Causes and treatment of sciatica

Sciatica or sciatica is a common bone disease in the joints. So what is the cause and how to treat it.

What is sciatica?

Sciatica pain, also called sciatica, is characterized by pain along the path of the sciatica: pain in the lumbar spine that spreads to the outside of the thigh, the front of the outside of the lower leg, Outside ankles and toes on toes. Depending on the location of lesions, the direction of pain differs.

Common sciatica unilateral pain, at working age (30-50 years). Previously, the proportion of men was higher than women, but 2011 studies showed that the rate of women is higher than men. The most common cause is a disc compression of the sciatic nerve in about 80% of cases.

Sciatica most often occurs when a herniated disc, spinal column on the spine or spinal stenosis (spinal stenosis) compresses part of the nerve. This causes inflammation, pain and often numbness in the affected leg.

Causes of sciatica

1. Spinal disc herniation: is the most common cause.
2. Lumbar spine abnormalities (due to acquired or congenital):

Acquired:

1. Local or neighborhood infection (cold, infection: syphilis, herpes virus infection, HIV CMV virus, lead poisoning);
2. Diabetic pathology;
3. Pelvic myocarditis (common in athletes playing sports when the posture is wrong);
4. Spinal stenosis syndrome (common in the elderly);
5. Inflammation of the small face of the spine joints: due to strong exercise or wrong posture causes dislocation of the spine joints;
6. Spinal metastases (prostate cancer, metastatic breast cancer, ovarian tumors, pelvic tumor);
7. Lumbar spine injuries such as spinal slides, vertebral fractures cause compression of the sciatica roots.

Natural:

1. The causes in the spinal canal such as myeloma, cerebrospinal meningoma, myeloma (neurinoma), medullary adenoma, focal myelitis Epidural abscess in lumbar region.
2. Rare causes (sometimes only diagnosed during surgery): difficult to diagnose such as pericardial varicose veins, epidural dilatation, yellow ligament hypertrophy. The nerve roots L5 and S1 are larger than normal.

Factors that increase your risk of sciatica include:

1. Older age: Spinal disease, such as a herniated disc and spine, are common causes of sciatica.
2. Obesity: Excess weight will increase the pressure on the spine thereby contributing to sciatica.
3. Diabetes : Diabetes can increase the risk of damage to the optic nerve.
4. Sitting longer or being sedentary : sitting for extended periods of time or being sedentary increases the likelihood of sciatica.

This is an extremely easy disease, causing many nuisances to the patient's life.

Signs of sciatica

Pain along the path of the sciatic nerve, pain in the lumbar spine that spreads to the outside of the thighs, the front of the outside of the lower leg, the outer ankle and the toes Depending on the location of the lesions, the clinical manifestations are different: L4 root lesions hurt to the legs, if the L5 root lesions spread to the instep end of the big toe, the L5 root lesions may spread sole of the foot to the end of the little finger. In some cases, there is no pain in the lumbar spine, only along the leg.

Pain spreading from the lower spine (lumbar) to the buttocks and down the back of the leg is a sign of sciatica. You may feel discomfort almost everywhere along the nerve pathway, but it is especially likely to follow a path from your lower back to your buttocks and the backs of your thighs and calves.

The pain can be very different, from mild to sharp, aching or severe. Sometimes it may feel like a shock or electric shock. It can be worse when you cough or sneeze, and sitting for a long time can worsen your symptoms. Usually only one side of your body is affected.

Some people also experience numbness, tingling, or muscle weakness in the affected leg or foot. You may have pain in one part of your leg and numbness in another.

Sciatica treatment

Treatment

1. Non-surgical treatment

1. Apply hot or cold compress to the affected area. Apply a cold compress within 48 to 72 hours and then start applying heat.
2. You can use medications like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to help reduce swelling and reduce pain. Your doctor may also give you muscle relaxants, oral steroids, or epidural injections.
3. If you have severe pain, you may need to take stronger medicines that contain narcotic for a short time. Your doctor will recommend an alternating cold and hot massage for you to relieve muscle soreness and soreness. Keep in mind, however, that all pain and swelling medications have side effects. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can cause stomach disorders, diarrhea, stomach ulcers, headaches, dizziness, difficulty hearing or a rash. Muscle relaxants can cause drowsiness, dizziness or a rash.
4. Your doctor may also suggest physical exercise and exercise to help ease the pain.

2. Surgical treatment

The doctor diagnoses sciatica based on your medical history and physical exam. Other tests and tests are usually not necessary, but your doctor may order a CT scan, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and other tests if your symptoms do not improve after treatment and The doctor is considering doing the surgery for you.

Prevention

1. Controlling body weight : Sciatica is caused by obesity and overweight.
2. Scientific diet: Create a diet that supplements the nutrients and minerals necessary for the body. A healthy diet will help the body develop better, more perfect, prevent diseases related to bones and joints.
3. Mental comfort : The daily activities of every person rely on the command of the brain to transmit to the nerves. So, keeping a relaxed mind will help your body stay healthy.
4. Exercise and sports: Some sports that doctors recommend are swimming, yoga, walking can prevent disease. Take 30 minutes to practice your favorite sport to strengthen your resistance to disease.
5. Avoid carrying heavy loads on your back : Back pain is one of the causes of sciatica. So you need to limit heavy loads on your back.
6. Limiting the focus of the body to one place : When sitting too long in one place, you should take a break, relax tendons, walk around to avoid damage of nerves from the bones live down to the buttocks.