Back Pain Tips

wow 2 good answers and one stupid one. I’m not sure what the first guy meant when he brought up the uncommon pyriformis syndrome, but I can vouch as a doc and a patient that occasionally, after the sciatica goes away, you get weird leg pains which are actually muscle cramps due to being out of shape. These can be muscles you don’t usually think about or worry about, like the pyriformis muscle.
Most herniated discs heal on their own without treatment. It’s no surprise ppl make claims that they took zero medications and they’re fine. However, inflamation is not always the best thing for the body to do (example: seasonal allergies are inflammation to innocuous things like dust!), and so anti-inflammatories are appropriate for something like a herniated disc. Also, if they can reduce a little bit of the pain so you can get up and be active, so much the better.
Do’s and Don’ts… Physical therapists are experts in this regard. They help get you out of bed and back to activity. They teach you positions to avoid and how to lift, sit, sleep, get up, etc. It really depends what is the cause of your sciatica though.
For herniated discs, you want to take the stress away from your discs. Proper lifting technique (or avoid lifting). Strong abdominal muscles to take the load off the disc. Be careful when jumping, crouching, kneeling, tiptoeing. Spine extension exercises. Avoid spinal flexion. Stay active so that all your muscles help to unload the disc