The constant soreness or intermittent discomfort of sciatica can range from a warm, wet feeling in your thigh to shooting and searing pain along your leg. The symptoms may strike anytime, so it is a smart idea to have a treatment plan in place. Sciatica symptoms arise when the sciatic nerve is pinched or compressed. Watch: sciatica causes and symptoms video read on to learn about 4 commonly overlooked and easy remedies that may help you find quick relief. Watch video: what is your sciatic nerve and why does it hurt so much?.

1. Apply continuous, low-level heat

Turmeric’s active ingredient, curcumin, binds anti-inflammatory properties of help to relieve sciatica pain and swelling by reducing levels of certain inflammation-stimulating enzymes. Here’s how you can incorporate turmeric into your diet: brew it into a tea. Add a small amount to a green smoothie. Add ground turmeric to your food. Heat it in milk with coconut oil and a sprinkle of black pepper. Drivenfit tip: apply it topically in a paste; it can help from the outside in.

Heat is for healing, but it usually doesn’t feel good when you first apply it to a new painful area. So, hold off on heat therapy until the sharp pain of sciatica starts to go away – usually within a couple of days. Both dry heat and moist heat are options for sciatic pain relief. Dry heat includes things like heating pads, heat wraps, heat patches and saunas. Moist heat is when water is involved – warm baths, hot showers, steam towels or moist heat packs. In most cases, 15-20 minutes of heat is enough to provide some relief.

3. Apply a topical pain medication

Once it’s determined you most likely have sciatica, you and your doctor will decide together how to treat it. Initial treatment can include the following: applying ice or warmth to the areas that hurt stretching your hips and legs, particularly your hamstrings, the muscles on the backs of your thighs

applying a cold pack to the area where you’re first experiencing sciatica pain can offer you a great deal of relief. You can wrap up a bag of frozen peas in a towel or use a cold pack. Apply either to the painful area for around 20 minutes, several times daily. After a few days, if you’re still experiencing sciatica pain, then you can try heat instead. You can apply heat to the painful area by using a: if the pain persists, you can try to alternate between cold and hot therapy.

Some, though not many, people find that creams can help ease sciatica pain. However, it is important to note that these creams are not curative and will only temporarily mask the pain. In 2017, scientists carried out staying active is also very important and can help ease the inflammation that can cause sciatica pain. People can try gentle exercises, such as walking and swimming, as much as the pain allows. Typically, that people with sciatica try to do exercises that increase core strength , improve the mobility of the hips and spine, and maintain or improve flexibility in the lower body.