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What Is Sciatica ?
Sciatica is a painful condition that affects the lower back and the leg. When the sciatic nerve becomes irritated, sciatica leads to pain that is typically felt on just one side of the body. Besides discomfort, sciatica is known to cause numbness in the affected regions of the body, as well as trouble with controlling the leg.
When a person has sciatica, pain radiates from the lower back down to the thigh, extending downward to the back of the calf. In some cases, pain from sciatica flows upward as well, affecting the hip, and back down toward the foot. For many affected individuals, pain from sciatica is enough to impair the performance of everyday tasks.
Sciatica is a symptom of a problem with the sciatic nerve, a large nerve that runs from the lower back down the back of each leg. It controls muscles in the back of your knee and lower leg and provides feeling to the back of your thigh, part of your lower leg and the sole of your foot. When you have sciatica, you have pain, weakness, numbness or tingling. It can start in the lower back and extend down your leg to your calf, foot, or even your toes. It’s usually on only one side of your body.
The sciatic nerve is formed from the L5 and S1 nerve roots in the spinal canal and the union of these nerves becomes the sciatic nerve in the pelvis. The sciatic nerve continues through the pelvis into the buttock and back of the upper thigh to the back of the knee where it splits into nerves coursing into the calf.
The most common of the causes of sciatica inflammation involves a herniated disc. It is important to understand here that each vertebral disc in the back is made up of a very tough outer layer of cartilage and a more elastic central area.
As the age increases, these disks end up degenerating and becoming much thinner and weaker over time. Especially when you are putting a lot of pressure on this area for extended periods of time, this can result in causing cracks in the outer layers of the disks, thereby allowing the central mass to squeeze out.
The bottom line is that one of the main causes of sciatica inflammation then is herniated discs in the lumber or sacral regions which put pressure on the sciatic nerve and result in causing pain and discomfort.
The most common symptom from sciatica is pain. Most people describe a deep, severe pain that starts low on one side of the back and then shoots down the buttock and the leg with certain movements.
Sciatica is a clinical diagnosis. In other words, the doctor will be able to make the diagnosis based on your medical history, a physical examination, and your description of your symptoms. If you have had sciatica for only a brief time and you have no sign of any other diseases, no lab studies or x-ray films may be needed.
Pain from sciatica will probably limit your activities. Here are some ways to ease the pain at home.
Sciatica surgery is a drastic treatment option typically recommended to patients with severe sciatic nerve pain who have not found lasting relief from more conservative therapy modalities. Spinal surgery, no matter how minor, is never a small undertaking. There are always risks and potential complications, as well as the possibility of failed sciatica surgery syndrome.
Sciatica is a term which refers to a burning, stinging, and/or numbing pain that is felt in the buttock, thigh, leg, and/or foot; it may or may not be associated with low back pain.
In layman’s terms, sciatica is caused by a pinching and/or irritation of one of the three lowest lumbar nerve roots that make up the giant sciatic nerve. Any pinching / irritation of these delicate nerve roots may not only may cause lower back pain but may also ignite the entire sciatica nerve into a pain state![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_message style=”square” message_box_color=”mulled_wine”]
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