If you are one of the estimated 40% of all Americans who have experienced sciatica at some point, you may have been unnerved and a little frightened by the pain shooting through the lower half of your body. Sciatica pain is attributed to the inflammation, irritation, pinching, or compression of the sciatic nerve in the lower back. This is often caused by a herniated or slipped disk that puts pressure on the nerve root which is located in the buttock area.
What is the sciatic nerve?
This nerve is the thickest and longest nerve of the body and actually consists of five nerve roots. Two of these are in the lumbar spine in your lower back while the other three are in the sacrum which is the final section of the spine. The nerve runs down through both sides of your hips, buttocks, and legs before splintering into other nerves that continue down to your feet and toes.
What exactly is sciatica?
The term sciatica encompasses any pain that originates in the lower back and radiates down into the legs. The pain can be mild to severe and can be felt anywhere between the lower back and legs that lie in the path of the sciatic nerve. It usually only affects one leg at a time and the pain can be described as being a sharp, shooting pain.
Sciatica can also cause numbness, muscle weakness, or pins and needles in your legs and feet. The symptoms may feel worse if you have been sitting for long periods of time or when you suddenly twist your body. They can also come on suddenly in the case of a herniated disk or build up slowly if someone has a long-term condition like arthritis.
What are the risk factors associated with sciatica?
You may be at increased risk of developing sciatica if you have previously had a back injury, have weak core muscles, are overweight, exercise infrequently, or have a job that requires hard physical labor.
How is sciatica diagnosed and treated?
For many people who have recently started experiencing pain in their lower back, it can be a very scary experience. However, it is important to know that actual injuries to the sciatic nerve are rare, and although it can be very painful, much of the pain associated with sciatica is due to the nerve simply being irritated. This means that diagnosing and treating sciatica may be easier than you think!
If you are experiencing symptoms that are similar to ones associated with sciatica, your healthcare provider will review your medical history and ask about your symptoms. They will then conduct a physical exam which includes walking normally and on your toes and heels as well as a straight leg test where you’ll be asked to lie on your back with your legs straight and then slowly raise each leg to the point where you begin to feel pain. This test will help your doctor identify the affected nerves and whether there is a problem with one of your disks.
Additional diagnostic testing could include spinal X-rays, MRIs or CT scans of bone and soft tissues in the back, nerve conduction velocity studies to see how electrical impulses travel through the sciatic nerve, and a myelogram to see what is causing the pain.
Once your medical provider can identify exactly what is causing the pain, they will recommend a treatment plan to help decrease your pain while increasing your mobility. This may include self-care treatments like ice and hot packs, over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication, and gentle stretching. If the symptoms don’t improve within around six weeks, your doctor may suggest prescription medications, physical therapy, or corticosteroid injections into the lower back. Surgery is only recommended if all other treatment methods have proven to be ineffective.
