Sciatica

Sciatica is one of the very painful conditions, most commonly accompanying back pain. This severe pain shoots along the sciatica nerve, affecting all or part of the buttock, thigh, calf and foot area of one side of the body and rarely of both sides.

Causes
Pressure on a spinal root of the sciatica nerve often due to a slipped disc, facet joint injury or displacement. It can be brought on by (a) lifting heavy objects, (b) sitting in improper posture etc., (c) any condition that results in pressure on the sciatic nerve, such as a tumour, or abscess in a nearby muscle.

Signs & Symptoms
Mild to intense pain in the buttock, thigh, calf or foot, or in all these areas is experienced.
If the pressure is more on the nerve, numbness will also be felt.
The numbness, however, is not always accompanied by back pain and this can lead to sciatica being mistaken for a pulled muscle.
If one experiences numbness, a feeling of pins and needles and loss of bladder control along with sciatica, the nerve pressure could be bad enough to cause permanent damage. This requires immediate medical attention.

Herbal Medicines
The best home remedy is bed rest.
To ease the pain, tamarind soaked in salt water, churned, filtered and boiled to paste-like consistency should be applied warm to the affected leg.
Crush 5 garlic cloves, put this in 50ml of til oil, allow it to become lukewarm, and apply on the affected areas of pain.
One good home remedy for sciatica is the regular application of castor oil to the sole of the affected side. Oil should be made lukewarm before application. Regular practice of this gives good relief.

Ayurvedic Remedies
Simhanada Guggul is a good remedy in sciatica. Two pills should be taken twice a day after meals with a cup of warm milk.
Maha Vishagarbha Tailam, an external oil should be applied over the areas of pain before going to bed daily. An early morning warm water bath reduces the inflammation and pain considerably.
Godanta Mishran along with Punarnava Guggulu is very effective.
Brihat Vat Chintamani Ras 1 tablet 2 to 3 times daily with Maharasnadi Kwatham is very effective in acute cases.

Do's & Don'ts
Diet: One should avoid potatoes, brinjal, curd and cold water/drinks