What is Sciatica?
If you've ever had any back pain – upper or lower, you know that it can be one of the worst injuries you could ever imagine. You never really realize how much you use your back, until its injured and every bend, every movement, and every step takes your breath away. Well, if you have been having lower back pain that is also bothering your legs and feet – it might not just be a regular old back pain like you think. It might be something called Sciatica. One of the most common medical questions about Sciatica is the causes of it. How do you get it? Is it genetic? Can it be because of age variations? Below, we will be talking about causes, symptoms, diagnoses, pain relief and more.
Causes Of Sciatica
In many cases, dealing with pain in your Sciatica DOES have to do with age. The reason behind this is because of spinal degeneration and with age over time your spine can become weakened – this is especially true if you do not take care of your health, keep the right weight, eat healthily and exercise. When spinal degeneration happens the pathways to the nerve of the sciatica are narrowed. The sciatica nerve is the largest nerve in the body; it starts in the lower spinal area of the back and branches downwards towards the pelvis, the buttocks, the legs and the feet. Obviously, if you are having issues with your sciatica, that is why you are having pain or dull aches in not only your lower back but everywhere below the back. When there is damage to the nerve or pressure on the nerve, this is what causes the pain.
Some risk factors
Pregnancy
Being overweight
Not exercising properly
Smoking
The pain can happen for a variety of reasons. Perhaps it was snowy out, and you mistook a patch of deep snow for a much smaller pile. Maybe you were exercising improperly and pulled something. It can even happen while twisting your body poorly to pick something up or reach for something. This is why its important to pay attention to how you move, walk, lift, and bend.
Signs and Symptoms
People have said the pain can be anywhere from mild and manageable to incredibly severe, to the point where they cannot even get up, let alone walk, sit, sleep, etc. One of the best ways to characterize and differentiate this pain from other back pains is the mere fact that this pain will travel below the knee. So if you are having pain, aches, dull aches, or even pins and needles on conjunction with aching below the knee, the calves, even the ankles, and feet, you could have a problem with your sciatica. Other signs and symptoms including cramp like pains, burning or sharp pains, pins and needles, tingling, and weakness.
Diagnosis Of Sciatica
One of the best ways to find out if you are having sciatica issues is by visiting a doctor. The doctor will ask you some medical questions such as medical history, the types of symptoms you are having, how long you've had them and most importantly when you started to feel the symptoms, i.e., when you think or what action you think started the pain. Then, a neurological assessment will be made by checking the function, strength and reflexes in your legs.
Pain Relief And Management Of Pain
If you are having pain associated with sciatica, your main goal is most likely to get rid of the pain! Thankfully there are quite a few options available to you such as;
- Moderate Activity: it used to be said that when you had back pain, it was best to sleep it off and lay down as much as you could. However, further and more recent research says that this is incorrect. While substantial activity is frowned upon, light to medium activity IS a good thing and is beneficial to your healing, Maintaining physical activities can also reduce the inflammation in the nerves.
- Medications: In conjunction with these other options, medication may help you. The most common type of drug are NSAIDS, but muscle relaxers can also be prescribed as well for muscle spasms. If the pain is severe enough, your doctor might be able to prescribe to you something a little more strong such as opioids.
Physiotherapy
Another option is hot/cold manipulation, as well as hot/cold packs. Chiropractors can usually offer physiotherapy to you, but if you want to you can also try hot and cold packs at home as well.
Sciatica is one of the number 1 reasons for back pain. To prevent it from happening in the future, you might want to consider maintaining correct posture and not only when sitting, but standing and walking as well. You should also make sure that you watch foot placement if you are stepping down into something unknown regarding how deep it is, don't – instead, find a place to walk where you can see the path clearly! Also, try to eat healthier, don't smoke, and maintain a healthy weight – something like weight, can put unneeded pressure on the spine.
Causes Of Sciatica
In many cases, dealing with pain in your Sciatica DOES have to do with age. The reason behind this is because of spinal degeneration and with age over time your spine can become weakened – this is especially true if you do not take care of your health, keep the right weight, eat healthily and exercise. When spinal degeneration happens the pathways to the nerve of the sciatica are narrowed. The sciatica nerve is the largest nerve in the body; it starts in the lower spinal area of the back and branches downwards towards the pelvis, the buttocks, the legs and the feet. Obviously, if you are having issues with your sciatica, that is why you are having pain or dull aches in not only your lower back but everywhere below the back. When there is damage to the nerve or pressure on the nerve, this is what causes the pain.
Some risk factors
Pregnancy
Being overweight
Not exercising properly
Smoking
The pain can happen for a variety of reasons. Perhaps it was snowy out, and you mistook a patch of deep snow for a much smaller pile. Maybe you were exercising improperly and pulled something. It can even happen while twisting your body poorly to pick something up or reach for something. This is why its important to pay attention to how you move, walk, lift, and bend.
Signs and Symptoms
People have said the pain can be anywhere from mild and manageable to incredibly severe, to the point where they cannot even get up, let alone walk, sit, sleep, etc. One of the best ways to characterize and differentiate this pain from other back pains is the mere fact that this pain will travel below the knee. So if you are having pain, aches, dull aches, or even pins and needles on conjunction with aching below the knee, the calves, even the ankles, and feet, you could have a problem with your sciatica. Other signs and symptoms including cramp like pains, burning or sharp pains, pins and needles, tingling, and weakness.
Diagnosis Of Sciatica
One of the best ways to find out if you are having sciatica issues is by visiting a doctor. The doctor will ask you some medical questions such as medical history, the types of symptoms you are having, how long you've had them and most importantly when you started to feel the symptoms, i.e., when you think or what action you think started the pain. Then, a neurological assessment will be made by checking the function, strength and reflexes in your legs.
Pain Relief And Management Of Pain
If you are having pain associated with sciatica, your main goal is most likely to get rid of the pain! Thankfully there are quite a few options available to you such as;
- Moderate Activity: it used to be said that when you had back pain, it was best to sleep it off and lay down as much as you could. However, further and more recent research says that this is incorrect. While substantial activity is frowned upon, light to medium activity IS a good thing and is beneficial to your healing, Maintaining physical activities can also reduce the inflammation in the nerves.
- Medications: In conjunction with these other options, medication may help you. The most common type of drug are NSAIDS, but muscle relaxers can also be prescribed as well for muscle spasms. If the pain is severe enough, your doctor might be able to prescribe to you something a little more strong such as opioids.
Physiotherapy
Another option is hot/cold manipulation, as well as hot/cold packs. Chiropractors can usually offer physiotherapy to you, but if you want to you can also try hot and cold packs at home as well.
Sciatica is one of the number 1 reasons for back pain. To prevent it from happening in the future, you might want to consider maintaining correct posture and not only when sitting, but standing and walking as well. You should also make sure that you watch foot placement if you are stepping down into something unknown regarding how deep it is, don't – instead, find a place to walk where you can see the path clearly! Also, try to eat healthier, don't smoke, and maintain a healthy weight – something like weight, can put unneeded pressure on the spine.