as well.
The pain goes away eventually, but it needs some time (around six weeks) and resting. However, if you are experiencing chronic pain, you are advised to see a chiropractor, because it might be another issue requiring a surgery (in case you have severely herniated disk between vertebrae, which is not a very common condition).
There are also numerous natural treatments to help you relieve the pain and we are about to discuss one of them.
An Indian healing spice can be the cure for all your worries and pains. You might have guessed it – we are talking about turmeric.
Turmeric is already well-known for its healing powers since the dawn of times starting in India and spreading to the rest of the world as well.
Recently the western world has become aware of its high medicinal value. In the Ayurvedic medicine (the holistic alternative medicine – traditional system of medicine in India) turmeric has been widely used to cure different inflammation conditions and as a pain reliever.
In this system it is believed that turmeric strengthens overall body energy, improves digestion, dissolves gallstones, relieves gas, dispels worms, and relieves arthritis. These are some of the many uses.
Modern interest in turmeric started with a study by Indian researchers done in 1971, who proved that turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties. This is thanks to the presence of the constituent curcumin, which is also an antioxidant.
Turmeric, or curcumin, can be taken to relieve or minimize chronic inflammation and nerve pain in the body. It has been used to treat arthritis in Ayurveda centuries ago. As arthritis is sometimes causing the low back pain or sciatica, researchers found that consequently, turmeric/curcumin can be used for treating the sciatica pain as well, because of the powerful anti-inflammatory abilities it has.
Turmeric intake for sciatica
Taking turmeric for your sciatica pain is a natural cure and this is how you should consume it:
1. Mix one teaspoon of turmeric powder and one hot cup of milk. If you please, you can also add a tiny cinnamon stick. Once you prepare this healthy drink, you can add a little bit of honey to sweeten it and consume it once to twice on a daily basis. Consume it until you feel better.
Another version is to heat turmeric in ghee and coconut oil with some pepper, which has piperine inside that will be helpful in absorbing nutrients.
2. The second option that might be easier for some people is the intake of turmeric supplements. Take 250-500mg of thee three times a day. This should go on for a couple of weeks. It is advised that you consult with your doctor first.
Be careful
Although turmeric has been proven as nontoxic, if you consume it in high dosages for a longer period, it can become toxic to your liver. Thus, those who experience liver issues should avoid turmeric. Additionally, turmeric should be avoided for those taking diabetes medications and people who are suffering from gallstones.
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By Diet of Life
Sources:
http://www.findhomeremedy.com/how-to-cure-sciatica/
http://www.foundhealth.com/low-back-pain-and-sciatica/low-back-pain-and-sciatica-and-turmeric
http://www.top10homeremedies.com/home-remedies/home-remedies-sciatica.html
