Did you know up to about 40% of the population suffer from sciatica? Unfortunately, very few know the facts about the disease, making it even harder to deal with it or recover. Sciatica causes various symptoms such as leg pain, numbness, and tingling sensations, which can be disabling when not treated. A thorough medical evaluation is necessary for an accurate diagnosis of the disease. The Las Vegas sciatica specialist Patrick S. McNulty, MD, offers comprehensive care for sciatica, including treatments to relieve pain. This article will give details about sciatica, to help you understand it better.
What is sciatica?
It involves severe pain that starts from your back traveling down to your hip and leg. Sciatica develops due to the compression of the sciatic nerve.
Sciatica symptoms and severity varies from person to person and includes the following.
· Numbness and tingling sensations in your legs or feet
· Lower back pain
· Weakness in your legs
· Pain that moves from your buttocks to the legs
The pain affects everyone differently. You may experience no pain but then have severe effects of numbness, tingling, and weakness. A significant group of people deal with severe pain, moving down their leg.
What are the causes of sciatica?
Typically, the sciatic nerve is among the largest nerves in your body. You have two sciatic nerves found on each side of your body.
The sciatic nerve starts from the spinal nerves in the lower lumbar spine and moves down to your buttocks. It then branches on the knee moving down your feet.
Sciatica occurs when your sciatic nerve gets irritated by various conditions and injuries.
The most common cause of sciatica includes the herniated disc in the lower lumbar spine. Sciatica may also occur due to the following;
· Injuries
· Infections
· Lumbar spinal stenosis
· Tumors
· Spondylolisthesis
Sciatica can develop at any age; however, it is more likely to occur during your 30s and 40s. You may also be at risk of developing sciatica if you have a sedentary lifestyle, excessive weight, or a routine of lifting heavy objects. Sciatica also occurs in healthy people.
Diagnosis of sciatica?
Your provider at McNulty offers comprehensive evaluation, including reviewing your medical history, and conducting physical exams to determine the precise cause of sciatica.
Your provider may ask you to make various movements that cause the sciatic nerve to stretch and observes what triggers your symptoms.
They also use diagnostic tests such as CT scans, MRIs, and X-rays to rule out the specific cause of your symptoms.
What are the treatment options for sciatica?
Your treatment option depends on the cause of your condition. Your provider may recommend spinal injections to minimize inflammation. Another conservative treatment for sciatica includes physical therapy to relieve your symptoms.
In severe cases of sciatica, your provider suggests surgical procedures to relieve nerve compression, including.
· Fusion reconstruction
· Lumbar laminectomies
· Limited discectomy
Please seek medical attention if you experience numbness or weakness in your legs. Contact McNulty Spine today to schedule your appointment or book online.