My friend is plagued by sciatica, exacerbated by cardio work. Part of her job requires her to maintain a high degree of fitness so it isn’t an option.
Besides motrin, which she requires 3-4 of for a few hours relief what can we do? Are there any other meds, linaments, treatments that we can do to alleviate her suffering? She has been told it will always be a problem and that it will flare up sometimes without warning or provocation.
Some treatments by a qualified Chiropractor might help. I have a sciatic problem and I take hot baths that help a lot. We don’t have Chiropractors here, but I do take hot baths almost every night. I soak in that for about 30 minutes as hot as I can stand it.
The cure depends on the specific cause of the sciatica (e.g., a hemilaminotomy is used to relieve a radiculopathy), but the resulting nerve irritation is generally relieved by bed rest, anti-inflammatories, and painkillers.
Very severe sciatica may require several days of intensive anti-inflammatory therapy and constant bed rest, with the affected leg elevated, and even then it may not be responsive. Depending on the specific condition causing the sciatica, a surgical option may exist, but my surgeon told me not to resort to surgery until drugs and physical therapy stopped working.
My doctor prescribed Naproxen, which is available over the counter now as Aleve. This worked very well, especially in combination with Vicodin.
Painkillers work to relieve the pain symptoms immediately, but if you get a relapse of the sciatica, you must treat the inflammation, or you can permanently damage the peripheral nerves.