02 Mar Sciatica Pain
One of the most common conditions we see presented at the clinic is sciatica pain. This is often described as pain that travels from your lower back and into your buttock, down the back of your thigh and below your knee, and into your calf and foot. Other symptoms often mentioned with sciatica are pins and needles, increase pain with lifting or straining, loss of power in your leg, and burning feeling in the buttock.
The reason the symptoms of sciatica can affect such a broad area is because the sciatic nerve is made up of the L4, L5, S1, S2 and S3 nerve roots (refer to diagram).
There are several conditions that can quite often be the primary cause of sciatica that need to be ruled out and treated in order to help get rid of the sciatica symptoms.
The common conditions associated with sciatica are:
• Lumbar disc bulge.
• Piriformis syndrome.
• Osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine.
• Spondylolisthesis.
• Spinal canal stenosis.
• Lumbar Osteophytes.
• Trauma, e.g. car accident.
• Spinal tumours.
Treatment options for sciatica often begin with conservatory methods such as;
• Ice.
• Anti-inflammatories.
• Manual therapy (osteopath etc.).
• Exercise rehabilitation.
• Rest.
• Corticosteroids.
If the conservatory methods have had no effect then surgery may be required to treat the primary conditions that are associated with the sciatica symptoms, in order to release the pressure on the sciatic nerve. Hence why a proper diagnosis to find the primary cause of the sciatica is required in order to have an effective treatment plan in place and to gauge an understanding of reasonable timeframes to recovery.
For further information please chat to one of our practitioners at Complete Healthcare Clinic Sunbury.
By Dr. Martin Mamo.
