Sciatica: Causes, Symptoms & Treatments
The nerve named Sciatica, is known as the largest nerve of a human body which is a compilation of individual nerve roots that branch out from spine in the lower back. Numbness, weakness or tingling sensations at the thigh, foot, calve muscles,lower legand toes are often described as the symptoms of sciatica. This condition might worsen when the pain originating from lower back transits to back of leg through buttock. Being an underlying symptom of a severe medical condition itself, the pain in sciatica may be caused due to degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis, lumbar herniated disc, etc. There can be a number of treatments from medications, to surgeries, Physiotherapy at Home and many more. Let’s read the details below.
Common Causes of Sciatica
The enlisted are 6 common lower back problems that cause sciatica pain:
1.Lumbar Herniated Disc: Commonly known as slipped disc, bulging disc, ruptured disc, protruding disc, etc. where the soft material inside of the disc herniates or leaks from the outer side and continuously pinches or irritates the nerve root.
2. Degenerative Disc Disease: Exposure of inflammatory proteins from the disc and excessive micro-motion at the spine irritate the nerve roots. While this is a natural process that comes with the passing age but not necessarily it will occur in later years of life.
3. Bone Spurs (Osteophytes) and Back Pain: An extended cause of spinal degeneration which may cause the nerve to be pressed.
4. Isthmic spondylolisthesis: L5-S1 (Lumbosacral Joint): A condition which occurs with a small stress fracture which leads the vertebral body to slip forward. Eg: L5 vertebra slips towards S1 vertebra
5. Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: The spinal canal gets narrowed and this condition mostly prevails due to age factor, especially humans of age 60 years and above.
· Overgrowth of soft tissues
The above listed issues place pressure on the nerve roots, thereby causing pain in sciatica.
6. Piriformis Syndrome: There is severe irritation in joint located at spinal bottom- sacroiliac joint due to the piriformis muscle in the buttock which pinches or irritates a nerve root.
More causes of sciatica are enlisted below:
· Infections in Nerve Roots
· Fracture in a Lumbar Vertebra
There are various symptoms which may hint you about the lower back or leg pain to be not normal, but sciatica pain. These include:
· Rare pain in both sides of buttocks and legs but regular pain on any one side
· Pain which initially originated from the lower back but continued to every body part comprising sciatic nerve- thighs, calves, lower leg and foot.
· Pain that feels better when the body is in motion or is at rest but worsens in standing or sitting in stationary position.
·Pain felt with prickling sensation or numbness, weakness, pins-and-needles, etc.
· Severe pain which may also increase in one leg, making it difficult to walk or stand.
· Constant pain in toes and surrounding areas.
There are two types of treatments for Sciatica Pain- Surgical and Nonsurgical. While the former is used in extreme and highly severe cases, the later are the perfect cures for initial to middle stages of the disease. Various surgeries which are commonly performed for severe aches include:
· Lumbar laminectomy - to reduce pressure on nerves the spinal cord is widened in the lower back.
· Discectomy - herniated disk is removed partially or entirely.
Other surgical treatments are rendered after the doctor entirely scans the problem and placement of the spine.
Apart from this, Physiotherapy at Home is the latest trend of medical industry which brings the best relief with utmost comfort.Aspects included in this treatment contain the below listed:
General Exercises for Sciatica:
· Strengthening Exercises for the ligaments, spinal column, abdominal muscles and tendons.
· Stretching Exercises including Hamstring Stretching, Bird Dog Move, etc.
· Low-Impact Aerobics comprising cardiovascular exercises like pool therapy, swimming, walking, and other ways to intake nutrients for better healing.
This comprises massages using Heat Pads or Ice Packs for muscle relaxation, increased blood circulation, and release of endorphins which naturally relieve the body pain.
Also, there are numerous other treatments that include:
· Chiropractic/manual manipulation
· Cognitive behavior therapy
· Epidural steroid injections
· Pain medications& injections
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