What Are The Best At-Home Tips For Helping Sciatica Pain After An Accident?

One of the most common post-accident occurrences is sciatica pain. If you feel severe and/or recurring pain in the lower back after a car crash, you may require special treatment. In the meantime, these at-home tips may help you mitigate the pain in between your appointments at Impact Medical Tarpon Springs.

Reduce Inflammation for Pain Management

Cold and heat therapy is commonly used for sport-related injuries, but it can work for sciatica pain after an accident, too. The timeline regarding your accident and the methods you use can affect your pain receptors. Consider these tips:

During the first week of your accident, cold therapy can be used to lessen inflammation in the affected area. You can use gel freezer packs or bags of frozen vegetables as long as you avoid direct contact with a towel or piece of clothing.

Following the first week, you can switch to heat therapy to promote proper blood flow. Heating packs are a convenient way to target a specific area, but warm baths can also help.

Improve Your Mobility Away From the Office

Reducing inflammation is only one of many steps to lessening sciatica pain after an accident. Loosening up your body and increasing mobility can ease your muscles into a healthier state, thus leading to drastic relief. Light activities like a bit of swimming, some time on the exercise bike, and committing to daily yoga even for 20 minutes can help you regain strength while mitigating pain. Consider these common yoga stretches that are great for sciatica treatment:

• Cat and cow
• Upward dog
• Downward dog
• Seated forward bend
• Pigeon pose
• Any twisting poses

Practice Good Posture at Home

Light yoga stretches are already a great example of practicing good posture, but it’s important to carry this mentality with you throughout the entire day and not just during your exercises. For instance, keeping an upright posture while sitting and walking can prevent your body from scrunching up and triggering pain sensors in your upper and lower back. If you tend to sit for the majority of the day, make a habit of standing up, stretching, and walking around every 20 minutes.

Rest is always suggested after an accident, but there is a limit. Keeping your body in an inactive state for too long will have adverse effects on sciatica treatment. With this in mind, do not spend all day in bed or on the couch even if you’re still in the recovery stage.

Can These At-Home Tips Replace Professional Treatment?

Many of the tips we mentioned can be incredibly effective, especially when done right and consistently. However, seeing a specialist is still a good move for many reasons. For one, you won’t know the severity of your injury until you are officially diagnosed. It’s also advised to see a specialist if you’re feeling excruciating pain, if the pain lasts for a few weeks, or if you start to experience additional symptoms like numb or tingling parts. In many cases, chiropractic care and physical therapy are the best way to guarantee true results.

The Urgency of Post-Accident Treatment It’s a common occurrence for people to skip seeing their practitioner due to the lack of pain or symptoms. If this sounds similar to what you’re experiencing, you should know that back pain is often delayed after an accident. By neglecting treatment, you could put yourself at risk of greater sciatica pain or even chronic symptoms.

Treat Your Sciatica Pain at Impact Medical Tarpon Springs!

Visit our team of specialists at Impact Medical Tarpon Springs for a personalized treatment plan for your sciatica pain. We offer quality accident injury services including chiropractic care, physical therapy, and more to address everything you need for a smooth recovery. Call our office in Tarpon Springs today at 727-353-5984!