Sciatica

Sciatica Pain – An Overview

Sciatica is basically a nerve that splits from your lower back and goes into your legs to the feet. This large nerve is irritated, pinched, or inflamed can cause sciatica pain which can be debilitating in nature. It is seen that sciatica often affects only one side of the body.

People who suffer from sciatica are usually between 30 to 50 years of age. Women can suffer from sciatica pain during their pregnancy due to the growing uterus.

What Causes Sciatica Pain?

The probability of sciatica pain inactive people is less as compared to people leading a sedentary life. The sciatica nerve can get inflamed or pinched due to the below reasons:

Herniated or Ruptured Disc: If the rubbery disc in your spine bulges then it can put pressure on the sciatica nerve.
Spinal Stenosis: Narrowing down of the spine due to age can also lead to the pinching of the sciatica nerve thereby triggering pain.
Spinal Tumors: Tumors developing in the back or spine can encroach the sciatica region putting pressure on it.
Prolonged Sitting: Sitting for long hours can trigger sciatica pain.
Osteoarthritis: People having arthritis can suffer from sciatica pain.
Diabetes: Persistently high blood sugar levels can cause the sciatica nerve to become inflamed.
Overweight: Due to high bodyweight in some people, they can have sciatica pain.
Piriformis Syndrome: In this condition, the piriformis muscle inside the buttocks starts to spasm pinching the sciatica nerve. However, this syndrome is more common in women than in men.
Infection or Trauma: Trauma due to injury or an infection in the lower back can trigger this pain.

Symptoms of Sciatica Pain

Sciatica slowly progresses with time and the symptoms are as below:

Severe discomfort due to irritated sciatica; a person might feel a sharp pain radiating from the lower back to the bottom of the legs.
The patient can experience pin-prick like tingling sensation and numbness in the legs.
Weakness in the lower back and legs can be felt due to sciatica.
Usually, sciatica affects only one side of the body. Therefore, one leg might feel heavier or stiff than the other.
Sciatica Pain might get worse when a person tries to stand or sit. The bending or twisting of the spine can also lead to pain.
In extreme cases, an individual might face bowel and urinary bladder related issues due to sciatica.

Sciatica Diagnosis

At Dunes Pain Clinic, our physicians will conduct an extensive physical examination to check for sciatica pain and the exact spot where the pain is happening. During the diagnosis:

You can be asked to do calf raises to check the strength of your muscles.
Straight leg raises might be performed to observe the exact point of pain.
The physician might also go for imaging scans like XRay/CT-Scans/MRIs to see the condition of bones, nerves, and tissues.
Electromyography might also be done to check how well nerves are able to transmit the signals.

Sciatica Treatment at Dunes Pain

A combination of various types of treatments might be administered by the doctors at Dunes Pain Clinic. Treatments can be minimally invasive or non-invasive in nature ranging from physical therapy to minor surgical procedures.

Physical therapy might include muscle and stretching exercises to strengthen the legs and lower back.
Conservative measures might include massage therapy or even applying ice or hot packs.
Medication usually consists of NSAIDs like ibuprofen, muscle relaxants, and anti-inflammatory drugs.
Minimally invasive procedures can include procedures like corticosteroid-anesthetic spinal injections and microdiscectomy.
Alternative methods like acupuncture might also provide relief in sciatica pain.

Suffering from Sciatica Pain? Call us!