Whether it’s heartbreak or physical, chronic pain will always be, well a pain to deal with. There’s a number of different symptoms that categorize certain chronic pains accordingly. Sciatica back pain is a symptom of an underlying medical condition, according to spine-health.com. Spine Health also states that “Sciatica is a term described as the symptoms of leg pain that originates in the lower back and travels through the buttock and down the large sciatic nerve in the back of each leg.”

This specific type of nerve pain has various characterizations such as: A constant pain in one side of the leg or buttock, worsened pain when sitting, burning, tingling or searing leg pain, sharp pain that makes it difficult to walk or stand up and pain that travels down the leg and possibly into the foot and toes, although it rarely occurs in the foot.

Sciatic nerve pain is caused when the large sciatic nerve is compressed or irritated. Think of the sciatic nerve as headquarters for a large company. The headquarters for this company has a huge staff that branches out through every department in order to form the orders of operation. Much like the workers at headquarters, the individual nerve roots branch out from the spine in the lower back to form the sciatic nerve. When the nerve is compressed or irritated, symptoms mentioned above begin to occur.

For individuals suffering from sciatica back pain, regular pain relief such as over-the-counter medication just won’t cut it. Consulting with a pain management institute is the best route to go. These type of management facilities have a number of treatments that specialize in an array of conditions relevant to a certain body part. Healing starts with trust and it’s important for those suffering from this condition to have a doctor that customizes their pain management, after all, not every pain is created equal.

Trigger Points, Athletes, and Sciatica Back Pain

Being an athlete requires both mental and physical dedication. For athletes that have played a sport for a great majority of their lives, experiencing pain often is something that many are familiar with. Sports that require strenuous use of the body (football, boxing, gymnastics), can result in muscle pain and stiffness.

Trigger points, a.k.a muscle knots, are defined as centralized, hyperirritable areas in the muscle tissue that can develop from repetitive movement. Of course, sports require a substantial amount of repeated movements that can cause wear and tear to certain muscles over time. This tight band of muscle knots causes centralized pain and irritates the nerves around them.

If not treated, the effects of trigger points can be very painful and cause further damage. Trigger point injections can be used to treat pain. A trigger point injection is generally indicated to treat painful areas of muscle or knots of muscle that can form in any muscle of the body. During this injection, medication is placed into the trigger point to help alleviate the localized pain, as well as the referred pain from this trigger point. The medication injected is generally a combination of steroids and anesthetics.

Upon injections, mild pain or twitching follows and lasts for just a few seconds or minutes. It’s best to perform stretching exercises and physical therapy following injections. Often times, trigger point injections are performed twice a week for up to 4 weeks in the beginning and then monthly, depending on the pain relief individuals experience post injections.

It’s best for athletes to begin seeing a pain management institute that can develop a customized approach for sciatica back pain by treating with trigger point injection. Whether patients are conservative or aggressive in their approach to pain management, pain doctors with customized treatments are more progressive in seeing which treatment is best.