Symptoms and causes of sciatica vary from person to person, but one thing each person with sciatica experiences is pain.
The term sciatica is used to describe nerve pain in the leg, which is caused by either compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve. Sciatica emanates in the lower back, radiates deep into the buttock, and then travels down each leg. Symptoms and causes of sciatica vary from person to person, but one thing each person with sciatica experiences is pain.
If you suffer from sciatica, it is essential to discover the cause and then work to relieve your pain.
What Does Sciatica Feel Like?
The sciatic nerves branches from your lower back through your hips and buttocks and down each leg. Typically, the symptoms of sciatica are felt along this path. Sciatica is often characterized by one or more symptoms. Some of these symptoms include:
- Pain – Most people describe sciatica pain like a constant burning sensation or a shooting pain that originates in the lower back or buttock and resonates down the front or back of the thigh and leg, and sometimes to the feet.
- Numbness – A person with sciatica may experience numbness in the back of the leg. They may also feel tingling or may experience weakness.
- Symptoms on Only One Side – It is common for sciatica only to affect one leg. A person may often feel a sense of heaviness in the leg that is affected.
- Posture Induced Symptoms – Symptoms of sciatica seem to worsen in certain positions such as while sitting, trying to stand up, bending over forward, twisting at the waist, lying down, and when coughing. Walking often relieves the symptoms, as well as applying a heat pack over the rear pelvic region.
Causes of Sciatica
Sciatica is merely a term used to describe a set of symptoms caused by an underlying medical condition. Many different medical conditions can cause sciatica; some of them include:
- Herniated Disk
- Bone spur
- Muscle spasm
- Spondylolisthesis
- Pregnancy
In rare cases, sciatica can be caused by blood clots or tumors.
Sciatica Pain Relief
The treatment for relieving your sciatica pain will depend on the medical condition that is causing your problem. But physical therapy and exercise are usually the first treatments used for treating, relieving, and preventing sciatica symptoms. When treating sciatica, physical therapy will include:
- Healing the underlying cause
- Providing symptom relief
- Preventing recurrences and flareups
If you suffer from sciatica pain, Rachel is skilled at identifying problems before they lead to more severe conditions. She will guide you through the Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA), which determines the exact cause of pain or muscle tightness that is preventing you from moving correctly.
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