An ICE pack?? For sciatica??
Not a HEAT pack?
Are you sure????
Edit : OMG!!!
https://www.spine-health.com/blog/how-use-ice-cool-down-your-sciatica-symptomsWhen red-hot sciatica pain sears down your leg, using ice therapy can be uniquely effective in immediately soothing the pain.
Use ice therapy as soon as your pain starts. Ice or cold therapy is recommended when your sciatica is acute or flares up. Cold therapy typically works by:
1. Increasing your tolerance to pain and slowing down the speed at which your nerves send pain signals to the brain
2. Acting locally, as opposed to taking oral pain-relieving medications, which have a body-wide (systemic) effect
The application of cold directly affects your body tissues, providing more effective pain control.
How ice therapy reduces sciatica pain:
When you use ice therapy, the following changes occur in your sore tissues:
1. Lessens pain. Cold therapy reduces pain by decreasing the conduction of nerves of the skin.
2. Numbs the area. The reduction in tissue temperature causes a numbing effect due to the constriction of blood vessels and a decrease in blood flow.
3. Reduces muscle spasm. Cold therapy decreases muscle spasm, which usually creates pain, by cooling the muscle fibers.
4. Decreases inflammation. Lowering the tissue temperature causes a decrease in tissue metabolism and oxygen intake, reducing the overall inflammatory process.
5. Prevents swelling. Reduction in inflammation results in decreased fluid collection and swelling.
Ice therapy can provide effective pain relief when used in acute conditions and may also help prevent the need to take pain-relieving medications.
Apply the icepack to your lower back
Sciatica is caused by an underlying lower back condition. The lower back problem typically pinches or irritates one (or more) of your sciatic nerve roots, which in turn sends pain and other symptoms along your long sciatic nerve.
When you use ice therapy for sciatica pain, apply the icepack to your lower back and rear pelvis—where the sciatic nerve roots are located. Icing this area, rather than your thigh or calf where the pain may be more, will help control and numb the pain at its origin and also calm the nearby nerves.
It won't work for all sciatica.
In my case, years ago I was using heat and it was getting worse.
Then the penny dropped, my sciatica is most likely caused by an inflamed nerve.
To reduce the size of a nerve, cool it down.
So I tried ice, it worked.
Ice blocks wrapped in a wet tea towel is the traditional method.
It has to be wet to conduct the temperature.
A dry towel is an insulator.