Causes of Sciatic Pain

Sciatic pain is associated with irritation of sciatic nerve. Sciatic pain
is typically experienced from low back to behind the thighs and extending
down below the knee. It is characterized by tenderness and pain in leg
and thigh. Various factors are responsible for the sciatic pain. For
appropriate treatment, we should first find out the causes of sciatic
pain.

Sciatic pain is mainly caused by irritation of roots of the lumbosacral
and lower lumbar spine. Some most common causes of sciatic pain are as
follows:
* Narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower back (lumbar spinal stenosis)
* Degenerative disc disease which causes breakdown of discs that act as a
cushion between the vertebrae
* Lumbar herniated disc
* Spondylolisthesis

Lumbar herniated disc results from extrusion of nucleus pulposus of the
disc through annulus. A herniated disc is also known as slipped disk,
protruding disc, ruptured disk, pinched nerve or bulging disc. Sciatic
pain is one of the most common symptoms of lumbar herniated disc.

Lumbar spinal stenosis can give rise to sciatic pain because of narrowing
of spinal canal. This condition is more common in adults above the age of
60. It typically originates from the overgrowth of soft tissue, enlarged
facet joints and bulging disc placing pressure on the nerve roots.

Degenerative disc disease is one of the most common causes of sciatic
pain. Degeneration of disc is a natural process that is related with
aging. In some cases, one or more degenerated discs can cause irritation
of a nerve root, which can lead to sciatic pain.

Isthmic spondylolisthesis is caused by slipping forward of one vertebra
on another due to a small stress fracture. With a combination of
fracture, disc space collapse and vertebral body slipping forward, the
nerve may get pinched causing sciatic pain. An irritation of sciatic
nerve may be due to piriformis syndrome. If piriformis muscle pinches or
irritates, a nerve root that consists of sciatic nerve can cause
sciatica-type pain. Sacroiliac joint dysfunction can lead to irritation
of sacroiliac joint at the bottom of spine. It can give rise to
irritation of L5 nerve which lies on the top of sacroiliac joint.
Irritation of L5 nerve can can cause sciatica-type pain.

Sciatic pain can also be caused by direct nerve compression resulting
from external forces to sacral spinal or lumbar nerve roots. It may be
due to falling down, motor vehicle accidents, football and other sports.
The impact can injure the nerves or sometimes fragments of broken bone
can cause compression of the nerves.

Spinal tumors can be one of the important causes of sciatic pain. If
spinal tumor develops in the lumbar region, there is a risk of nerve
compression and development of sciatic pain. Lumbar subluxation means the
altered position of vertebra in lower back. There may be function loss
due to this condition that may result in sciatic pain.

Other possible reasons that may give rise to sciatic pain are:
* overweight
* wearing high heels
* lack of regular exercise
* sleeping on too soft mattress

Some common symptoms of sciatic pain are pain in leg or rear that may
worsen when sitting, tingling or burning down the leg. Patient with
sciatic pain may experience numbness, weakness in leg or difficulty in
moving foot or leg. There may be a constant pain on one side of the rear.
Diagnosis of sciatic pain is made with the help of MRI or CT scan.
Various medications like muscle relaxants and analgesics are prescribed
to treat the sciatic pain.