Back pain as a category is the leading cause of disability around the world, and sciatica accounts for more than its fair share of the overall burden with a lifetime prevalence of between 10% and 40%.
What the prevalence numbers mean in practical terms is that millions of Americans are dealing with sciatica at any given time — and most aren’t at all happy about it, with good reason.
One of the best ways to navigate painful sciatica successfully is to have a clear understanding of what you’re up against. The experienced team of spine health specialists at Johnston Pain Management treats sciatica on a nearly daily basis, and here’s what we want each patient to know.
We’ve come to use the term sciatica as a catchall for nerve compression issues in the lower back that involve the sciatic nerve, the largest and longest nerve in the body.
This nerve is formed by sensory and motor nerve fibers that exit your lower back between your L4 and S3 vertebrae. These fibers come together to form one large nerve that originates in your lower back and then splits to travel down each side of your buttocks and into your legs, all the way down to your feet.
This trajectory is what leads to both the local symptoms of sciatica in your low back and the telltale signs of sciatica — pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness that extend down one side of your body.
In reality, sciatica is more of a symptom than a condition, as there are various pathways to nerve compression, with sciatica being the end result.
Nerve compression is the direct cause of sciatica, and this nerve compression can stem from several different issues in your lower back.
Up to 90% of sciatica is caused by a herniated disc in your lumbar spine — a piece of disc material is pressing against your sciatic nerve.
Other culprits behind sciatica include:
Less commonly, trauma or infection can lead to acute sciatica.
Like any other medical condition, some factors can place you more at risk for developing sciatica, including:
As you can see, some factors are beyond your control, but others you can work on.
The good news is that sciatica typically resolves in 6-12 weeks. During this time, there’s much that we can do together to speed up this journey and bring you much-needed pain relief. In most cases, we recommend a combination of strategies that can include:
You might also want to try some complementary and alternative treatments, such as chiropractic care and/or acupuncture.
The best way to determine what would work best for your sciatica is to visit us, so we can assess the problem and help you achieve less pain and improved spine health. To get that ball rolling, we invite you to schedule an appointment at one of our three conveniently located offices in Jacksonville, Hampstead, or New Bern, North Carolina.
