If you have a problem such as a herniated disc in your spinal column, it may put pressure on your sciatic nerve. This nerve connects your spine down through your body from the lower back to your feet at the rear of your legs. Sciatica is the symptom of such a condition and produces such problems as pain in your back, legs and feet, as well as numbness, tingling, weakness and other problems. There are a number of medical options available for sciatica, depending upon the severity of it.
Medications
Sciatica's associated pain may be treated with over-the-counter drugs such as analgesics and anti-inflammatories. These may include acetaminophen, ibuprofen and naproxen sodium. If your pain is more severe, your doctor may prescribe either stronger pain killers or other kinds of medications. Muscle relaxant medications along with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory or NSAID drugs may help. Other kinds of medicines---more often prescribed for other types of problems---may work to ease the pain of neurological conditions such as sciatica. These include tricyclic antidepressants such as nortriptyline, amitriptyline, trimipramine, doxepin, amoxapine and others. Anticonvulsant medication used primarily for epileptic seizures also may aid in relieving pain from sciatica. These include gabapentin and topiramate, among others.
Physical Therapy
If your sciatica is caused by a herniated disc in your spine, undergoing physical therapy may help you recover from the problem. A herniated disc, essentially, is a problem with the discs in your back between the vertebra. These can bulge and cause pain. They also can collapse and cause even more problems. Participating in physical therapy, the Mayo Clinic reports, can make your back muscles stronger and make your body more flexible.
Steroid Injections
If neither medications nor therapy help relieve the problem of sciatica, your physician may move on to epidural injections of steroids. Corticosteroids can help in the reduction of inflammation which, in turn, help decrease the amount of pain you experience from sciatica. However, the Mayo Clinic points out that you cannot use corticosteroids for a long period because they can have severe side effects.
Surgery
Surgery is considered a last resort for most sufferers of sciatica. It can, however, help because in the procedure known as lumbar laminectomy, a section of the herniated disc is removed. This relieves pressure on the sciatic nerve. Another form of the operation is called a microdiskectomy because it is performed via a microscopic view of the problem.
