Sciatica Pain: Causes And Symptoms

Sciatica is a leg pain that stems from the sciatic nerve, which runs from your hips to your feet. In most cases, this pain starts gradually in your lower back and buttock areas and then spreads into one of your legs.

Sciatica often mimics symptoms related to lumbar disc herniation or spinal stenosis. The pain begins in your lower back and sometimes travels down the buttocks and into one of your legs.

Sciatica is also often accompanied by other symptoms such as tingling, numbness, or weakness in the affected leg. Sciatica is the most common nerve problem that causes leg pain, but it can also impact two or three nerves simultaneously.

The team at the Illinois Back Institute shared their insights on sciatica pain causes, symptoms, and other essential details.

What is Sciatica

Sciatica refers to a set of symptoms rather than a diagnosis of a specific condition. It typically starts as a dull ache in the low back and buttocks, progressing into more severe pain that shoots down the buttocks and legs.

 

Sciatica occurs when pressure from herniated discs pushes on the sciatic nerve, causing pain to radiate along this significant nerve. It can be excruciating and debilitating.

What Are The Risk Factors For Sciatica

The risk factors for sciatica vary depending on the cause. Spinal stenosis is a narrowing or compression of the spine and nerve roots that radiate lower back and leg pain. The most common risk factor for this condition is advanced age, when spinal discs dry out and degenerate, causing spinal stenosis.

Herniated discs are another cause of sciatica. The most common risk factors for this condition are age, poor posture, excess weight, smoking, alcohol use, or trauma to the back or spine that can cause a herniated disc.

Previous injuries can also contribute to sciatica. If you have had a previous injury or surgery, you might be at risk of developing herniated discs and spinal stenosis, leading to sciatica symptoms. A tumor can also cause sciatic nerve pain, considered a rare cause of sciatica.

Other risk factors for this condition include being female and sedentary, especially if you have gained weight. People who sit or lie in awkward positions can also develop sciatica from the pressure on the nerve root.

Overweight individuals are at greater risk for developing sciatica because excess weight can put more pressure on the back. Anyone who is significantly overweight should consider losing weight. Sedentary lifestyles also increase your risk of developing sciatica symptoms.

What is Cauda Equina Syndrome

Cauda equina syndrome is a rare but severe condition that requires emergency medical care. It happens when your nerve roots become compressed, which can cause pain and weakness in the lower half of your body.

What Causes Sciatica

Sciatica can be caused by a variety of factors, including:

A Herniated Disc

A herniated disc (also known as a slipped or ruptured disc) occurs when the soft center of an intervertebral disc pushes through the tough exterior. Herniated discs most frequently occur in your lower back, but they can also happen in your neck.

Pinched Nerve

A pinched nerve occurs when pressure is placed on a nerve, causing it to be compressed and irritated. This pressure can arise from bone spurs or the spinal column, damaging spinal nerves.

Spondylolisthesis

A condition in which one of your vertebrae slips out of place, most frequently affecting the lower back. This condition can put pressure on surrounding nerves and may lead to sciatica.

Spinal Stenosis

This condition occurs when your spine is compressed due to the narrowing of the spinal column. Like degenerative disc disease, it often causes no symptoms but can pressure nerve roots and cause sciatica.

Degenerative disk disease

This is a condition that occurs when your discs begin to wear out. Degenerative disc disease often causes no symptoms, but it can lead to other conditions that cause sciatica.

Trauma

Injuries from car accidents or sports injuries can irritate the nerve root and cause sciatica.

Spinal Tumors

Several types of tumors can affect your spine and cause symptoms of sciatica.

Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

This condition occurs when your spine is compressed due to a narrowing of the spinal column. It often causes no symptoms but can pressure nerve roots and cause sciatica.

Inflammatory Conditions

Inflammatory conditions can damage the joints in your back or cause swelling that leads to pressure on the nerve roots.

Is Sciatica Serious

A herniated disc or spinal stenosis is not typically considered a severe medical issue because it will not cause lasting damage if it is treated. However, the nerve root compression will need to be promptly relieved to avoid long-term muscle weakness or permanent spinal cord damage.

Sciatica Symptoms To Watch Out For

Typically, the pain caused by sciatica radiates from your lower back down to your buttocks and may also extend to one or both legs. Sciatica pain causes symptoms in your lower back and might also affect the muscles in your buttocks, thighs, legs, feet, or toes.

Here are some of the symptoms caused by sciatica:

  • Tingling
  • Numbness
  • Weakness in the affected leg or foot.
  • Lower back pain
  • Leg pain
  • Limited range of motion.
  • Spinal cord compression
  • Nerve root damage.

Spinal cords can be compressed by disc herniations, bulging discs, or bone spurs. This can pressure your spinal cord and cause severe pain radiating down one or both legs.

If you have any of these symptoms, you need to get checked by a doctor right away. An expert can examine your condition and provide you with a plan to treat your pain.

What is Lumbar Radiculopathy

Lumbar radiculopathy is damage to one or more nerve roots that exit the lumbar spine. This can cause shooting pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness in your legs and feet. It is essential to determine whether you have direct compression of a nerve root or another reason for your pain. This can be seen on an MRI and confirmed with a CT scan.

How Can A Physical Therapist Help You

A physical therapist can provide you with an individual exercise program to strengthen the lower back and leg muscles. By helping to relieve sciatic nerve pressure, exercises can improve strength and reduce pain after a few weeks of regular sessions.

When these exercises are performed regularly over several weeks, the back muscles gain endurance, and patients can perform daily activities without pain. This can improve your physical mobility and reduce fatigue.

In some cases, these nerves can be squeezed as they travel between muscles and bones in the lower back. This is called a spinal nerve impingement or a pinched nerve, and it is an important cause of sciatica.

A physical therapist can teach you exercises to stretch and strengthen the muscles in your back. This can help relieve nerve pressure, reduce nerve pain after a few weeks of regular sessions, and improve physical mobility.

A physical therapist can provide relief from your shooting pain by having you focus on specific stretches and exercises that strengthen the muscles in your back. The right combination of strengthening and stretching can significantly reduce pain within a few weeks.

The Physical Therapist at Illinois Back Institute Can Help You

The therapist at Illinois Back Institute can help you live a pain-free life by providing personalized care for your sciatic nerve.

Their therapists will create a custom physical therapy plan for you that includes therapeutic strengthening exercises, stretches, massage techniques, and more.

Contact their professionals in Orland Park today at (833) 833-6770 and let them help you live your life to the fullest.

Contact Information:

Illinois Back Institute Orland

11540 W 183rd St
Orland Park, IL 60467
United States

Stella Zaimi
(833) 833-6770
https://illinoisbackpain.com/