Sciatica
What is Sciatica?
What is sciatica? The sciatic nerve is the longest in the body. It sends nerve impulses to muscles in the thighs, legs and feet. Sciatic nerve pain happens when irritation, inflammation, pinching or compression affects one or more nerves that run down your lower back into your legs.
Here’s what typically causes sciatica:
- True sciatica: Any condition or injury that directly affects your sciatic nerve.
- Sciatica-like conditions: Conditions that feel like sciatica but happen for different reasons related to the sciatic nerve or other nerves.
Sciatica Symptoms
Sciatica symptoms are uncomfortable and, sometimes, debilitating — significantly impacting daily activities. In some cases, sciatica pain is so bad it’s hard to walk. Other times, it’s more manageable. Sciatic nerve pain symptoms impact the lower body in a few ways, including:
- Pain that shoots, or radiates, down the leg on the affected side
- Tingling or “pins and needles” (paresthesia)
- Numbness
- Muscle weakness
- Urinary incontinence or fecal incontinence
What Does Sciatica Pain Feel Like?
Most people describe sciatica pain as burning or like an electric shock. This pain also often shoots, or radiates, down the leg on the affected side.
How is Sciatica Diagnosed?
Several tests can diagnose sciatica and rule out similar conditions. Those include:
- Electromyography
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans
- Myelogram
- Nerve conduction velocity studies
- Spine X-rays or computed tomography (CT) scans
How to Treat Sciatica
How to relieve sciatica pain depends on how much and often it interferes with your life. Over-the-counter medication for sciatica, such as ibuprofen or naproxen, is helpful for mild to moderate inflammation. If your pain gets worse, muscle relaxants or prescription pain killers may be recommended by your provider. Additional pain relief options include corticosteroid injections. Talk to your doctor about what’s right for you.
When severe, surgery might be the best option for relief from sciatic nerve pain. Two common medical procedures to reduce sciatica pain include:
- Diskectomy: Removes fragments or small sections of a herniated disk that are pressing on a nerve.
- Laminectomy: Each vertebra has a rear section called the lamina. A laminectomy involves removing a section of the lamina that’s pressing on spinal nerves.
Sciatica Self-Care
Strength exercises and stretches for sciatic nerve pain bring relief and increased mobility. Focus on stretches that target your lower back, hips and legs to release pressure on the sciatic nerve. Good stretches for sciatic nerve pain relief include:
- Hamstring stretch
- Pigeon pose
- Seated spinal twist
Daily stretching lowers the chance of reoccurring sciatica pain as well. Additionally, physical exercise for sciatica pain, such as pelvic tilts, bridges and core workouts, strengthen the stomach, back and pelvis muscles to give your spine more support and prevent increased pain.
Sciatica Prevention
Some causes of sciatica are preventable, but others happen for unknown reasons. The following lifestyle factors and practices can prevent sciatica or reduce the risk of it happening:
- Maintain good posture
- Quit (or don’t start) using tobacco products
- Reach and maintain a weight that’s healthy for you
- Stay active
- Protect yourself from falls
- Take time to recover if needed
When to See a Doctor About Sciatica Pain
Start with talking to your primary care doctor about sciatic nerve pain if it persists for more than a week, or if it’s severe enough you can’t do some daily activities anymore. If you need extra support, you’ll likely be referred to one of the following specialties to add to your care team:
- Neurology specializes in sciatica pain and can offer more advanced medical treatments.
- Orthopedic surgeons can help with structural issues causing sciatica pain.
- Physical therapists guide you through exercises and sciatica therapies/stretches to provide pain relief.
- Pain management specialists use medications to control sciatica pain.
Additionally, if you experience weakness, numbness tingling in your legs or loss of bladder or bowel control, schedule an appointment with your provider as soon as possible to rule out other conditions.