One of the crucial working mechanisms of our body that involves our brain and all our senses is our nervous system.
This allows us to send bodily sensations or stimuli to the brain from the external world and get responses from the brain to the concerned part of our body for immediate reply.
Of various diseases, disorders or conditions pertaining to the nervous system, one is Sciatica. To learn everything important about this condition, refer to the following article.
What is Sciatica?
Nerves are found throughout our body and their sole purpose is to allow our body to send signals to and receive the same from the brain.
These signals, sent or received, enable a human being to experience everything ranging from thoughts, learning, memory and feelings. The nervous system is also responsible for movement, stability and coordination within the body.
When any nerves of our body get inflamed, this is medically known as neuritis. Sciatica is also a nerve-related inflammation condition; which is also known as sciatic neuritis.
This takes place when a bunch of nerve roots known as sciatic nerve, running from the lower back into the legs, get inflamed.
It is a painful condition. Sciatica causes a person to experience radiating pain that starts from the lower spine and goes all the way down to either of your legs. Typically, in this particular case of lower spinal neuritis, only one side of your below-the-waist body gets affected.
Symptoms of Sciatica
The following are the typical conditions of Sciatica.
● Radiating pain that goes down to either of the legs
● Numbness or weakness that can be felt in the affected areas along with pins-and-needles sensations
● Lower back and leg pain
● Difficulty in moving while walking, climbing stairs and running
If you experience any of such symptoms around your lower spine and either leg, don’t ignore the condition. Instead, book a consultation with an experienced doctor right away. Visit the following link and get a chance to meet with the top 10 best spine surgeon in Delhi.
Causes of Sciatica
The most common cause of this condition is the pressure on the spinal cord and the nerves below the waist.
Herniated Disk: Our spine is made up of various small units that are known as vertebrae. Between two vertebrae, a disc is found that contains a soft centre.
When because of some external trauma the hard part of the disc forming the outer shell sustains a break allowing the soft part to come out, this condition of the soft part bulging out through the crack or break of the outer shell is known as herniation or herniated disk.
Bone Spurs: Next, if the vertebrae in your lower spine have experienced abnormal bone growths, it will put unhealthy pressure on the spinal cord causing nerve compression and ultimately leading to Sciatica.
Spinal Stenosis: Our spine has a vertical cavity that runs all the way from the brain down to the bottom. This spinal canal houses the spinal cord. When for any reason this spinal cavity gets narrower than its normal size, this pressurises the spinal cord and you might have sciatic neuritis.
Piriformis Syndrome: Our buttocks contain a type of muscle that is called piriformis muscle. Right underneath this muscle runs the sciatic nerve. When this muscle causes extra pressure on this nerve underneath, the condition is known as piriformis syndrome.
Injury or Trauma: Accidents and falls can cause spinal damage giving rise to nerve compression and the condition of Sciatica.
Degenerative Disk Disease: Over time, our body goes through wear and tear because of years of use. If you are a senior citizen, you are more prone to having this condition. DDD is also known as osteoarthritis of the neck or lower spine.
Remedies for Sciatica
Usually, the treatments of sciatic neuritis involve managing the symptoms and removing the cause of the condition altogether with the help of surgical interventions.
The following are the options that a spinal specialist can consider while treating the inflammation of your sciatic nerve.
Physical Therapy: If the pain and other symptoms of Sciatica can be managed considerably with the help of physiotherapy, a spinal specialist will first try to treat it this way. Physio involves offering massage, special exercises, and ice-heat compressions.
All of these help patients reduce pain and numbness without taking any injections and drugs. However, physio cannot work in every condition. Only mild cases can be cured with it.
Medications: Pain medicines are part of every pain management strategy in the medical field. Thus, a spine doctor might also prescribe you to take painkillers to reduce the pain in the affected area.
Epidural Steroid Injections: Sometimes, instead of giving pain medicines, injections of steroids can also be administered in the lower spine to reduce the pain.
Surgery: If the condition cannot be treated without surgery, any of the following can be performed to cure Sciatica: Discectomy, Spinal Fusion, Laminectomy, Artificial Disc Replacement (ADR), and Vertebroplasty.
How to Prevent Sciatica
If you don’t have this condition and thus you want to prevent it, consider the following.
Regular Exercise: It helps strengthen spinal units and muscles. Thus, the spine becomes strong enough to face harmful external traumas.
Proper Posture: If you have to sit throughout the day for any reason, especially a job, it will strain your spine and the surrounding components of your body around it. However, it only happens when you don’t maintain good posture.
Always try to sit in the upright position as it helps distribute the pressure among all your vertebral units equally.
Safe Lifting Techniques: Pay attention to how you lift things up. Use your thigh and leg muscle strength for lifting heavy objects. Keep your spine upright and put the heavy thing in between your thighs and then put it up without inclining your spine any forwards.
Refer to the following link to learn more about this technique: https://bit.ly/3x9QVyc
Healthy Weight: Keeping your body in good shape is also important. So, make sure you stay away from overeating. Exercise regularly and consult a doctor to rule out any chances of internal diseases that might be causing obesity.
Conclusion
Sciatica is not a very serious medical condition, but if either of your legs or buttocks has started experiencing numbness and radiating pain for more than one week, it is crucial that you book your consultation with an experienced doctor for medical evaluation.
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