In most people, self care measures is usually recommended a sciatica treatment as this usually responds well. Continuing with your usual activities but avoiding the original factor that aggravated your sciatica pain in the first place will help you to heal more quickly. Even though it seems like a few days of bed rest may provide some relief, any more then this is not a good idea. Inactivity will make your symptoms worse over time.

In addition to self care sciatica treatment, try some of the following:

Cold Packs: Cold packs help to reduce inflammation and relieve some of the discomfort. In a clean towel, wrap an ice pack or a bag of frozen peas and apply to the affected areas for fifteen to twenty minutes four times per day.

Hot Packs: After 48 hours have passed, apply heat to the affected areas. Warm packs or a heating pad on the lowest setting should help to alleviate some of the pain. Try to alternate warm and cold packs if you continue to have pain.

Stretching: When stretching initially after your sciatica flare up, stick to passive stretching and avoid jerking motions including bouncing or twisting.

Over The Counter Medication: There are two categories of pain killers. The first one only relieves pain. The second type of pain killer relieves pain as well as treats inflammation. These are called Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Products such as aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen products such as Tylenol can help to relieve sciatica pain. These can provide real pain relief but there is a limit to how much pain can be controlled. This is known as the ceiling effect - exceeding the recommended dosage wont provide better results. Worse though is that these NSAIDS are known to cause side effects in some people such as nausea, stomach bleeding or ulcers.

Acetaminophen has been known to cause liver problems if taken in excess. If you use these medications on a regular basis talk to you health care professional so that you can be monitored for problems associated with prolonged usage. If you are exercising, stretching or following another sciatica treatment program you should periodically re-evaluate if you still require these NSAIDS for pain management.

Prescription Drugs: A muscle relaxant along with anti-inflammatory medications may be prescribed by your health care professional. In some cases of chronic pain anticonvulsant and tricyclic antidepressant drugs may also be prescribed. By blocking the pain messages being sent to your brain or enhancing the bodies production of endorphins, pain symptoms can sometimes be handled this way. Your bodies natural painkillers are called endorphins.

Physical Therapy: Physical therapy can play an important part in your recovery from a herniated disk. When your condition improves your physical therapist can work with you to help design a rehabilitation program that will help you prevent the same injury in the future.

Regular Exercise: When you injure yourself you think that movement or exercise would be counterproductive and all you want to do is just lay down and rest until the pain goes away. The truth is that regular exercise is the best way to combat many ailments, including chronic discomfort. When you exercise your body releases endorphins. Endorphins are the chemical that prevent pain signals from reaching your brain and can also help to fight against anxiety and depression. Your pain may be more difficult to control if you suffer from either depression or anxiety.

In most circumstances conservative sciatica treatment is tried for three to six months. When conservative sciatica treatment fails to alleviate your pain more aggressive sciatica treatment options are usually attempted.

Epidural Steroid Injections: An injection of a corticosteroid medication to the affected area may be helpful in some instances. If taken in doses that exceed your natural levels, inflammation is suppressed relieving painful symptoms caused by the pressure of the inflammation. Most effective when used in conjunction with a sciatica treatment rehabilitation program. Because of the serious side effects that corticosteroid injections can cause, the number of injections you can receive in a year is usually limited to no more then three.

Surgery: Surgery is most often a last resort and left until the compressed nerve causes significant weakness, loss of bowel or bladder control, or if the pain itself is progressing and conventional sciatica treatment is not working. Most often surgery is preformed as a sciatica treatment to remove a portion of a herniated disk that is pressing on a nerve. The goal is to preserve as mush of the normal anatomy as possible, leaving as much of the disk intact as possible.