Identifying Sciatica
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Identifying Sciatica
The term sciatica means that there is a compression of the sciatic nerve. The result is the structures that the nerve feeds do not get there full message. A way of looking at it is like stepping on a garden hose: the pressure will make less water come out the end.
Sciatica is a description of pain or numbness traveling down the leg: it does not indicate the cause of the sciatic nerve compression. In other words it is a symptom, not a diagnosis. There are several different potential structures that can cause sciatic nerve compression (such as muscles, ligaments, discs, or bone spurs). Each of these potential causes of sciatica will have a unique presentation and thus need to be treated accordingly.
The sciatic nerve has a specific course. It travels out the back of the pelvis, down the back of the leg to the knee and divides into branches that envelope the entire lower leg below the knee. If the pain travels down the front of the thigh, then it is not sciatica i.e. the sciatic nerve does not travel on that part of the leg.
Sciatica is therefore a broad term that gives minimal information as to what is really going on and therefore how it needs to be treated.
