Sciatica symptoms & treatment

What is sciatica?

Sciatica is lower back pain that travels down to your buttock, leg and foot. It gets its name from the sciatic nerve, which is the longest and largest nerve in the body, reaching as much as an inch in diameter. The sciatic nerve begins in your lower back and splits off into smaller nerves that go down your leg to your foot.

Sciatica is often related to problems with the sacroiliac joint. The joint only moves through a small range of motion, and it has a bumpy surface. If it gets slightly dislocated while running or from an awkward step on uneven terrain, it can cause a lot of pain. In most cases, sciatica involves only one side of the body.

What does sciatica feel like?

• Intermittent or continuous lower back pain that travels down to your buttock, leg and foot
• Numbness, tingling or a pins-and-needles sensation
• Shooting or burning pain
• Muscle spasms or weakness
• Decreased reflexes in your knee or ankle

Sciatica risk factors

• A herniated disc
• Arthritis
• Pressure on nerves in the back
• Carrying too much weight
• Poor posture
• Hip problems, such as degeneration of the joint or a strain or tear of muscles or ligaments
• Pregnancy
• Stress
• Wearing high heels or poorly fitted shoes
• Prolonged periods of sitting

Sciatica causes

A herniated disc is the most common cause of sciatica, with some studies showing that up to 90 percent of sciatic nerve pain is related to disc herniation in the lower back.

A herniated disc bulges through the vertabrae, and it's most often due to age-related degenerative changes to the disc. When a herniated disc pushes against the nerve, the nerve can become irritated, inflamed, pinched and painful.

Back pain related to sciatica can interrupt even the simplest things in life, and lasting or severe discomfort along your spine could point to a serious problem.

Treatment for sciatica

Analyzing your back pain is a good place to start on your road to recovery. Our back and neck pain quiz helps evaluate your spine function, pain symptoms and risk factors, and gives you an idea what to do next based on your results.

If you need to visit a provider, they’ll conduct a complete medical history and ask you about how your symptoms developed. They’ll also check your reflexes, muscle strength, range of motion and stability.

If needed, they’ll perform imaging tests such as an X-ray or MRI. However, it can be hard to diagnose the cause of sciatica from images alone. An important part of your diagnosis will be ruling out causes for your pain until a likely reason is found.

At Aurora, we connect you with a full team of specialists who work together to give you a personalized treatment plan. Comprehensive spine treatments make it easier for you to get back to the activities that matter most to you. When you come to us for care, we’ll assign you your very own nurse navigator to guide you through the process from diagnosis to treatment. Thanks to our integrated medical record system, you won’t have to worry about tracking down images and test results. Our goal is to make the process as streamlined as possible for you.

Sciatica relief at home

• Applying ice packs to relieve inflammation during the first week
• Applying heat after the first week
• Warm baths or showers
• Self-massage
• Walking
• Stretching exercises
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) including aspirin and ibuprofen

Nonsurgical treatment

Physical therapy and chiropractic care can be very helpful for sciatica. Physical therapy helps stretch the ligaments and muscles, strengthening them and making them more flexible. Your doctor may also recommend acupuncture or other complementary treatments.

Rest is very important to the healing process, but life and work commitments can make it difficult. Try to make rest a priority by scheduling it as part of your daily routine.

Surgical treatment

If there are problems with the structures in your lower back and no other options provide relief, you may need surgery. We offer advanced treatments including the latest in minimally invasive surgery.

If nerves are being pinched or compressed by a herniated disc, we may perform procedures to relieve the pressure.

If you need spine surgery, our orthopedic and neurosurgery experts use minimally invasive techniques, including utilizing a miniature robotic camera. Such methods deliver more precise surgery, with less damage to healthy tissue than conventional open surgeries. Patients usually have a more comfortable, faster recovery and experience better long-term results.

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