Los Angeles spine surgeon Dr. Gravori sees many cases of sciatica, and offers a variety of sciatica treatments in Encino. Sciatica, or radicular pain, is a term that refers to pain caused by inflammation or compression of the sciatic nerve. Sciatica is fairly common, and can cause intense back pain, along with numbness or tingling that can stretch all the way down from the back into the legs and feet. While most instances of sciatica can be managed effectively with conservative treatments, sometimes it causes chronic and debilitating pain that needs to be treated with a more intensive method.
Conservative Treatment Options
In cases of minor sciatic pain, conservative options are often sufficient. These noninvasive methods include:
- NSAIDs, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications. NSAIDs help to reduce the inflammation in the sciatic nerve, thus reducing the pain.
- Walking, stretching, or physical therapy. Often, simply gentle physical activity will help to decompress the nerve and reduce inflammation. In cases of minor sciatic pain, try walking and stretching. Patients can also undergo physical therapy in order to alleviate symptoms. If the pain persists, see an expert spine doctor to pursue other treatment options.
- Epidural steroid injections. These injections may be tried if physical therapy did not help with the pain.
At ProMedSPINE, Dr. Gravori is dedicated to making sure each patient receives the most appropriate sciatic pain treatment in Encino. He believes that surgery should be a last resort if more conservative therapies will work just as well. However, if a conservative therapy does not work, there are surgical options available.
Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
Dr. Gravori is a pioneer in the field of minimally invasive spine surgery. Minimally invasive surgeries have many benefits over traditional surgeries, such as less recovery time, less pain, less risk of infection, and less blood loss and scarring. Whenever possible, Dr. Gravori will choose a minimally invasive surgical option. Minimally invasive sciatic treatments in Encino include:
- Laser spine surgery. During laser spine surgery, a laser is used in order to get rid of any bits of bone or ligament that may be compressing the sciatic nerve. This procedure requires only minor incisions on the back, thus reducing scarring. Dr. Gravori is extremely meticulous and careful, and is a leading laser spine surgeon.
- MILD, or minimally invasive lumbar compression, procedure. The MILD procedure uses fluoroscopic guidance to find the section of the sciatic nerve which is being compressed. Then, a hollow tube called a portal will be inserted through a small incision, allowing the surgeon to remove whatever bone fragment or ligament is causing the compression.
- Microdiscectomy. With microdiscectomy, a small operative microscope is inserted through a small incision in order to precisely locate and operate on bulging, herniated discs. By removing part of the herniated disc, pressure is relieved on the sciatic nerve, causing sciatic pain relief.
Schedule a Sciatica Pain Consultation Today
If you are suffering from sciatic nerve pain, it may benefit you to talk with a leading spine surgeon Dr. Gravori at ProMedSPINE. To find out more about sciatic pain and schedule your consultation, call 888.75.SPINE today!