natural pain relief Archives - CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates

If you’ve ever felt a sharp, shooting pain that starts in your lower back and travels down your leg, you’ve probably been told you have sciatica.

And if you’re like most people here in Portsmouth or the Seacoast—you’ve already tried a handful of things to fix it.

Rest. Stretching. Maybe chiropractic care. Maybe even physical therapy or injections.

Maybe some of it helped… but the pain keeps coming back.

That’s usually the point where frustration really sets in.

Because now it’s not just about pain—it’s about not having answers.

The Problem: Why Sciatica Feels So Confusing

Sciatica is one of the most misunderstood conditions we see.

It’s unpredictable.
It moves around.
It can feel severe one day and barely noticeable the next.

And despite how common it is, most people never get a clear explanation of what’s actually causing it.

Sciatica is really just a description of symptoms—not a diagnosis.

It refers to pain that radiates from your lower back into your glutes and down your leg, typically caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve (or one of the nerve roots in your spine).

But here’s where it gets tricky…

Where you feel the pain is not always where the problem actually is.

Why Common Solutions Fail

Most treatments focus on the symptom—not the cause.

Pain medication dulls discomfort but doesn’t fix movement
Anti-inflammatories reduce irritation temporarily
Cortisone injections may help short-term—but don’t stop it from coming back
Generic stretching and strengthening often miss the real issue

Even worse—many people are told their problem is purely structural.

Things like:

Herniated discs
Bulging discs
“Tight piriformis”

While these can be part of the picture, they’re often not the full story.

Many people without back pain at all show disc bulges on MRI—meaning structure alone doesn’t explain symptoms. According to the Mayo Clinic, imaging findings don’t always correlate with pain.

So if you’re only chasing what shows up on imaging, you may be chasing the wrong thing.

The MRI Trap (And Why It Slows People Down)

This is one of the biggest mistakes we see.

Someone gets an MRI.
It shows a disc issue.
Everything becomes about “fixing” or protecting that disc.

But no one is asking:

What movements actually trigger your pain?
What positions make it better?
How is your body moving day-to-day?

Without those answers, treatment becomes guesswork.

And that’s why so many people feel stuck.

What Actually Works (And Why It’s Different)

The key to long-term sciatica relief is identifying what’s mechanically irritating the nerve.

That means looking at:

How your spine moves
How your pelvis moves
What patterns increase or decrease your symptoms

In most cases, there’s a specific movement pattern driving the problem.

Once you find it, everything changes.

Treatment becomes targeted.

Instead of doing random stretches or exercises, you focus on movements that:

Reduce pressure on the nerve
Restore normal motion
Prevent flare-ups from coming back

Sometimes, supportive treatments like shockwave therapy or EMTT can help calm inflammation.

But these are just tools.

The real solution is fixing the reason your nerve is getting irritated in the first place.

A Better Approach to Sciatica in Portsmouth, NH

If you live in Portsmouth, Hampton, or the Seacoast, you don’t just want pain relief—you want your life back.

You want to:

Walk along the beach without pain shooting down your leg
Get through a round of golf comfortably
Pick up your grandkids without hesitation

That’s exactly why we take a 1-on-1, movement-based approach at CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates.

Instead of chasing symptoms, we help you understand your body—and fix the root cause.

Learn more about how we help people with sciatica here:
https://cjphysicaltherapy.com/

Explore our physical therapy services:
https://cjphysicaltherapy.com/physical-therapy/

The Bottom Line

If your sciatica keeps coming back, it’s not because you haven’t tried hard enough.

It’s because the true source of the problem hasn’t been identified.

Sciatica isn’t just about a nerve.

It’s about why that nerve is being irritated in the first place.

When you shift your focus from symptoms to cause:

Progress becomes more consistent
Relief lasts longer
And you stop relying on temporary fixes

Ready for Real Answers?

If you’re tired of trying things that only work temporarily—and you want real answers—we can help.

At CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates, we specialize in figuring out what’s actually driving your pain so you can finally move forward with confidence.

Request a free discovery visit here:
https://cjphysicaltherapy.com/discovery-request-form/

Don’t Let Holiday Stress Turn Into Pain: 3 Simple Strategies to Stay Healthy in Portsmouth, NH

The holidays are meant to feel warm, festive, and joyful. But for many people here in Portsmouth and the Seacoast area, they also bring a level of stress your body can’t help but absorb. Between shopping, hosting, traveling, and trying to squeeze everything in, your nervous system can go into overdrive. And when that happens, stress often shows up physically — tight shoulders, a stiff neck, a cranky low back, or even tension headaches.

The good news? You can interrupt this cycle with a few simple habits. These strategies can help you keep holiday stress from turning into neck, shoulder, or back pain — and they’re easy to start right away.

1. Try Belly Breathing to Reset Your Body’s Alarm System

When stress rises, your breathing becomes shallow. You might not notice it, but your brain definitely does. Shallow breathing tells your nervous system that you’re under pressure, and your muscles respond by tightening. I personally feel this tension through my rib cage and into my neck when it gets bad enough.

Just one or two minutes of deep, intentional breathing can reverse this entire pattern.

Wherever you are — in the car, standing in line on Congress Street, or even at a holiday party — try this:

✔ Take a slow inhale.
Fill your belly, sides, and lower back with air.

✔ Exhale naturally.
Let the air fall out without force.

Each deep breath acts like a reset button for your nervous system. It helps stop tension from turning into knots, spasms, or lingering pain in your neck or lower back.

2. Practice Gratitude (It Physically Changes Your Stress Levels)

Gratitude isn’t just a feel-good idea. It’s a simple mindset shift that has measurable effects on your body.

When you pause to focus on something positive, your brain reduces its release of cortisol — your main stress hormone. Lower cortisol leads to:

Lower muscle tension
Happier blood pressure
Better sleep
Less strain on your neck, back, and hips

A gratitude practice doesn’t need to be fancy. It can be as simple as:

Thinking of one thing you appreciate while drinking your morning coffee
Writing a single sentence in a journal before bed
Setting a daily alarm to remind yourself of something good

These tiny moments tell your body: “You’re safe. You can relax.” Your muscles respond in kind.

3. Move Daily to Break the Stress Cycle

Chronic stress triggers your fight-or-flight system. It’s helpful if you’re running from danger — but in modern life, most of our stress comes from calendars, inboxes, and long to-do lists. If that stress energy has nowhere to go, it lingers in your body as muscle tension.

Movement is how you release it.

Personally, I love walking around Portsmouth and the Seacoast. I aim for 10,000 steps a day. When the weather is too cold or I’m stuck on Zoom, I use a walking pad. I always feel better afterward.

But walking isn’t the only option. You can also:

Go to the gym
Stretch for a few minutes
Run up and down your stairs
Do 30–60 seconds of jumping jacks

Just 5–10 minutes at a time is enough to tell your brain the stress has passed. Once that happens, your cortisol levels naturally come back down — and tension is less likely to settle in your joints, neck, or back.

Your Body Will Thank You

You may not be able to eliminate holiday stress (and if you figure out how, please let me know!) — but you can prevent it from turning into pain. Small habits, repeated throughout the season, make a huge difference. And you can keep using these same habits long after the holidays.

But if you’re already dealing with significant tightness or pain that isn’t improving, these strategies might not be enough on their own. A mechanical pain specialist can help you identify the true root cause, calm things down quickly, and give you a clear plan so you enter the New Year feeling better — not worse.

If you need help or guidance, we’re here for you.

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapy Specialist & Mechanical Pain Expert, writes for Seacoast Media Group and helps people on the Seacoast get rid of back, neck, hip, and shoulder pain naturally.

For more resources or to get in touch, visit www.cjphysicaltherapy.com or call 603-380-7902.

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Sciatica That Won’t Go Away? Here’s What Most People Get Wrong | Portsmouth, NH Physical Therapy