Things You Need To Know About Sciatica

Sciatica is a pain that pierces through the path of your sciatic nerve. Starting from your lower back, it goes through your hips and buttocks, down each leg. Commonly sciatic pain only affects one leg and is persistent with its intensive pain. What starts as a minor pull, can turn into an intense pain in a matter of minutes. 

Symptoms of Sciatica Pain

The common symptoms of sciatica are felt alongside the sciatic nerve, and are often characterizes by one or more of the following: 

• Sciatica pain feels like a constant burning sensation, or it can be a shooting pain that starts at the lower back and makes its way through one leg. When pulled, you can feel the entire sciatic nerve.
• At times, sciatica comes with a certain level of numbness, located at the back of your leg and often presented as tingling or/and weakness.
• The pain associated with sciatica typically affects one leg. Rarely you will feel pain or pull in both legs. Otherwise, you will feel a heaviness in the leg that commonly suffers sciatic pain.
• There are times when static symptoms worse when you are standing up, sitting, bending forward, twisting your spine, laying down, or/and while coughing. You can ease the pain with the help of a heat pack or walking.

Symptoms of an Underlying Medical Condition

Sciatica is used to describe several symptoms caused by an underlying medical condition. While it is not a medical diagnosis, the common medical conditions that can cause sciatica include but are not limited to: 

• A lumbar spinal stenosis
• Herniated lumbar disc
• Lumbar degenerative disc diseases
• Muscle spasm - inflammation
• Spondylolisthesis
• Sacroiliac joint dysfunction

Additionally, a rare chance that a tumour, blood clot, or any other condition in your lower spine is causing sciatica pain. 

Mostly, a particular event or injury is not enough to cause sciatica. Sciatica is an issue that develops with time, affecting about 10% to 40% of the world's population is typically seen in men and women above 40. 

On the other hand, sciatica is considered a common disadvantage for some occupations. These include physically strenuous positions, such as driving a truck for hours to come, operating machines for days, and other related jobs. Moreover, individuals who bend their spine forwards or sideways are more likely to develop sciatica. However, these are not any set issues, as it depends on a wide range of issues.

Treating Sciatica

When it comes to sciatica treatment, the lucky ones can get better with the help of non-surgical sciatica treatment. These individually roughly take on 4 to 6 weeks to completely recover from any sciatica related symptom and pain. 

That being said, the timeframe of your treatment and treatment plan depends a great deal on your situation. While those who suffer from a mild case of sciatica can quickly cure the issue in a few weeks, but others might take longer to recover.

Studies show that 33% of the people who suffer from sciatica suffer from sciatica pain for at least a year. Meaning, you might suffer from sciatic pain for at least a year, before it starts to get better.

Unfortunately, when there is severe nerve compression, and your symptoms have progressed; you might require surgery. To ensure the best action plan, we suggest you book an appointment with your health care provider and talk through the treatment plan.

Yours in self-care,

Adrian Wilk