atica if your job requires a lot of twisting or lifting, or if you have to drive a lot. People who sit for long periods of time are more likely to develop sciatica, as are people with diabetes because high blood sugar can increase the risk of nerve damage.
The main symptom of sciatica is pain that travels from your lower back (lumbar spine) to your buttock, and down the back of your leg. For some patients, the pain is a mild ache, while others experience a sharp burning pain or a severe jolt of pain. Coughing, sneezing, and sitting for long periods of time may make the pain worse. Sciatica can also cause numbness or muscle weakness along the path of your sciatic nerve into your leg or foot. A tingling or ‘pins-and-needles’ feeling in your toes or part of your foot is a common symptom. In extreme cases, sciatica can cause a loss of bladder or bowel control, which requires emergency treatment.
Your doctor will ask questions in regards to your medical history and then perform a physical exam. The doctor will also do a muscle test to check your strength and reflexes. In most cases, mild sciatica can improve on its own. Your doctor may order additional diagnostic tests if you have severe chronic pain or a serious medical condition, like cancer, that could cause complications. These tests include X-rays to check the bones in your lower spine, an MRI to check for herniated discs, a CT scan, or a myelogram to look at your spinal cord and nerves.
Sciatica usually responds well to conservative treatments including hot and cold packs, stretching, exercise, and over-the-counter pain medications. Physical therapy is often recommended if a herniated disc is causing your sciatica. Your doctor may also prescribe pain medications or an epidural steroid injection. More aggressive treatments are usually only recommended when conservative treatment doesn’t relieve your symptoms.
Surgery for sciatica is usually performed in cases where symptoms have not resolved after 6 weeks of treatment. When a herniated disc is the cause of the pain, your doctor will perform surgery to remove part of the herniated disc that is pressing on your sciatic nerve. This will decompress the sciatic nerve root and reduce the risk that your disc may herniate again.