Sciatica – Causes, Cures, and Prevention
Back pain is one of the most common forms of physical distress among middle to old age groups nowadays. Even younger people are suffering from various types of back-related issues due to a number of reasons. Long hours of a sitting, sedentary lifestyle, bad posture, etc. are all contributors to this widely prevalent problem in modern society.
What is Sciatica and its Key Symptoms?
Sciatica is one such common condition that usually affects people in the age group 30 to 50 and is concerned with back pain. It might affect younger or older individuals too, which unfortunately is becoming more common. Sciatica is related to the sciatic nerve, which is the longest nerve in the human body. It is formed by the joining of 5 nerve roots emanating from the base of the spine. It then splits into two and runs straight through the entire length of the legs – from the hips and the buttocks right down to the soles of the feet. Pain along this long nerve is called sciatica.
Sciatica can cause pain other discomforts in varying degrees depending upon the severity of the condition. Right away, the first sign of sciatica is a pain in the lower back which extends all the way to the back of the legs. Since this is the path of the aforementioned nerve, sciatica is quite easy to self-diagnose.
If the pain persists well beyond the acute mark of 4-6 weeks complicated symptoms like the ones enlisted below will show up gradually over time.
● Extremely sore buttocks making it difficult to sit down
● Lack of flexibility in the legs well beyond the knees
● Inability to flex one’s toes due to muscle soreness
● High fever
● Pain that dulls down in intensity while lying down but intensifies when one tries to sit up or walk
● A ‘Pins and Needles’ sensation down the legs which branches out to the toes making it difficult to walk. Do not try to walk when this happens for the lack of sensation can cause you to trip and inflict grievous injury
● A severe pinching sensation in the lower back where the sciatic nerve originates
● Problem in urinating
Leading life with sciatica is not easy the constant throbbing ache shooting down one’s leg makes movement difficult.
What Causes Sciatica?
The very first sign of sciatica is usually a sharp pain the lower spine, the leg or buttock which can indicate a herniated disk in the lower spine. To explain it in simpler terms, know that your spine is made up of a number of small bones called vertebrae which are separated by flexible disks of connective tissue. These disks are the reason your spine can move and twist so freely.
Now once any of these disks develop cracks or are worn down due to some other (often natural) reason, its soft nucleus protrudes from the spine and can pinch a nearby nerve. In our case, this nerve is the sciatic nerve. And this is the pain you’ll experience when you have sciatica.
Sciatica can also be caused by a bone spur, which means the overgrowth of a bone. This overgrown bone once again pinches the sciatic nerve causing the pain of sciatica. Any other disease, tumors for example, which directly affects this nerve will also have the same outcome.
Following are some of the reasons one might develop this condition:
● Obesity – Putting more weight on the spine than it can handle is a common cause of sciatica. Therefore diseases like diabetes which cause a person to gain weight can give rise to sciatica. Pregnancy also causes a temporary weight gain in females which might lead to the same.
● Lifting heavy loads – This is yet another common cause of this condition. People whose jobs require them to do the heavy lifting on a regular basis are more prone to developing this.
● Long hours of sitting – Driving for long periods on a regular basis, sitting in your office in front of a computer are all potential causes of sciatica.
● Since ageing affects the spine to a great extent, one might develop sciatica simply based on the fact that the bones become weaker and more brittle with age. This increases the chances of a bone spur or hernia and thereby, sciatica.
At MBT we have even noticed sciatic nerve aggravation being caused by old accidents or injuries, in the ankle and knee joints, which have a negative ‘pulling effect’ on the muscles linking up towards the pelvis.
All of these can be potential causes of sciatica. However, it is usually difficult to ascertain what exactly is its cause once you do develop this condition. Diagnosing and treating it are obviously more important concerns and are precisely what we’ll discuss next.
Conventional Medicines Might be Suppressing Your Pain, Causing More Harm
Conventional tests performed to evaluate Joint pain symptoms include blood tests, sensitivity tests of synovial fluid (joint fluid), X-ray, CT scan, imaging tests, and MRI.
● MRI will show the areas wherein the nerves are compressed and also detect tumours if any and damaged discs and ligaments.
● CT or CT myelogram will expose bone spurs, herniated discs, and tumors along the spinal cord if any.
● X-rays will be able to indicate if there is any structural defect like bone spurs, etc.
Medication
Most medical practitioners prescribe an over-the-counter or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or aspirin. Cox-2 inhibitors, a newer league of NSAIDs are good for instant pain relief. For acute pain conditions, a range of opioid drugs is the obvious choice.
However, most of these drugs usually have strong side-effects including gastrointestinal bleeding, liver damage, heart conditions, and other related cardiovascular events. Drowsiness and partial hallucination are by far the most prevalent after-effect of opioid drugs.
There are organic remedies home such as applying cold packs and hot packs on the affected areas regularly. In case the pain does not subside with 2-3 months, and you have been receiving soft tissue bodywork, if you develop some of the more severe symptoms of sciatica, you should consult a doctor immediately. You might require surgery in this case.
The Rising Popularity of Bowen Therapy
This is a process where each session lasts around 30mins to one hour where a Bowen therapist applies special rolling motions to specific soft connective tissue (fascia). In this case, the area of application would be the parts relating to the sciatic pain. This could even be scar tissue residue from a C-Section or other historic abdominal surgery,
The objective is to relax and calm the nervous system and release the affected sciatic nerve. This process has many far-reaching benefits and is increasingly being adopted by a lot of people for many conditions even other than sciatica.
You might not notice a difference after the first session itself, although that is the case for some people. It usually takes around three sessions to feel a marked difference in the pain.
Steps to Prevent Sciatica.
Make sure you get regular and adequate exercise. This reduces the risk of sciatica significantly even if you have had it in the past. Sciatica is often a negative effect of aging and is seen in people above 60. Sudden and traumatic injuries can also trigger a chronic or acute case of Sciatica. If the symptoms persist for 4-8 weeks only no additional medical help is necessary, if it extends well beyond that immediate medical advice should be sought.
Holistic approaches oriented towards pain relief through sessions of Bowen Therapy is a better option than an over-reliance on NSAIDs.
This is not medical advice; this article was created for informational purposes only, This not a substitute for professional medical advice. Do not delay in seeking medical advice, nor disregard it due to any content on this website or included in this post.