- Hi everybody, this is Ryan Church
from the Comprehensive Spine
Center in Salt Lake City.
I've had a few questions
come across my desk,
regarding spine issues.
And I'd like to go ahead
and answer one of those for you now.
The question is: My husband
has sciatic problems.
He has done the shots in the past.
The first one worked well,
the second one did not.
He has also done acupuncture,
and doing a few exercises that
Are there any more good suggestions?
Well, first of all I
hear the term sciatica,
it means a lot of different things
to a lot of different people.
So I really can't answer specifically,
because its such a confusing term.
But with that, it sounds
like he's been diagnosed,
and probably had an MRI.
And had an epidural
injection, I'll have to assume
that's what he had.
Epidural injections are designed
to help reduce inflammation
and swelling in the
spine that's associated
with herniated disks,
and things like that.
And they can be helpful.
In this case it doesn't sound like
they continue to be helpful
and that's probably because
of the mechanical pressure on the spine.
And that may need more involved
therapy, such as surgery.
As far as other suggestions,
I would recommend weight loss.
If that's an issue,
core-strengthening exercise.
Traction, can also be considered.
Those are from things of course
you'd have to be evaluated
for safety on those.
Those are just general
recommendations. Hope that helps.
