Sciatica signs & symptoms

What is sciatica?

Sciatica is lower back pain that travels down to your buttock, leg and foot. It’s related to the sciatic nerve, the longest and largest nerve in the body, reaching as much as an inch in diameter. The sciatic nerve begins in your lower back and splits off into smaller nerves that go down your leg to your foot.

Sciatica is often related to problems with the sacroiliac joint. The joint only moves through a small range of motion, and it has a bumpy surface. If it gets slightly dislocated while running or from an awkward step on uneven terrain, it can cause a lot of pain. In most cases, sciatica involves only one side of the body.

What does sciatica feel like?

Sciatica can feel like aching pain, burning pain, or pain like an electric shock that can radiate down your leg on one side. Symptoms of sciatica also include tingling and weakness. This pain can also occur when you sneeze, cough, bend, or lift your legs when on your back. Other sciatica symptoms can include:

• Decreased reflexes in your knee or ankle
• Intermittent or continuous lower back pain
• Muscle spasms or weakness
• Numbness, tingling or a pins-and-needles sensation
• Shooting or burning pain that travels down to your buttock, leg and foot

Sciatica risk factors

• Arthritis
• Carrying too much weight
• Degeneration of the hip joint
• Herniated disc
• Poor posture
• Pregnancy
• Pressure on nerves in the back
• Prolonged periods of sitting
• Strain or tear of muscles or ligaments in the back or hip
• Stress
• Wearing high heels or poorly fitted shoes

Sciatica causes

A herniated disc is the most common cause of sciatica, and some studies show that up to 90 percent of sciatic nerve pain is related to disc herniation in the lower back.

A herniated disc bulges through the vertebra, and it's most often due to age-related changes to the disc. When a herniated disc pushes against the nerve, the nerve can become pinched, inflamed, irritated and painful, causing associated sciatica symptoms.

Analyze your back pain

Back pain like this can interrupt even the simplest things in life, and lasting or severe discomfort along your spine could mean a serious problem. Our back and neck pain quiz helps evaluate your spine function, pain symptoms and risk factors and gives you an idea what to do next based on your results.

Treatment for sciatica

Comprehensive spine treatments make it easier for you to get back to the activities that matter most to you. When you visit a spine specialist, they’ll ask you about how your potential sciatica symptoms developed and gather facts about your medical history. They’ll also perform a physical exam to check your muscle strength, reflexes, stability and range of motion.

Testing may include X-rays or an MRI. Diagnosing the cause of sciatica from images alone, however, may be difficult. They’ll also need to rule out other causes for your pain until a likely reason is found.

At Advocate, we connect you with an entire team of specialists who work together to give you a personalized treatment plan. Our goal is to make the process as thorough and streamlined as possible for you.

Nonsurgical treatment

Physical therapy can be very helpful for sciatica. It helps stretch the ligaments and muscles, strengthening them and making them more flexible. Your doctor may also recommend acupuncture or other complementary treatments.

Rest is very important to the healing process, but life and work commitments can make it difficult. Try to make rest a priority by scheduling it as part of your daily routine.

Surgical treatment

If we find problems with the structures in your lower back, and no other options provide relief, you might need spine surgery. Our orthopedic and neurosurgery experts use minimally invasive techniques, including a tiny robotic camera. These methods result in more precise surgery with less damage to healthy tissue than conventional open surgeries. Patients usually recover faster and more comfortably and experience better long-term results.

Sciatica relief at home

• Applying ice packs to relieve inflammation during the first week
• Applying heat after the first week
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) including aspirin and ibuprofen
• Self-massage
• Stretching exercises
• Walking
• Warm baths or showers