El Paso’s
chiropractor, Dr. Alex Jimenez addresses the symptoms associated with sciatic nerve pain and
its causes. Sciatica is best known as a group of symptoms instead of a single
condition. The pain experienced by a person with sciatica is most commonly located in the lower back, hip, buttocks,
and outer side of the leg. An increased number of the population suffers from a condition causing low back pain throughout their lifetime but the causes for their sciatic nerve
pain may vary.
The symptoms of sciatica consist of constant pain reaching from their lower back down to
the leg, followed by numbness and a tingling sensation as a result of compression,
irritation, or pressure of the sciatic nerve roots. Sciatica symptoms will occur once a
pinched nerve develops as a result of a degenerative disc disorder, such as an osteoarthritis bone spur or a
herniated disc. A herniated disc develops when the
cushion that separates a vertebrae of the spine ruptures and begins pushing
against the space of the nerve, pinching the sciatic nerve root, resulting
in sciatica.
A bulging
disc also causes pressure and irritation against the sciatic nerve roots. A
person with a bulging disc will experience lower back pain that
extends into the leg and often times, the pain will even extend down to the toes. The
inflammation of the muscles due to a degenerative disc disease may also add
additional stress against the sciatic nerve, leading to increased pain and
discomfort.
