If your aching back sends you to the doctor in search of steroid relief, you may be wasting your time and money. A randomized trial of steroid injections for back pain has shown that they are no more effective than a placebo.

Researchers tested 84 adults who had had back pain for less than six months, dividing them into three groups. They received steroids, etanercept (an arthritis medicine) or an inactive saline solution in two injections given two weeks apart. At the end of one month, they were assessed for pain.

Leg and back pain decreased in all three groups, but there were no statistically significant differences among them. The researchers conclude that steroids may provide some short-term analgesic effect, but that the improvement in all of the patients was mainly a result of normal healing. [1]

[M]ore patients reported pain relief one month after receiving epidural steroids, the relief didn’t necessarily last. At six months, steroids weren’t any better than Enbrel (etanercept) or a third treatment tested, injections containing saline and a local anesthetic. [2]

Not too encouraging.

One problem is that it is hard to tell what helps sciatica. Often the condition just comes and goes. We suffer for a while and then the pain subsides again. Was it the drugs? Was it the exercise? It is difficult to tell.

It seems sure that sciatica pain in the legs and lower back pain in general is often the natural result of too many bad habits over a long period of time. I am sure I am not the only one who, once the pain vanishes, forgets to do a few basic exercises and avoid some bad posture habits. Here’s a few to bear in mind.

Bad Habit: Sitting too much

I spend a lot of time sitting at my desk and my hard desk chair didn’t help my sciatica at all. I also think as we get older we lose some of our natural “seat” padding which puts even more pressure on the nerves in the buttocks.

Bad Habit: Crossing my legs

As women, we’re taught to sit in a “lady-like” position, which means a lot of us are in the habit of crossing our legs. But an acupuncturist explained to me that according to Chinese medicine, crossing the legs cuts off the circulation in your legs, and also cuts off the energy flow. It also skews the body and puts more stress on one side than the other.

Bad Habit: Carrying a lot of weight

I travel a lot and that used to mean carrying a big bag with all my stuff in it. If I didn’t have the load on my shoulder, I was towing it behind me in a rolling briefcase. Either way, I was letting myself be pulled out of balance and adding stress to my nerves and muscles. [3]

Source [1] [2] [3]