Sciatica is a medical condition that affects the sciatic nerve, the longest nerve in your body that continues down from your buttocks to the legs. The pain associated with this nerve is called sciatica, and it continues down your legs, disrupting your daily life and making your movements painful.
Although quite common, sciatica is often misunderstood as it has varying symptoms among each individual. But don’t worry! In this guide, we will discuss everything you need to know about sciatica, its symptoms, causes, and treatment options so you can understand this condition better.
Read on.
Understanding Sciatica
What Is Sciatica?
Sciatica is a pain disorder of the legs that continues down to your legs, following the sciatic nerve. It is triggered as a result of the sciatic nerve being compressed. Sciatica is characterized by tingling, numbness, weakness, and pain in the legs, buttocks, lower back, or feet.
However, there are many more symptoms of sciatica that can help you identify your condition.
Symptoms of Sciatica
While the main symptom of sciatica is radiating pain in the lower back and leg, it also accompanies other symptoms.
- Muscle weakness:Sciatica causes muscle weakness in the body, which makes it difficult for you to move the affected area. This weakness can make it difficult for you to carry out everyday activities, such as walking, climbing stairs, and standing up.
- Tingling sensations: Another common symptom of sciatica is tingling in the legs. It may occur in specific regions or affect the entire leg, depending on the severity of your condition.
- Warm sensation in the leg: Some sciatica patients also report feeling a warm or burning sensation in the affected area. It can either occur for a short period or manifest constantly, causing great discomfort.
- Numbness: Numbness in the leg is yet another common symptom of sciatica that can either affect a specific region or your entire leg.
- Pain with mobility: Sciatica pain is mostly felt when moving or doing certain activities like lifting heavy objects or bending. It can also be triggered by sneezing or coughing. What’s more, this pain is reported to get worse at night, especially when you are lying down.
If you have any of these symptoms, and they have not subsided after a week, contact a healthcare professional immediately.
Causes of Sciatica
Sciatica is usually caused by compression of the sciatic nerve. It is important to identify the exact causes of sciatica so you can have an accurate diagnosis of your condition. Some of these causes include:
- Degenerative disc disease
- Herniated or bulging disc in the spine
- Spondylolisthesis
- Spinal stenosis
- Trauma or injury
- Piriformis syndrome
- Spinal tumor
- Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
- Obesity
- Sedentary lifestyle
Managing Sciatica
The first step towards managing sciatica involves an accurate diagnosis of the condition. If you are experiencing three or more of the symptoms associated with sciatica, schedule an appointment with your healthcare provider immediately.
Your medical expert will perform a physical exam, inquire about your medical history, and evaluate your symptoms. They may also order tests like X-rays, MRIs, or CT scans to closely look at your spine and nearby structures and determine what’s causing nerve compression.
Treatment Options
Depending on how progressed your condition is, there are a number of treatment options for sciatica that help reduce pain and inflammation and restore mobility.
1. Medication
If your condition is not so progressed, your healthcare provider will prescribe you over-the-counter (OTC) painkillers and NSAIDs such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. They may also recommend muscle relaxants to restore functionality.
2. Manual and Physical Therapy
Physical and manual therapies work wonders for sciatica. These targeted therapies involve strengthening and stretching exercises to increase your flexibility and relieve the compression on your sciatic nerve.
Your healthcare provider may also recommend Maderotherapy or sports massage for sciatic pain. If you are looking for a professional sports massage in Dubai, reach out to us today.
3. Hot or Cold Compression Therapy
You can also try applying cold or hot packs to the painful areas to reduce inflammation. These techniques improve blood circulation in the affected area, numb the pain, and relax muscles. However, make sure to discuss this with your healthcare provider first before opting for these therapies.
4. Steroid Injections
If you are experiencing severe pain due to sciatica, your healthcare provider may use steroid injections to quickly deliver the corticosteroid medication to the affected area. Although temporary, these injections offer immediate relief.
5. Surgery
In severe cases of sciatica when the pain is intolerable and your mobility is also highly affected, your healthcare provider may suggest surgical intervention. They can include laminectomy, microdiscectomy, artificial disc replacement, and spinal fusion.
These surgeries will address the root cause of sciatica, relieving pressure on the sciatic nerve permanently.
Conclusion
While sciatica is a painful condition, it can be managed by staying active, maintaining a good posture, using proper techniques to lift weights, taking breaks between manual work, and managing stress. You should also stay proactive and immediately report your symptoms to a healthcare professional to take timely measures to manage sciatica.
Good luck!