Causes of Sciatica

Sciatica is a very common disease among middle-aged and elderly men. The pain experienced by patients is very obvious, and the onset of the disease will have a great impact on life. Generally, the pain is obvious after exerting force, bending over, or excessively strenuous exercise. Sciatica patients should understand the cause of sciatica in a timely manner. Only by knowing its cause can they not be aimless during treatment.

The causes of sciatica are also different. There are primary causes and secondary causes. For patients with sciatica, the most important thing during treatment is to treat the cause. Only by symptomatic treatment can the symptoms be well alleviated. Let us understand the causes of sciatica.

Causes:

The cause of primary sciatica (sciatica) is unknown and is relatively rare in clinical practice.

Secondary sciatica is caused by compression or irritation of adjacent lesions and is divided into radicular and trunk sciatica, which refers to whether the compression site is on the nerve root or the nerve trunk, respectively.

Radicular sciatica (40%):

The most common lumbar disc herniation often has an acute or subacute onset due to factors such as exertion, bending over or strenuous activity. A few have chronic onset. The pain often radiates from the waist to one side of the buttocks, back of the thigh, popliteal fossa, outer side of the calf and foot, and is burning or knife-like. The pain may be aggravated by coughing or exerting force, and is worse at night.

Sciatica (25%):

The severity of onset also varies depending on the cause. If it is caused by cold or trauma, the onset is usually acute. The pain often radiates from the buttocks to the back of the thigh, the posterolateral side of the calf, and the outer side of the foot. The pain worsens with walking, movement, and traction on the sciatic nerve. The tenderness point is below the buttocks, the Lasegue sign is positive but the Kernig sign is mostly negative, and the scoliosis is mostly bent toward the affected side to reduce the traction on the sciatic nerve trunk.

Precautions

Rest on a hard bed and do bed exercises.

We should combine work and rest, live a regular life, and participate in various sports activities appropriately.

After exercise, you should pay attention to protecting your waist and affected limbs. Change your underwear in time if it is wet with sweat to prevent the wet clothes from being dried on your body. It is not advisable to take a shower immediately after sweating. Wait until the sweat falls off before taking a shower to prevent catching cold or wind.

During the acute pain period, do not pick up weights heavier than 10 pounds (1 pound = 0.9072 catties) and do not use your legs, hips, and back to lift weights. You can push but do not pull weights.

In order to avoid pulling the sciatic nerve and relieve pain, patients often have some special pain-relieving postures, such as sleeping on the healthy side, slightly bending the hip and knee of the lower limb on the affected side, supporting with the buttocks of the healthy side when sitting down, moving the center of gravity of the body to the healthy side when standing, and bending the knee of the affected limb when bending over to pick up things. Over time, scoliosis will occur, mostly bending toward the diseased side. Any test that pulls the sciatic nerve can induce or aggravate pain. There may be obvious tenderness at various points along the sciatic nerve pathway: such as beside the lumbar vertebrae, which is equivalent to Huantiao, Weizhong point, below the fibular head on the outside of the ankle joint and in the center of the sole of the foot. In addition to pain, there are tingling and numbness on the outside of the calf and the dorsum of the foot. The muscles of the back of the thigh and calf are soft and weak, and there is mild muscle atrophy over time.

Knowing the cause of sciatica will make the treatment more targeted. Daily health care is also very important for sciatica patients. There are many things to pay attention to. You should pay attention to rest, not overwork, and never eat spicy food, especially avoid alcohol. Keep a good mood. I hope all patients can get rid of the troubles of the disease as soon as possible.