Sciatica Problems ?
Find out All About Sciatica
Sciatica is a painful condition that affects
many people. Typically, sufferers feel a
sharp pain down the back of one leg; but
sciatica symptoms can
affect all parts of your leg, and range from a
slight twinge or some numbness or weakness, all the way to an
agonising intense pain so bad that it makes even slight
movement unbearable in severe sciatica.
On
these pages we provide plenty of information about
sciatica problems , what causes it, what can be
done to make you feel
better, and what steps to take to give you the best
chance of avoiding it
in the first place! The menu options in the left
sidebar will guide you around the site, but let's just
have a quick look at sciatica now.
Sciatica is not just
any leg discomfort or painful
feet and legs. Sciatica pain starts when the main
nerve into your leg, the sciatic
nerve, is irritated, pinched, or compressed
in some way. This can happen for one or more of several reasons – and sciatic
pain can only be treated properly when the
cause of the
irritation is known.
Another way of saying this is that sciatica is really a set
of symptoms rather than a
condition or disorder itself, and requires professional
diagnosis to
determine the best way forward.
You have two
sciatic nerves — one
for each leg. Each sciatic nerve is a group of nerves about the
thickness of a finger, leaving your spine at the lower part of
your back, passing through your buttock, going all the way down
to your feet.
The sciatic nerve
is not just the largest of your leg nerves; it is in fact the
largest nerve in your body, and
controls your leg and foot muscles. It also sends
signals from your legs and feet back to the spinal cord and
then to your brain. (Click on the image for a
larger version
that shows the course of the sciatic nerve — it's bright
yellow). Symptoms of
sciatica include numbness, aching, burning,
tingling, and various degrees of pain travelling from your
lower back and shooting down your leg, possibly even
reaching your feet; sometimes some of your leg muscles feel
weak, or cramped.
It usually only
affects one side of your body. Sciatica normally starts because
of wear and tear on parts of the
spine, and usually not as the
result of an accident or injury.
Most people
who are diagnosed with
sciatica get better
within a few weeks or months, and find that it is treatable without surgery —
often, over-the-counter medicines, hot and cold applications,
exercise, and physical exercise can make you feel better and
ease your discomfort; whereas others find it so painful and
disabling that surgery is the only recourse.
Have a look
around. I hope this mini-site is useful to you. Please
let us know! Your first port of
call might be to look at the symptoms of sciatica.
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