Today's topic is sciatica, sciatica
is the name given to pain caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve anything that
irritates this nerve can cause pain ranging from mild to severe. Sciatica is usually
caused by a compressed nerve in the lower spine causes sciatica occurs when the
sciatic nerve becomes pinched usually by a herniated disc in your spine or by
an overgrowth of the bone as in bone spur on your vertebra more rarely the nerve
can be compressed by a tumor or damaged by a disease such as diabetes.
Risk factors for sciatica include age-related
changes in the spine such as herniated discs and bone spurs are the most common
causes of sciatica, obesity by increasing the stress on your spine, excess body
weight can contribute to the spinal changes that trigger sciatica occupation a
job that requires you to twist your back carry heavy loads or drive a motor vehicle
for long periods might play a role in sciatica but there is no conclusive
evidence of this link prolonged sitting people who sit for prolonged periods
are more likely to develop sciatica than active people.
DIABETES, in this condition which affects the way your body uses
blood sugar increases your risk of nerve damage, Symptoms Of Sciatica, the
main symptom is a shooting pain anywhere along the sciatic nerve from the lower
back through the buttock and down the back of either leg other common symptoms
of sciatica include numbness in the leg along with the nerve-tingling sensation as
in pins and needles in the feet and toes. This pain can range in severity and
may be aggravated by sitting for long periods. Diagnosis During the physical exam
your doctor may check your muscle, strength, and flexes for example you may be
asked to walk on your toes or heels rise from a squatting position and while
lying on your back, lift your legs one at a time.
Pain that results from sciatica will
usually worsen during these activities, imaging tests many people have
herniated discs or bone spurs that will show up on x-rays and other imaging
tests but have no symptoms so doctors don't typically order these tests unless
your pain is severe or it doesn't improve within a few weeks.
X-Ray, an x-ray of your spine may reveal
an overgrowth of the bone as in a bone spur that may be pressing on a nerve,
MRI
the procedure uses a powerful magnet and radio waves to produce cross-sectional
images of your back, an MRI produces detailed images of bone and soft tissues
such as herniated discs during the test you lie on a table that moves into the
MRI machine.
CT SCAN when a CT is used to image the spine you may have a
contrast dye injected into your spinal canal before the x-rays are taken, a
procedure called a CT myelogram, the dye then circulates around your spinal cord
and spinal nerves which appear white on the scan.
Electromyography or EMG this test measures the electrical impulses produced by the
nerves and the responses of your muscles this test can confirm nerve
compression caused by herniated discs or narrowing of your spinal canal also
called spinal stenosis. Treatment if your pain doesn't improve with self-care
measures your doctor might suggest some of the following treatments medications
the types of drugs that might be prescribed for sciatica pain include anti-inflammatory,
muscle relaxants, narcotics tricyclic antidepressants, anti-seizure medications.
Physical therapy once your acute pain is proven your doctor or a physical therapist
can design a rehabilitation program to help you prevent future injuries steroid
injections in some cases your doctor might recommend an injection of a
corticosteroid medication into the area around the involved nerve root
corticosteroids help reduce pain by suppressing inflammation around the irritated
nerve surgery. This option is usually reserved for when the compressed nerve
causes significant weakness, loss of bowel or bladder control, or when you have
pain that progressively worsens or doesn't improve with other therapies surgeons
can remove the bone spur or the portion of the herniated disk that's pressing
on the pinched nerve.
