Alternate names :: Sciatic nerve, Lumbago, Sciatic nerve dysfunction and Sciatica nerve.
What is sciatica?
Sciatica is a serious disease of the nervous system. It is a neuritic condition of the sciatica nerve It refers to a severe pain running down the course of the sciatic nerve, which supplies sensation to the back of the leg and foot. It is a pain along the large sciatic nerve that runs from the lower back down the back of each leg.
Sciatica is nerve pain arising from the sciatic nerve. It can be produced by pressure on the nerve, where it passes through the buttock. Sciatica can be brought on by sitting on a hard seat. When your leg goes to sleep, that is also a form of sciatica.The sciatica nerve is the largest nerve in the body. It has branches in the thigh muscles, the knee joints, and down into the muscles of the legs and feet. This nerve begins in the lower part of the back and passes down behind the thigh. It is more exposed to injury and inflammation than most other nerves. Sciatica nerve pain is a relatively common form of low back pain and leg pain.
Sciatica Symptoms
The patient of sciatica feels severe pain in the buttock which may radiate down the posterior aspect of the thigh and calf to the outer border of the foot. In severe cases, he may feel weakness of the calf muscles or foot drop. Sometimes the pain is so severe that the patient cannot stand and is crippled. In the case of a ruptured disc, the pain is often aggravated by coughing, sneezing, bending forward, or straining at the stool. Often the pain disappears with bed rest, only to return days or weeks later after some slight injury or extra exertion. Common symptoms od sciatica nerve pain includes :
- Lower leg or foot pain.
- Difficulty in moving the leg or foot.
- Low back pain.
- Loss of power to the muscles of the leg and foot.
- Hot pain in the buttock.
Sciatica Causes
Sciatica may be caused by any type of injury to the spine, because of compression of the sciatica nerve at its roots. Any infection or toxic material near the area of the nerve may result in this disease. But in most cases, the trouble is due either to a ruptured disc or else osteo arthritis of the lower spine. Other causes include pregnancy, tumors of the pelvis, deformities of the lower spine and exposures to cold and damp. The sciatica nerve may even be injured by walking, running, or riding a bicycle. Prolonged standing, or sitting on one side of the edge of a chair may also lead to this disease.
There are various causes for low back pain. These range from congenital factors, like a defect in the curvature of the spine, that makes weight bearing not a healthy physiological function, but exerting stress on the spine, giving rise to a persistent backache. The common causes are direct trauma (often due to an injection into the buttocks), prolonged external pressure on the nerve, and pressure on the nerve from nearby body structures.
Home Remedies for Sciatica
- Use an ice pack on muscles that are in spasm. The ice makes the muscle get numb, and it releases the spasm. Helps to get relief from sciatica pain.
- Resting the back by not bending, flexing or lifting heavy weights.
- Stand and bring both your arms behind your back, clasping your hands. Keeping your hands together, begin to slowly bend from the waist going as far down as you can. You’ll feel the stretch in your lower back and legs.
- Sleeping on a mattress that is neither too soft, nor too hard.
- Garlic milk can be prepared both in cooked and uncooked states. In raw state uncooked form is more powerful. This milk is prepared by adding the pulp of the crushed garlic in uncooked buffalo milk. The proportion is four cloves to 110 ml of milk. Another method is to boil the garlic milk.
- Ergonomic furniture, such as chairs with lumbar support.
- Take 2-4 tablespoons of mustard oil. Heat it. Fry 2-3 cloves of crushed garlic and a spoonful of pounded omum seeds in it. Cool it to a bearable temperature. Filter and use it to massage a painful joint. Helps to get relief from sciatica nerve pain.
- The warm pulp of the aloe leaf soothes joint pains. It has an awful smell, hence some people prefer less smelly remedies.
- Nutmeg is another effective remedy for sciatica. A nutmeg should be coarsely powdered and fired in gingelly oil until all the particles become brown. This oil can be applied beneficially on the affected parts as a pain reliever.
- The use of lemon is beneficial in the treatment of sciatica. It is a sour in taste, but its reaction in the body is alkaline and as such it is valuable in rheumatic affections, including sciatica. A sufficient intake of lemon juice prevents the deposit of uric acid in the tissues.
- The herb chamomile is valuable in sciatica. Its extracted oil, diluted in vegetable oil should be rubbed on the affected parts. A compress of chamomile flowers can be also be used beneficially to treat the sciatica nerve pain.
Useful References