8 Reasons Why You Should Never Take Sciatica Pain Pills

Sciatica can be extremely painful to those suffering from it at any stage. Living with sciatica makes people experience shooting pain throughout their back and upper legs, weakness, and the inability to live their life normally make sciatica pain extremely difficult to manage.

Sciatica may make it difficult for you to become active, although your doctor might not advise you to stay in bed all day. Part of managing your pain is finding more comfortable positions or activities.

Because of this, many sufferers of sciatica have turned to pain pills – ranging from low-dose aspirin to intense opioid painkillers.

However, using painkillers to treat your sciatica is a mistake. Not only is pain medication ineffective for healing, some of them are potentially harmful and addictive.

Here are 8 reasons you should never take pain pills for your sciatica pain

1. Pain medication can be extremely expensive

The cost of pain medication beyond simple over-the-counter pills such as acetaminophen, naproxen, and aspirin is staggering. 

If you’re uninsured or your insurance doesn’t cover your medicine, a single pill of Oxycodone – a leading opioid painkiller – can cost you anywhere from $30-$50, making pain medication an extremely expensive option for sciatica treatment.

2. Most pain medication is addictive

Almost all powerful pain medications are opioid-based, using the same pharmacological substances as extremely addictive painkillers like morphine and street drugs like heroin. 

Morphine and codeine are two natural products of opium. Generally, these are safe when taken for a short time, as prescribed by your doctor.

But even using opioids temporarily can lead to addiction and extremely painful withdrawal symptoms. Opioids can also give you a feeling of euphoria, which can lead patients to misuse the prescription.

3. Pain medication stops working when you stop taking it

Pain medication will only help relieve your pain when you’re taking it regularly. Note that pain medication doesn’t actually get rid of the pain. It just gives your body a temporary feeling of relief.

If you ever run out of medication, forget to take it, or otherwise don’t have access to your medicine, your pain will come back with a vengeance. This will make your body reliant on painkillers. 

4. Pain medications only treat the symptoms

If your car’s heat gauge showed that it was about to overheat, would you just cover it up with a piece of duct tape and keep driving? This is exactly how pain pills work. 

Pain medication only covers up the symptoms of back pain and sciatica, relieving you from the symptoms of your condition – but not offering any kind of long-term cure. The pain can still shoot up as soon as the medication wears off.

5. Pain medication has potentially dangerous side effects

In addition to the highly addictive properties that opioid-based painkillers have, these drugs have many nasty side effects like nausea, disorientation, and even the danger of death or hospitalization if they are administered incorrectly. 

Even over-the-counter drugs like acetaminophen, aspirin, and naproxen can cause damage to your kidney or liver if taken at non-recommended dosage.

6. Some doctors recommend the wrong painkillers

Doctors are sometimes sponsored by pharmaceutical companies to push their products. Sometimes, their desire for a kickback may cause them to recommend a dangerous or expensive painkiller for your sciatica pain.

7. Pain medication can cover up other dangerous nerve problems

Since your pain medication dulls your senses and relieves you of pain, you may not be able to tell if your sciatica or lower back pain is progressing or getting better, leaving you unaware of the extent of your condition.

This is because the nerves running along your spine are connected to different parts of your body including your limbs, lungs, and organs. Sciatica pain being numbed down by medication may give you the feeling of temporary relief but fail to signal other signs of pain elsewhere in your body.

8. It’s not a long-term solution for sciatica

You can’t take pain pills forever, especially if they’re powerful opioids like Oxycodone and other prescription painkillers. 

Pills can only cover up the pain for such a limited amount of time. You also don’t want your body to become dependent on pain medication. Eventually, you’ll have to resort to other measures to treat your sciatica pain.

With all these reasons in mind, how can you get effective sciatica treatment?

 

Here’s how to get long-term sciatica treatment

Painkillers aren’t necessarily the best method for healing sciatica pain. On the bright side, our bodies can naturally heal themselves from different kinds of pain — including sciatica.

Sciatica starts along your lower back, likely caused by a herniated disc or bone spur compressing your sciatic nerve. Your spine plays a crucial role in sciatica pain, which is why the best way to heal from sciatica is to seek treatment that will properly align your spine, returning your body to optimal health.

Intero Chiropractic uses a scientific and systematic approach to pinpoint the exact cause of pain and address the root problems to help your body heal naturally. Our specific adjustments allow for proper spinal alignment so your organs, cells, and tissues heal with proper nerve flow.

Our treatment plans include physical rehabilitation, stretches, and specific adjustments that can help you get relief from painful sciatica nerve pain at a fraction of the cost of pain pills prescribed by a doctor.

See how Intero Chiropractic can help relieve you of sciatica and break free from pain without the aid of any pain medication. Book an appointment with us today.