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Back Pain Or A Sciatica Pain?

Back pain remains one of the most common problems that seem to be poorly managed. A study once put about 25% of adults as having had a back pain in a day for a typical 3 months period. This is a real challenge due to the fact that it is so common and at the same time demands a whole lot of medical resources. Another interesting angle to this is that back pain causes some kind of physiological, physical and social disability. It is important to note that most back pain could be mild and simple but some could be very bad especially if it starts extending to the leg as it affects the nerve that extends from the lower back known as Sciatica pain.

What is Sciatica Nerve?

The sciatic nerve is simply that large nerve that starts in the lower back while traveling through the pelvis to deep down into the buttocks. Besides, the sciatica nerves are made up of branches of root of spinal nerves and also travel down to each leg after the buttocks. In fact, the sciatica nerve is considered the widest and longest nerve in the body.

Back Pain

What are Symptoms of Sciatica?

Common sciatica symptoms include

  • Severe pain especially at the rear
  • Weakness or sometimes numbness when trying to lift leg or foot
  • Hip pain
  • Severe pain in the leg especially when sitting
  • Lower back pain
  • Tingling or burning down the leg
  • A kind of pain that makes it difficult for someone to stand up

Sciatica symptoms could be a bit tricky and that is why it is important to consult your doctor when any of the symptoms are noticed.

What Causes Sciatica?

There are a lot of sciatica causes; however, it is mostly attributed to the irritation of the root of the lumbosacral spine and the lower lumber. However, other sciatica causes include degenerative disc disease which is simply the breakdown of discs that are acting as cushions between the vertebrae. Apart from that it could also be cause by

  • Muscle spasm in the buttocks or back
  • Pregnancy although not very popular cause
  • Spondylolisthesis which is normally happens when a vertebra is found to slip forward over another one
  • Lumbar spinal stenosis which is the condition that allows the spinal canal to narrow down in the lower back.

Sciatica causes could also be as a result of overweight, sleeping on a soft mattress, wearing of high heels and not exercising regularly.

Risk factors for Sciatica

The following are the common risk factor sciatica

  • Profession- People in professions where they are required to life heavy loads especially at long periods find themselves being more at risk of sciatica
  • Age: You cannot rule out the effect of age as it relates to sciatica. Age will cause deterioration of disks and that is why people between the ages of 30 to 40 have a higher risk of developing sciatica at some point.
  • Lifestyle: The culprit here is sedentary lifestyle and this describes people who sit for long times and are always inactive. The chances of developing sciatica here is high when compared to physically active people.

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