What is Sciatica?
Sciatica is nerve pain affecting the lower extremity, caused by irritation or inflammation of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve provides motor and sensory feedback to and from the lower extremity. It is the largest nerve in the body, and begins from nerve roots in the lumbar spine and extends through the buttock region down into the lower leg just under the knee.
Symptoms of Sciatica
Sciatica can cause pain, burning, numbness, or tingling radiating from the lower back down through the back of the leg. This can result in low back pain, hip pain, buttock pain, and leg pain. Sciatica is often common with low back pain, but can occur without it. These symptoms can range from mild to severe, and can be very debilitating, sometimes even preventing people from walking or living a normal life.
Common Causes
- Disc herniation
- Herniated or bulging discs in the lumbar spine may compress or pinch the sciatic nerve, causing radiculopathy
- Spinal stenosis
- Nerve roots run through the center of vertebrae in the spine. Sometimes this area begins to narrow, causing pressure on the nerve, resulting in sciatica
- Spondylolisthesis
- Often times, vertebrae and intervertebral discs begin to shift, or become damaged, which can press into the sciatic nerve causing sciatica
- Muscle tightness
- The sciatic nerve innervates muscles in the lower extremity. Sometimes, when these muscles are tight, they may compress the nerve causing irritation and pain. A common muscle that entraps and compresses the sciatic nerve is the piriformis muscle located in the buttock.
How Physical Therapy can Help
It can be very painful and frustrating to deal with nerve pain. Physical therapy is a great way to help manage and relieve sciatica symptoms. Here at Loudoun Sports Therapy Center, we provide manual hands-on therapy to decrease muscle tightness and soft tissue restrictions. Our expert physical therapists will also teach you stretches that increase flexibility and improve mobility, core and glute strengthening exercises to increase your stability, and will help reduce nerve symptoms by increasing disc joint space taking pressure off the impinged nerve.
Michael Herbert, ATC
