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| SCIATICA PAIN |
Sciatica is a sensation that can
manifest as moderate to severe pain in
the sciatic nerve that affects the hips, buttocks and lower part of the leg
through the back. Sciatica causes unbearable pain in the entire leg due to
swelling in the veins related to the groin. In the acute stage of this
disease, the patient remains in bed due to unbearable pain. As the
disease becomes chronic, there is attenuation and shrinkage in the feet.
Due to increased pressure in the part of the nerves,
there is a tingling and swelling in the leg muscles. You might also feel
numbness or weakness in these areas. Sciatica is a symptom caused by an injury
to your sciatic nerve or an area that affects the nerve, such as your
vertebrae. In sciatica, there is pain is usually affected on one side of the body. This
disease is mostly due to the wrong way of getting up and sitting. Sciatica is a very
serious disease. If you do not get it treated on
time, then it takes a big form, and you may have to undergo surgery at that
time. Sciatica is more likely to occur between people between 30 and 50
years of age.
ABOUT
SCIATIC NERVE
The Sciatic nerve starts at your
spine, branches downwards into both feet, running through your hips and
buttocks. This nerve is the longest nerve in your body and one of the most
important nerves. This has a direct effect on your ability to control and feel
your feet. When trouble occurs in this nerve, you experience sciatica pain.
CONTENT TABLE:
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF SCIATICA
The main symptoms of sciatica
are:
· Sciatica
usually affects only side of the lower body. Sciatica pain reaches from the
waist to the thighs of the leg and to the lower parts of the leg. The severity
of the disease also depends on how much the sciatic nerve has been affected.
Apart from this, this pain can also reach the toes.
· Sciatica is
a very different type of symptom. If you are experiencing pain flowing from
your lower back through your buttock area to your lower limbs, it is usually
sciatica.
· Sciatica is
the result of damage or injury to your sciatic nerve, so other symptoms of
nerve damage usually arises with pain. Other symptoms may include the following
symptoms:
·
You may have
pain that gets worse with shaking.
·
You may have
swelling, numbness, or weakness in your legs or
feet, which is usually felt in your sciatic nerve tract. In severe cases, your
feet may stop feeling or move.
·
You may feel a sensation of pins and needles, including a painful tingling in your toes or
feet.
·
You may
experience controllessness over routine activities, this inability to control
your bladder or intestine. It is a rare symptom of cauda equine syndrome
(ankylosing spondylitis). And it requires immediate emergency attention.
CAUSES OF SCIATICA
Sciatica can be caused by a
number of conditions associated with your spine and can affect your sciatic nerves.
It can also be caused by injuries, for example from a fall or due to spinal or
sciatic nerve tumors.
The
following are some conditions that may cause sciatica.
Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
: -
Spinal
stenosis is also called stenosis of the spinal bones, in which there is an abnormal contraction of the lower backbone of the spinal cord. It is
characterized by contractions of the lower part of your spine bones. This contraction puts pressure on the spinal cord and the
roots of your sciatic nerve.
Herniated Disc : -
Herniated the disk is also called a slipped disk. This spinal cord is separated from the
pieces of cartilage. The cartilage is filled
with a thick clean material that acts to rotate the bones around. This disease occurs when the first layer of cartilage is
removed. The substance inside serves to compress
the sciatic nerve. Due to which there is
numbness or pain in the lower part of the body. According
to the American Academy of Orthopedics, it is estimated that one in every 50
people have a herniated disc disease.
Piriformis syndrome : -
Piriformis syndrome,
a rare neuromuscular disorder in which the piriformis muscles contract
spontaneously due to sciatica. The piriformis muscle is the one that connects
the lower part of the spine to the thighs. When the muscle is
compressed, it’s movement puts stress on your sciatic nerve. This causes of sciatica. If you are
sitting for a long time or fall from somewhere, then there is a risk of having
piriformis syndrome.
Spondylolisthesis: -
Spondylolisthesis is a
degenerative disc disorder. This condition happens whenever the
spinal cord or vertebrae extend beyond each other, the expanded spinal cord can
induce pain on your sciatic nerve.
Cauda equina syndrome: –
This is the most serious
condition of sciatica; it affects the bundle of nerves
of the spinal cord. This is manifested by neuromuscular and
urogenital symptoms and requires immediate treatment.
Pregnancy: -
Expecting
mothers experience sciatica pain, generally during the third trimester of
pregnancy. During pregnancy, the growing fetus in the uterus exerts pressure on
the sciatic nerve causing inflammation and pain in the lower back and leg.
Tumor within the spine: –
Spinal code tumor causes
compression in the sciatic nerve. This compression
causes sciatica pain.
Infection: –
British researchers have found
that low-grade infection in the lumbar spine may cause sciatic pain.
Spinal Injury: -
Apart from this, this disease can
also, arise due to spinal cord injury.
PREVENTION OF SCIATICA
Sciatica, back pain is very
common. It is not always possible to avoid sciatica, and the disease may recur.
However, sciatica-causing factors can be avoided and there are several measures
that can help prevent it from occurring or recurring:-
1.
Sitting in
the right posture - Maintain correct posture while standing, walking, and
sitting. Choose a seat where you will get better support from the back. Even by
folding the pillow or towel behind your seat, the back and waist are supported
and its curve is normal. While sitting, keep your hips and knees at a normal
level.
2.
The spinal cord also changes with age. On aging, the spine may slide or a lump may form in
the bone. This is the main reason for having sciatica. Do exercises that
maintain strength and flexibility in aerobic fitness and abdominal and spinal
muscles. Exercise should be done daily to keep your waist and back strong. In
particular, attention should be paid to the exercise of the abdominal muscles
and waist muscles.
3.
Practice the technique of lifting anything correctly. For this, bend the knees and keep the
back straight. By doing this, the tension falls on the hip and legs, not on the
back. Hold that object near the body. The more the object remains away from the
body, the more stress is on the back.
4.
When using
chairs to sit, make sure that your back rests well. Use chairs that provide
good back support and are designed to provide a good seating position. A wooden
roll or contoured cushion can help provide support to your lower back.
5.
Do not smoke
(Read more - 10 SELF-HELP TIPS TO QUIT SMOKING).
6.
Maintain
body weight at a healthy level. Spinal tension increases as obesity increases.
Apart from this, due to increased body weight, the spine also changes and due
to this, it is normal to have sciatica.
7.
Avoid
carrying too much weight on the back, driving for long hours or working at the
same place for too long as these can also cause sciatica disease.
8.
Keep your
blood sugar at check. The risk of sciatica is highest due to diabetes. High
blood sugar affects the sciatic nerve and other spinal nerves along with other
the part of the body. This increases the risk of nerve damage.
Apart
from this, keep these things in mind at this time-
v Relax by not working during
severe pain.
v Do not wear high heel slippers.
v Do not sleep on very soft
mattresses.
v Warm up with a hot water bag.
v Avoid leaning forward.
v Do not carry any heavy goods.
v Use Western toilet.
DIAGNOSIS OF SCIATICA
Sciatica is a symptom that can
differ from one person to another and depends on the condition from which it
originates. Therefore, you a proper diagnosis to be sure that the back pain is
due to sciatica.
Ø Check
Medical History: To diagnose
sciatica, the doctor will first want to know your complete medical history.
This includes things that you have not been hurt recently, whether you feel
pain or not, and how often you feel the pain. They would also like to know what
makes you feel better, what makes you feel worse, and how and when it started.
Ø Physical
Examination: The next step involves your physical examination, which will include a test of your
muscle strength and reflexes. To find out which activities cause more pain,
your doctor may ask you to do some stretching and exercise.
Ø Nerve
Conductivity Test: The next
round of diagnosis is for those who have endured sciatica for more than a month
or who have a major illness such as cancer. A nerve test will help your doctor
check how nerve impulses are being conducted by your sciatic nerve and whether
there are any abnormalities.
Ø Radiological
Imaging Test: An imaging
test will help the doctor determine the cause of your sciatica by looking at
your spine. The most common imaging tests that are used to diagnose sciatica
and find out its cause are spinal X-rays, MRIs and CT scans. Normal X-rays will
not be able to provide visualization of sciatic nerve damage. MRI uses magnets
and radio waves to make detailed images of your back. CT scan uses radiation to
make detailed images of your body.
Ø CT
Myelography: Your doctor
is more likely to perform a CT Myelography, in which they inject a special dye
into your spinal cord to get clear images of your spine and nerves.
TREATMENT OF SCIATICA
If your pain does not improve
with self-care measures, your doctor may recommend some of the following
treatments.
1.
Medicines:
The types of
medications prescribed for sciatica pain include:
·
Anti-inflammatory
drugs.
·
Muscle
dysfunction of drugs.
·
Narcotics
Drugs.
·
Analgesic drugs
2.
Physiotherapy:
After your
acute pain improves, your physician or physical therapist can develop a
rehabilitation program to help you prevent future injuries. This usually
includes exercises to improve your sitting, standing or walking posture,
strengthening your back muscles, and improving flexibility. Research on
sciatica pain has shown that exercise is the most appropriate way to treat this
pain. Especially those exercises, which involve pulling the body forward,
because this process puts pressure on the affected nerve roots and you, feel
relieved.
3.
Steroid
injection:
In some
cases, your doctor may recommend an injection of corticosteroid medication into
the area around this nerve root. Corticosteroids help reduce pain by reducing
inflammation around the affected nerve. The effects usually stop in a few
months. Only a limited number of steroid injections are used because the risk
of serious side effects increases when injections are often made.
4.
Surgery:
This option
is usually used when there is a lot of weakness due to a compressed nerve, no
control of bowel or bladder, or when you have pain that gradually increases or
there is no improvement from other treatments. It is to reduce the pressure in
the nerves of the back and groin, the spine is widened, which is called a
lumbar laminectomy. Surgeons may remove a bone spur or a part of a herniated
disc that pressurizes the afflicted nerve.
5.
Alternative
Medicine:
Alternative
treatments commonly used for lower back pain include:
a)
Acupuncture:
- In acupuncture, its specialist pricks thin needles like hair in your skin at
specific points of the body. Acupuncture is claimed to help reduce pain in some
studies, while some studies have found no benefit. If you decide to use the
acupuncture method, select a licensed practitioner to ensure that it has
received extensive training.
b)
Chiropractic:
- Spinal adjustment (manipulation) is a type of chiropractic therapy that
treats spinal mobility. Its goal is to improve its function and reduce pain by
restoring spinal mobility. Spinal manipulation appears to be as effective and
safe as any standard treatment for lower back pain, but maybe unsuitable to
reduce diffuse pain.
c)
Yoga:
In order to get rid of sciatica pain, it is
necessary to practice yoga to keep the spine flexible and slow down the
degenerative changes due to aging. The main yoga poses for relieving the pain
of sciatica are Bhujangasana, Makarasana, Matsyasana, Kridasana, Vayamudra and
Vajrasana. Vajrasana is the most effective posture in which the lumbar spine
and sciatic never gets the most focus. (READ: Effective
Yoga Poses You Must Try To Fight Back Pain)
SCIATICA COMPLICATIONS
Some of the complications of
sciatica are: -
¯ Partial or complete inability of
the leg to move.
¯ Partial or complete inability of
leg sensation.
¯ Repeated or unnoticed injury to
the leg.
¯ Side effects of medicines.
WHEN TO VISIT YOUR DOCTOR?
If the symptoms of sciatica are
very mild and do not, last more than 4 to 8 weeks, there is usually no need to
go to the doctor.
If you do not get benefit from the above remedies and the intensity of pain increases, then you should
contact the doctor immediately, otherwise, the disease can become serious and
there may be partial or complete inability of the feet to move.
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