Sciatica is a relatively common condition that radiates pain and related tingling down one leg. These symptoms can be scary and should not be ignored. This article covers what it is, as well as what it is not.

What It Is

The term "sciatica" is named after the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve is a large collection of nerve roots exiting the spine in the low back. The condition known as sciatica occurs when these nerve roots are irritated, pinched, or compressed. When this occurs, a patient may report pain or sensory changes that extend down the leg.

Think of sciatica as a highway with a car crash that restricts traffic to one lane. In this scenario, the highway is our nerve, and our traffic is the communication from our brain and our body. When vehicles back up, our bodies become alarmed and produce symptoms.

The type of distribution of pain can indicate the involved tissue. Pain can be coming from a spinal disc, facet joint, muscular tension, sacroiliitis, bone spurs, or, more rarely, a mass or lesion. In the event you flew over that list, here's the gist: Your problem should be accurately diagnosed by a doctor, and a proper diagnosis is critical.

A trained doctor will perform an examination that asks you to move in various positions to determine which movements exacerbate symptoms. Typically, this occurs at a specific level in the spine. If your symptoms can be affected by movement, then your prognosis increases, because this implies your condition is mechanical.

Upon achieving the proper diagnosis, you may begin sparing the affected tissue through specific techniques that reduce the traveling symptoms. These techniques vary depending on the affected structure. Studies by the McKenzie Institute reveal that if your condition can be affected by movement, you can expect a 91% chance of improvement, if managed by a trained provider.

Understanding why your symptoms exist and how they change is crucial to your improvement. The goal is for you to be able to understand and control your symptoms, and this is only made possible through a thorough assessment.

If you experience constant weakness, bladder dysfunction, fever or unexplained weight loss, seek immediate medical attention as this may indicate a more serious problem.

What It Isn't

Sciatica does not imply that you're an immediate candidate for surgery. It does not mean that you're broken, or that you'll necessarily be forced to live with it. As stated above, many cases can be successfully managed quite quickly.

Further, sciatica as a phrase is commonly misused by most people. Many people will use the word to describe a pain that travels down the leg, but in order to be diagnosed sciatica, the pain is required to travel past the knee. Pain that radiates down the leg but above the knee is still a condition that should be examined, but it is not from impact to the sciatic nerve itself.

Remember that you were made to have life and have it more abundantly; You were made to thrive.

Sources

Koes, B W et al. “Diagnosis and treatment of sciatica.” BMJ (Clinical research ed.) vol. 334,7607 (2007): 1313-7. doi:10.1136/bmj.39223.428495.BE

Mann SJ, Singh P. McKenzie Back Exercises. [Updated 2019 Apr 1]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2019 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK539720/