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Symptoms, Causes & Treatment of Sciatica

Even if you think this is a normal back pain

There are numerous health conditions associated with the spinal column.
For e.g. Spondylosis, Slip Disc and Sciatica.

Read further OR watch the video below, & try to better understand the terms Sciatica and what it means.

The word Sciatica originates from the word Sciatic. The Sciatic is the largest and the most crucial nerve in our legs.

So any pain that originates from the back and shoots below the cores of this nerve is called Sciatica.

If you observe your Spinal column’s front and rear view, you will see nerves coming out from the space between every two vertebrae.

The bottom-most 3 or 5 nerves fuse to form Sciatic Nerve. It goes to our legs from the back of our hips. If these nerves feel any pressure due to any reason, it will cause swelling.

The swollen nerves will cause pain, which will travel to your lower body via Sciatica.

The most common cause of Sciatica is slipped disc or Herniated Disc. It’s a condition in which the disc that separates two vertebrae comes out and presses against the nerves.

This pressure causes pain, tingling sensation, heaviness and lack of strength in some patients.

In the early stages of Sciatica, the patient might face difficulty walking. Most of the patients experience the pain of Sciatica while walking or sitting down.

The pain is considerably less while sleeping. Whenever we observe such conditions in our patients, we try to identify the root cause of Sciatica. 

Sometimes, the cause of Sciatica can be some other health condition too.

So when we perform a complete examination of the patient, we determine whether the pain is limited to the Sciatic nerve or is spread across the whole leg.

E.g.

Pain from the hip joint might also feel like Sciatica, and swelling in the Sacroiliac Joint might cause pain like Sciatica.

Moreover, obstruction of blood flow in the legs also feels like Sciatica in Diabetes or Rheumatic arthritis.

A specialist doctor can determine Sciatica after the examination. But for complete diagnosis, some tests become necessary.

If a patient feels pain shooting down, tingling sensation and heaviness while lifting the leg when he/she is in a sleeping position is also a clinical confirmation of Sciatica.

But still, MRI is considered gold-standard for Diagnosing Sciatica. MRI helps determine whether there is pressure on the Sciatic nerve and, if there is pressure, what is the reason behind it.

Slipped disc or Herniated disc is the common cause of Sciatica. But sometimes, other reasons for Sciatic include:

1.   Tumour
2.   Infection
3.   Injury

There are numerous treatment options available for the patient with Sciatica. But the most important of them all is an accurate diagnosis.

It’s important to diagnose where the Sciatic nerve is being pressed, what is the cause of that pressure and how severe that pressure is. Almost 80% of Sciatica patients do not need surgery.

They can be treated with complete rest, pain-management medication, anti-inflammatory drugs and Physical therapy.

In such patients, physiotherapists recommend some essential exercise once the pain reduces. Stretching is one of the most common of them. It can be beneficial in curing Sciatica completely.

But if the pain is too much, pressure on the Sciatic nerve is very high, or there is some severe health condition that can cause more troubles in future, surgery becomes necessary.

The pain of Sciatica can be very discomforting and disrupt your daily routine. In severe cases, it can even impact your mobility. Thankfully, treating Sciatica with timely diagnosis and proper treatment is very easy.

We hope this information has cleared many of your doubts about Sciatica. We are always here to assist if you need further information or assistance about Sciatica. Just give us a call, and we will arrange a quick consultation with our experts.

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