Americans are no strangers to sciatica — the condition affects up to 40% of the population at some point in their lives. Not only is sciatica common, but it also comes with a unique set of symptoms that makes this lower back issue fairly easy to identify.
In the following, Dr. Rajiv Sood and the team at Spine & Orthopedic Center share some of the symptoms of sciatica and why this is a leading cause of back pain. We also review some of your treatment options that will have you moving freely again in no time.
The symptoms of sciatica, which we’ll get to in a moment, are so pronounced and singular because the problem stems from nerve compression in your lower back.
Your sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in your body and it’s formed by 5 nerve roots in your lower back — your L4, L5, S1, S2, and S3 (the L stands for lumbar and the S stands for sacral). This nerve splits into two and travels down into each of your legs, all the way down to your feet.
When you have sciatica, something is pressing against this nerve, such as a herniated disc or degenerative changes in your spine. This leads to the telltale signs of sciatica, which we will discuss next.
We keep referring to sciatica symptoms as being easy to identify, so let’s get into some of those.
One of the hallmarks of sciatica is that symptoms are local, around where the nerve is compressed and radiating. In other words, your symptoms can travel down the nerve and into your buttock and leg.
In most cases, the symptoms only occur on one side, and they include:
These symptoms often come and go with certain movements. For example, people with sciatica often complain about shooting pain when they sneeze or when they try to lift their legs. In the other direction, sciatica discomfort is often relieved when you bend forward or get off your feet, relieving nerve compression.
If you suspect your lower back pain and other symptoms might stem from sciatica, it’s a good idea to come see us. Our first goal is to make you more comfortable so that you can move without pain. To accomplish this, we might recommend medications and/or interventional spine injections.
Once you’re more comfortable, we can take longer-term action to help heal the current bout of sciatica, as well as prevent the condition from recurring down the road. We’ve found that physical therapy can help greatly, as well as massage therapy.
We often turn to regenerative practices, such as platelet-rich plasma therapy, which can be helpful if we’re dealing with damaged discs. By introducing platelet concentrates, we want to encourage better disc health in the future.
As you can see, we offer plenty of options to help you get through your sciatica, as quickly as possible.
For relief from your sciatica symptoms, we invite you to contact our office in Jonesboro, Georgia, to schedule an appointment.