Il sciatic nerve begins in the spinal cord, runs through the hips and buttocks, and branches into the legs; it is the longest nerve in the body and one of the most important.
It has a direct effect on the ability to control and feel the legs; when it becomes inflamed, the condition called "sciatica" is experienced.
Index
What is sciatica?
Sciatica involves a sensation that can manifest itself as moderate to severe pain along the back, buttocks and legs. it can also be accompanied by weakness, burning, sharp pain or numbness.
This condition is caused by a underlying injury to the sciatic nerve or to an area affecting the nerve, such as the vertebrae, neck and back bones.
Symptoms of inflammation of the sciatic nerve
If you experience pain in your lower back, buttocks, and lower limbs, it is likely sciatica. Sciatica is the result of damage or injury to the sciatic nerve and the most common symptoms include:
- Pain that gets worse with movement
- Numbness
- Burning in the legs to the feet
- Weakness
- Loss of sensation in the back, buttocks and legs
- Tingling in the feet
- Incontinence and inability to control bladder and bowel (typical symptom of cauda equina, a severe inflammation of the last spinal nerves)
Treatment options for sciatica
When a diagnosis of sciatica is received, the doctor will give various advice on how to behave and which therapy to follow; here is a list of the most common home treatments:
- Cold: compresses can be used ice or a bag of frozen vegetables and apply them to the area several times a day for short intervals of time; this helps reduce pain and swelling.
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Broth: you can use hot compresses or a heating pad; after a few days of cold packs, it is good to switch to heat to help relax the back muscles, which can have spasms.
- Elongation: Gently stretching the lower back can bring relief; to learn a stretch properly, you can contact a physiotherapist or a osteopath.
- Over-the-counter medications: Over-the-counter medications, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, can help manage pain, inflammation, and swelling.
- Regular exercise: staying active causes the body to release endorphins; endorphins are natural pain relievers that help prevent and manage sciatica pain.
- Physiotherapy: the exercises of physiotherapy they can help improve posture and strengthen back muscles.
- Steroid drugs: Corticosteroid drugs are injected into an area called the epidural, the canal that surrounds the spinal cord; these injections have side effects and are only given in severe cases.
- Surgery: in severe cases and if no other remedy has helped, surgery can be used; the two most common types of surgery are the discectomy (part of the disc pressing on the sciatic nerve is removed) , microdiscetomy (removal of the disc is done through a small cut with the microscope).
If you experience symptoms attributable to inflammation of the sciatic nerve, immediately contact your doctor who will be able to give you the necessary indications and therapies.
Have you ever suffered from sciatica? Let us know in the comments!
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