SCIATICA

Sciatica refers to the pain and/or discomfort associated with the sciatica nerve. The sciatica nerve is the largest and the longest nerve in the body. It originates in the spinal cord at the lumbar region and runs down the length of the leg including the foot.

Injury to, or pressure on, the nerve can cause pain in the buttocks and/or to refer pain anywhere along the course of the sciatica nerve. This referred pain often goes down the back of the leg and/or up into the lower back. It is characterized by a deep, burning, sharp, tingling, prickly, stabbing, or just a dull achy pain. Sometimes it can even be described as a numbing pain that radiates down the back of the leg. This pain is sometimes made worse by sitting, climbing stairs, or just getting up from a seated position.

Another common situation that can cause or aggravate the problems in this area occurs while driving, mostly long distance trips, and/or sitting for long periods of time. This contracts the piriformis muscle and puts undue stress or tension on the sciatica nerve. One of the worst things you can do is to leave this muscle in a shortened position for any length of time. Some practitioners refer to this pain as "piriformis syndrome," others just call it sciatica. "Piriformis" means "pear-shaped." This pear-shaped muscle "the piriformis," attaches to the side of the sacrum, the wide, flat bone at the base of the spine, just above the tail-bone. The piriformis muscle lies under the gluteus maximus and goes across the buttocks to attach at the side of the hip bone. It's main job is to rotate the leg outward and hold the hip joint in place under stress of a load. The sciatica nerve usually passes under the piriformis muscle, but in some people it passes directly through this muscle. Any tightening or pressure on this muscle will cause sciatica pain.

Onset of sciatica can be sudden, but it can also develop gradually. The pain may be intermittent or continuous, and some activities may make the pain worse. The extent of pain varies among individuals. Some people describe the pain as centered in the area of the hip, and others perceive the discomfort all the way to the foot, or anyplace in between. The quality of pain also varies as described above.

Treatment and prevention are key to remaining pain free. Massage is a recommended form of therapy, especially if the pain arises from muscle spasm. Symptoms may be relieved somewhat by icing the area of pain as soon as possible for as long as can be tolerated well by the patient. This should be done a couple of time a day or as often as possible. After two or three days heat can then be applied, replacing the ice treatment. Or a contrast of ice then heat for a couple of cycles per day can be helpful. Bed rest up to a week also has been found to be very helpful for acute or very painful flare-ups of sciatica pain.

As described above; Sciatica can be a very individualized condition, with one very distinct similarity;

"It's a pain in the BUTT..."