What is Sciatica Pain?
Sciatica (pronounced sigh-AT-ih-ka) is lower back pain combined with a pain through the buttock and down one leg. Normally you will feel a shooting pain down your leg, like electricity. Sometimes, weakness in the leg muscles occurs with sciatica. It can also cause a burning sensation or give you the feeling that your leg has gone to sleep. The pain can range from light annoyance to absolutely intolerable.
Sciatica is completely different from all other forms of lower back pain because there are two sciatic nerves, and in most cases your pain is isolated to one side. The sciatic nerves are the largest nerves in the body and are about the size of your little finger. They come out of the spinal column low in the back and then go behind the hip joint, down the buttock, and down the back of the leg to the foot.
What causes sciatica nerve pain?
Sciatica is caused by irritation of your sciatic nerve. In most cases, there is no specific injury that is related to the onset of sciatica. On occasion, sciatica pain can erupt suddenly after lifting something heavy or moving very quickly. The following are common causes of sciatica:
- A herniated disc (also known as a slipped disc) is the most common cause of sciatica pain.
- Spinal Stenosis is a narrowing of the canal that contains your spinal cord. As you age, the bone can overgrow putting pressure on your sciatic nerve. Unfortunately, most people afflicted with spinal stenosis will suffer from sciatica on both sides of their back.
- Spondylolisthesis is a serious condition in which one of your backbones has slipped forward over another backbone, putting pressure on the sciatic nerve.
- A stretched or pinched sciatic nerve.
- Piriformis syndrome will cause your sciatic nerve to get trapped deep in your buttock by the piriformis muscle.
- The effects of aging, like osteoarthritis and fractures caused by osteoporosis, can also cause sciatica.
How can you get rid of sciatica pain?
A trained chiropractor is the best way to receive sciatica pain treatment. The Virginia Beach Chiropractors at Virginia Spine Care Chiropractic specialize in diagnosing and treating your sciatica problems.
