Radicular pain: Sciatica Continuing from our last blog. Sciatica is a prime example of
Kim Le
November 15, 2022
Radicular pain: Sciatica
Continuing from our last blog. Sciatica is a prime example of radicular pain. So what is Sciatica? One of the longest and widest nerves that innervates the lower leg, including the calf, ankle and posterior leg. Sciatica occurs when there is pressure compressing the nerve root either by muscle hypertonicity, spinal stenosis, disc herniation and piriformis syndrome. Sciatica causes a very distinctive sensation of an extremely sharp, dull, tingling and numbness imitating an electric shock, aggravated with more movement radiating down the leg. obvious signs to watch out for if you suspect you have sciatica:
The pain may intensify if the person coughs or sneezes or prolonged sitting may worsen the symptoms. Usually, only one side of the body is affected. Some people also feel shivering, tingling in the legs, pain in the hip and legs, or muscle weakness in the affected leg or foot. Some have pain in one part of the leg and stiffness in the other part.
Is it treatable and how do I know if I have it?
Most sciatica cases can feel as if it can be severe however, most cases can be easily treated or reduced with non-surgical intervention within a couple of weeks. Some cases can be so severe that it’s impossible to stand up. The pain is aggravated by movement, prolonged sitting, coughing and/or sneezing.In order to determine if someone is suffering from sciatica, a physician will perform the straight leg test which is one major test to help differentiate diagnosis between referred pain and radicular pain. The practitioner will passively lift the patients outstretched leg into flexion whilst holding onto the knee, a positive testing is when the patients starts to feel pain when leg is raised less than 90 degrees, a sharp shooting pain running along from the buttocks and down along the thighs, indicating positive sciatica
Make sure to consult a health physician before attempting these exercises. If any of the self care exercises aggravates or worsens your condition be sure to stop and seek care from a health professional.
If you have any further questions about how we can help with Back pain and sciatica, head over to our Contact Us page, or book in now to make an appointment.
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