What Are The Tips For Preventing And Avoiding Radiculopathy?

By Author: Dr Sejal Thakkar
Total Articles: 38
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Radiculopathy comprises of a number of conditions in which the nerves along the spine are affected and can cause weakness, numbness or difficulty controlling specific muscles. In this article, we will give you tips that will help you prevent and avoid radiculopathyas well as the sciatica treatmentthat is necessary to help alleviate the pain for the same:

Causes

To understand how radiculopathy can be avoided, one must first understand how it is caused. The causes can vary from individual to individual and depend on various factors like age, genetics, occupation and lifestyle. Below are a few of the aforementioned causes:

• Pain caused by a herniated disc in the lumbar, cervical or thoracic spine segments.
• Spinal stenosis which is the narrowing of the spinal canal in the spineand increases the pressure on the nerve roots causing it to pain.
• Foraminal stenosis, which is the narrowing of the opening through which the nerve roots travel from as they exit the spinal canal.
• Sciatica pain caused by the compression of the sciatica nerve.
• Degenerative disc disease where the ...
... bones become weak and tend to break..This occurs after the age of 50.
• Traumatic injury to the spine.
• Tumors or bone spurs.

Symptoms

Normally, the pain that is caused with radiculopathy is a symptom of something more. You will have to find the cause of the pain before the sciatica treatment can be undertaken.The following symptoms are found in radiculopathy:

• Pain that radiates along a nerve that is most likely affected.
• Unexpected muscle weakness in the affected area
• Loss of reflex or motor function where the nerve is affected
• Numbness or tingling sensation in certain parts of the lower body
• sciatica pain in the lower half of the body
• In extreme cases, you may also lose bowel and bladder control.

Prevention

Sciatica pain is mostly a symptom of another medical condition. However, in the cases where the pain alone is the cause because of the sciatica nerve, simple precautions and prevents will stop the pain. If the cause of the pain is a pinched nerve, one has to find the cause of the pressure of it. It could be a mechanical problem like sitting or standing posture, or a biological problem like spinal stenosis or even slip disc. Another way to prevent sciatica pain is to maintain a good and proper posture, while sitting as well as standing. Maintain your weight, as extra weight around the upper part of the body can cause pressure on the lumbar spine to adjust carrying the extra weight. In such cases, the lumbar spine and the cervical spine are the most affected. A healthy lifestyle will also promote the growth of bones and muscles, and prevent wear and tear from affecting them as your body grows older.

Author Bio:
Dr.Sejal Thakkar, A Spine Consultant at Qi Spine Clinic. She is driven by the goal of achieving excellence in clinical practice by constantly updating her knowledge and has a special interest in movement analysis and done several workshops on Kinetic Control-Movement solutions, radiculopathy and sciatica treatment.