Sciatica is a medical condition characterized by pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the human body, running from the lower back down through the hips, buttocks, and each leg. Sciatica typically affects one side of the body.
The most common cause of sciatica is a herniated disc in the lumbar spine (lower back). When a disc becomes herniated, it can press against the sciatic nerve, causing irritation and inflammation. This, in turn, leads to pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness along the path of the nerve, often starting from the lower back and traveling down the leg. However, other conditions like spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal), degenerative disc disease, or muscle imbalances can also lead to sciatica.
Sciatica is a common type of pain affecting the sciatic nerve, a large nerve extending from your lower back down the back of each leg.
- Lower back pain
- Pain in the rear or leg that is worse when sitting
- Hip pain
- Burning or tingling down the leg
- Weakness, numbness, or a hard time moving the leg or foot
- Constant pain on one side of the rear
- A shooting pain that makes it hard to stand up
Sciatica usually affects only one side of the lower body. Often, the pain extends from the lower back all the way through the back of your thigh and down through your leg. Depending on where the sciatic nerve is affected, the pain may also extend to the foot or toes.
The pain is usually explained as feeling like short electrical shocks and may be mild or serious. Many people also describe emotions of numbness and tingling as well.
It may be the result of a wide variety of occurrences like heavy lifting, degenerative disk disease, herniated disc harm, pelvis injury or fracture, slipped disk, spinal stenosis, tumors or Piriformis Syndrome.
Low impact aerobic exercise might help relieve the pain of sciatica by loosening muscle tension that encompasses the sciatic nerve itself.stretching is also a very important factor in self managing sciatica,it is also worth noting that if any particular stretch increases discomfort that one should stop immediately.
Here at Don Kelly Physiotherapy and Acupuncture clinic we have treated this very common condition very successfully in both our Limerick and Charleville clinics. Phyio exercises tand acupressure: This can be an ancient type of treatment that is comparable to acupuncture, but does not use needles. It applies pressure to particular pressure points which encourages blood circulation, relieves muscle tension, and triggers our body natural healing :
Seek medical attention right away if you have:
Fever and back pain
Swelling or redness in your back or spine
Pain that moves down your legs
Serious pain
Numbness or weakness in the upper thighs, legs, pelvis, or bottom
I have treated my patients with a 100% success rate. Armed with experience in the last 20 years of providing my physiotherapy services in Limerick and Charleville.
EXERCISE FOR SCIATICA
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