Sciatica

Introduction

Sciatica is a condition that is characterized by pain that radiates along the path of the sciatica nerve, which extends from the back to the bottom of the hips, buttocks and below the back. This usually occurs when the nerve is compressed or irritated due to conditions such as a herniated disc, bone spur, or spinal stenosis. Pain can range from mild discomfort to severe, sharp sensations and with numbness in the affected leg, tingling or muscle weakness. Initial diagnosis and proper treatment are necessary to prevent complications and improve mobility.

Types of Sciatica

Acute sciatica

Acute sciatica develops suddenly due to factors such as heavy lifting or injury and usually lasts for four to eight weeks before improving naturally.

Old sciatica

Chronic sciatica persists for more than eight weeks, which causes long -term discomfort, numbness and low mobility, often requiring frequent medical management.

Alternating Sciatica

The alternative sciatica affects a leg at a time, switchs between the legs, and usually arises from the sacroiliac joint dysfunction or spinal misalgnament.

Bilateral sciatica

Bilateral sciatica affects both legs simultaneously, often due to severe spinal spinal issues such as many discs herniation or extreme spinal canal.

Causes of Sciatica :

Cattiations often occur when a herniated disc scripture compresses the nerve, causing sharp radiation pain and discomfort.
Spinal stenosis compresses the spinal canal, compresses the veins and resulted in back pain, tingling and numbness.
The degenerative disc disease disk reduces the flexibility, causing nerve irritation and continuously pain from the back to the feet.
Spondylolisticthitis occurs when a vertex slips further, which puts pressure on the sciatica nerve and causes severe pain.
Muscle cramps in the lower back or buttocks can compress the sciatic nerve and trigger severe pain.
Obesity increases spinal pressure, causing nerve compression and significantly enhancing the possibility of developing sciatica symptoms.
The wrong posture leads to a long -standing spine position, causing sciatica nerve compression and leg pain over time.
Pregnancy causes hormonal changes and excess weight, which can compress the sciatica nerve and cause temporary pain.
Accidents or trauma can damage spinal injuries disc or nerves, resulting in painful sciatica symptoms and discomfort.
Diabetic nervous damage increases risk, making individuals more sensitive to develop sciatica and reduce foot pain.

Clinical features of Sciatica :

Radiating Leg Pain

The pain originates from the lower part of the leg, often follows the sciatica nerve passage.

Numbness and tingling

Patients may experience numbness, tingling or pin-and-sui sensation in the affected leg.

Muscle weakness

The affected leg muscles can be weakness, which can lead to walking or difficult and uncomfortable.

Lower back discomfort

Constant lower back discomfort is often accompanied by sciatica, deteriorates with movement or sitting for a long time.

Difficulty in movement

Severe pain and rigidity can limit mobility, bend, walk, or standing extremely challenging.

Symptoms associated with Sciatica :

The sharp, shooting pain begins at the lower back and drops one or both legs down.

Numbness often develops in the affected leg or leg, reduces normal sensation and causes discomfort.

Tingling or pin-end-model sensors are usually accompanied by sciatica nerve tract, especially in the feet.

Muscle weakness can affect the leg or leg, walk, climb, or stand more difficult.

The pain usually deteriorates when sitting for a long time, causing discomfort and nerve irritation.

Burning sensations with legs can be caused by sciatica nerve compression or inflammation.

Difficulty in moving or bending the body is caused by severe sciatica nerve pain and rigidity of the lower back.

Sudden shocks of pain occur while sneezing, coughing, or when doing quick body movements.

Investigations in Sciatica :

A complete physical examination examines asana, muscle strength, flexibility and awareness. Doctors assess pain patterns and identify areas of nerve compression, which helps to determine the severity and accurate location of the problem.

In this test, the patient remains flat while the doctor raises each leg. The breeding of sciatica pain during height indicates nerve irritation, which is usually used to accurately and effectively diagnose the sciatica.

X-rays help imagine the structure of the spine, detecting bone spurs, fractures, or missing. These abnormalities can compress the sciatica nerve, and help doctors in determining the possible causes of X-ray sciatica symptoms.

MRI provides highly wide images of soft tissues, spinal discs and veins. It helps in detecting herniated discs, spinal stenosis, or nerve damage, which is one of the most accurate sciatica clinical devices.

CT scans create cross-sectional images of the spine, which help imagine bone abnormalities, disc herniation, or nerve root compression. It is often combined with myelography for more detailed clinical information.

EMG measures electrical activity within the muscles to evaluate nerve function. This sciatica detects abnormal reactions caused by nervous compression, which helps doctors to determine the severity of neurological damage and the exact location.

These tests measure how quickly the electric impulses travel through the veins. Delayed signals indicate nerve compression or damage, which contributes to the pain and discomfort related to the affected nerve passengers.

Blood tests identify the underlying conditions such as diabetes, infection or inflammation. These factor can spoil nerve irritation or compression, helping doctors to help doctors in secondary reasons effectively increase the symptoms of the patient’s sciatica.

Ultrasound scans form the real -time images of soft tissues, muscles and nerves. This helps to detect inflammation, swelling or implication around the sciatica nerve, offering a safe, non-invasive clinical option for other imaging tests.

The mallography uses a contrast dye injected in the spinal canal, combined with X-rays or CT scans. It highlights spinal compression, disc hernation, or nerve root effects causing severe sciatica symptoms.