Understanding sciatica pain
Dr.Kut | Mar 11, 2010 | Comments 0
Sciatica is the description of a condition caused by the compression of the nerves on the lower back due to wrong position or due to accident. This condition can be extremely painful and the patient needs to take a lot of care of his back. The pain related to sciatica is generally characterized by throbbing and constant pain in the lower back or in the legs accompanied by numbness, tingling and weakness as well.
The medical term for this condition is called radiculopathy however; if this condition is related to the nerves on the neck then it is called cervical radiculopathy. Some of the common causes of sciatica include the problem of spondylolistheses which is a condition that you can have at the time of birth or in the early stages of your childhood. This condition can also happen due to heavy weight lifting. Basically spondylolistheses is also called slip disk. A patient may be suffering from this disease and then in the process he will suffer sciatica pain conditions because of the slip disk.
Another reason for sciatica is the Piriformis syndrome. This syndrome is directly related to the muscles of the piriformis which connects to the thighbone. This muscle assists in the rotation of the hips. If you get cramps on this muscle, this will directly affect the sciatica nerves that are running underneath this muscle thus creating the sciatica pain as well.
Lumbar bulging or Herniated disc is also a very painful condition. This is also known as a contained disk disorder where the center of the disc remains contained within an specific area and this can cause inflammation as severe pain. Once this occurs, there is pressure in the area and the nerves get affected, thus creating the sciatica pain as well. The disc itself contains hyaluronic acid which is an irritant.
Another common condition among people over 50 is the spinal stenosis, where the spinal canal narrows considerable causing pressure on the spinal cord and the nerves in the whole area. The symptoms of stenosis include severe leg pains and back pains and sometimes this can become less with forward bending exercises. This can also be a condition that you are born with and those kinds of patients need to take care of their backs on regular basis.
The spinal tumors are very rare condition; however, they also afflict some people at the latest stages in life. These tumors will also cause sciatica due to the pressure that the tumor will create on the nerves around the area.
Another cause of sciatica pain can be due to an accident of some kind. If the bone of the spinal cord at the bottom of the spine gets affected in any way, then this will affect the nerve roots on that particular area and you will have sciatica pains that come and go on regular basis. However, the most important thing that you should do in case you are having any kinds of pains in your legs and back, is to contact your doctor and get a proper diagnosis and treatment of the problem.
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Filed Under: Bones, Joints and Muscles
