Home » Common Causes » Sciatica Sciatica is the pain caused by general compression and or the irritation of one of five nerve roots that are branches of the sciatic nerve, and presents one of the most common forms of radiculopathy. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, and or in the various parts of the leg and foot of a person. In addition to pain, which is sometimes severe, for patients with Sciatica, there may be numbness, muscular weakness, and difficulty in moving or controlling the leg. Characteristically, the symptoms are only felt on one side of the body leading to Sleep Disorder in a person suffering. Even though Sciatica is a relatively common form of low back pain and leg pain, but the true meaning of the term is often misunderstood by people. Sciatica is a set of symptoms rather than a diagnosis for what is irritating the root of the nerve, causing the actual pain. The General Principles of Treatment is important, because treatment for Sciatica or of the sciatic symptoms often is different, depending upon the underlying cause of the symptoms.

The main causes of Sciatica is that it is generally caused by the compression of a lumbar spine nerve root L4 or L5 or sacral nerve roots S1, S2 or S3, or far less commonly, by compression of the sciatic nerve itself in the body. When Sciatica is caused by the compression of a lumbar nerve root it is regarded as a lumbar radiculopathy or radiculitis when followed with an inflammatory response from a spinal disc herniation, or from roughening, enlarging, and or the misaligning of the vertebrae (spondylolisthesis), or degenerated discs. One of the Common Causes of Sleep Disorders in human, if cured properly, Sciatica will no not be permanent.

Since there are various many conditions which can compress nerve roots and cause Sciatica, the treatment and symptoms often differ from patient to patient. Diagnostic tests can come in the form of a series of examinations by the physician. Patients are asked to adopt numerous positions and actions such as walking on toes, bending forward and backward, squatting, rotating the spine, sitting, lying on back, and raising one leg at a time. Increased pain usually occurs during one of these activities. Treatment of the underlying cause of Sciatica is often the most effective course of action. When the cause is due to a prolapsed or lumbar disc herniation, research has shown that, with supportive treatment to help relieve pain, 90% of disc prolapse will recover with no specific intervention. Sciatica on the average and primarily affects one side or leg of the body with the pain radiating through the buttock and or the leg.

The followings can point towards Sciatica as a problem:

• Pain in the buttocks and or the leg that is worse when sitting
• Burning or tingling down the leg
• Weakness, numbness or difficulty moving the leg or foot
• A constant pain on one side of the buttocks
• A shooting pain that makes it difficult to stand up

Even though Sciatica is said to be painful it rarely results in permanent nerve damage or tissue damage in a person’s body. Actually, most pain symptoms result from inflammation and tend to get better within two weeks to a few months. Moreover, as the spinal cord is not present in the lower spine a herniated disc in this area typically doesn’t present a danger of paralysis.

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