Sciatica is a symptom of a problem with the sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the body. 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.
SCIATICA
The main cause of sciatic pain is pressure from a herniated disc. Other sources could be compression due to arthritis, joint inflammation or a locked joint in the lower spine.
Leg pain can have various sources. Pain can be a local leg injury or it may even be referred from your lower back and travel along the sciatic nerve. The main nerve that travels from your lower back to your leg is your sciatic nerve.
Sciatica happens generally with wear and tear of your body this happens between the ages of 30 to 50 years old, as well as sudden pressure on the discs that cushion the vertebrae of the lower spine.
The most typical causes of sciatic pain are:
- facet joint injuries
- spine degeneration
- lumbar bulging disc
Other sources include:
- piriformis syndrome
- spinal stenosis
- spondylolisthesis
- sacroiliac dysfunction
Sciatica is pain that generally begins in the lower back, radiates through the buttock, leg, calf and, sometimes the foot. The pain can be sharp shooting pains, aching or burning pains, or a dull pain.
Seek medical attention if you have the sensation of numbness, tingling, or muscle weakness of the irritated leg. In this type of situation long-term nerve damage can result and can become permanent.
Sciatica symptoms:
- Buttock and leg pain that worsens when sitting.
- Tingling or burning radiating down the leg.
- Difficulty moving foot or leg due to weakness or numbness.
- Constant pain down one side of the rear calf muscle.
- Difficulty standing due to shooting pain.
Through physical examination Sciatica is clinically diagnosed based upon the behavior of your pain and how you describe your symptoms.
The diagnosis of sciatic pain is reasonably simple, it is important to find the origin of the sciatic pain. Determining to what extent your sciatic nerve has been compressed is also an important factor in your treatment.
Your doctor may order a CT scan, , an MRI or an X ray to determine any problems with your spine hat may be pinching or irritating the sciatic nerve. Sciatica generally affects L5 or S1 nerve roots.
Step I – Pain Relief
Sciatic pain is the main reason you are seeking treatment. Pain is the last symptom of Sciaitica and will be the first symptom to be relieved.
After an injury inflammation is normal. Constant inflammation can be a main cause of the sciatic pain.
Your doctor can determine the cause of this and your sport therapist can design an effective treatment plan to relieve the inflammation.
Step II – Obtaining Posture, Strength, & Normal Flexibility
As your sport therapist follows a treatment plan with you, inflammation and pain will decrease. Your treatment plan will focus on restoring normal range of motion of your back and decreasing tension in your muscles. Part of the plan is to increase leg flexibility and posture.
Step III – Restoration of Function & Control
The next step is focused on rehabilitation to return to your normal activities. Each person that comes to Olympic Sport Therapy has different activity levels and will help you to reach your individual performance goals.
Step IV – Prevention and Recurrence
The main reason sciatica may return is discipline to continue the exercises and maintenance therapy as prescribed by your therapist.
Definition:
Sciatic pain is in the lower back, hip, and especially the back of the thigh that is caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve.