What Sciatic Nerve Pain Feels Like and When to Treat It

Is Surgery An Option?

In severe cases of Sciatica, the pain might become unbearable. The doctor might inject medicine into your spinal fluid such as an NSAID or local anesthesia to block the pain and bring you relief. However, this is not a permanent solution. For patients who have off-and-on triggers of sciatica that keep coming back, there is a permanent treatment in the form of surgery. This is considered the only last option when there is no other way to survive the pain. The surgery is elective because it comes with the possibility of complications.

The usual procedures performed for this kind of surgery are discectomy and laminectomy. Discectomy is mainly done to remove the part of the body that is pressing the nerve. This is particularly the spinal bone or fractured piece of the vertebrae that is putting pressure. In Laminectomy, it is usually the skin lamina or the soft tissues that are pressing on the nerve, hence they are removed.