Pinched sciatic nerve: how to recognize and what to do

It is the largest nerve in the human body, which begins in the lumbosacral region and runs along the entire length of the limbs along the entire spine. For this reason, pinching it simply cannot be unnoticed, because it causes serious pain and discomfort. How to recognize a pinched sciatic nerve, why it happens and how to treat such an ailment - we will tell in this article.

Symptoms of a pinched sciatic nerve

The first thing that comes when the sciatic nerve is pinched is pain. It can be paroxysmal, intensify with physical exertion, or occur exclusively when moving, walking. During the visit to the doctor, patients describe the pain as stabbing, sharp, and burning. It is interesting, but if you listen to your body, you can clearly trace the movement of pain that passes from the lumbar region, then goes to the buttock and, passing through the thigh, reaches the lower leg or foot. But not only pain is a sign of a pinched sciatic nerve, the main symptoms include:

• Change in gait. Due to the appearance of pain in one side of the body, a person tries not to load it, transferring all the load to the other side, so changes in gait cannot be avoided.
• Muscle weakness is noted on the affected side.
• Numbness and a burning sensation may occur on the affected part of the body.
• On the side where the pinching occurs, loss of sensitivity occurs, and in some patients, on the contrary, the sensitivity is exacerbated to such an extent that even a very light touch causes discomfort.

Remember, when an ailment appears, all of the above symptoms do not have to be present, although it also happens, sometimes the body signals a pinching only with pain. The pain itself may be absent when the body is at rest, but when the movement begins to make itself felt.

Causes of a pinched sciatic nerve

Modern medicine believes that pinching of the sciatic nerve occurs against the background of other diseases or due to other problems in the body. So, the common causes of pinching are called:

• Stenosis of the spinal canal in the lumbar region. In such a situation, the lumen of the canal, where the spinal cord is deployed, narrows. Often such a diagnosis is made to elderly people who are over 60. Such ailment happens due to the expansion of the facet joints and the pressure of the intervertebral discs, where a hernia or protrusion develops, on the nerve roots. As a result, neuralgic pain.
• Intervertebral hernia. This is the most common cause of a pinched sciatic nerve. A hernia that appears, which puts pressure on the nerve roots, which causes pain.
• Piriformis syndrome. Here there is an irritation of the sciatic nerve of the deformed piriformis muscle, because the first passes just under it. In general, this is a controversial case and the problem does not lie at all in the sciatic nerve, which is absolutely healthy, and pinching and pain act only as symptoms.
• Problems in the functioning of the sacroiliac joint.
• Osteochondrosis. This ailment is associated with the loss of the intervertebral discs of their shock-absorbing properties, which leads to compression of the roots, from which the sciatic nerve is formed.
• When one or several vertebrae are displaced relative to others, there is also pressure on the sciatic nerve. This disease is called spondylolysis.

The most popular options for the appearance of the disease are listed here, but this is not a complete list. Less often, but still can become a starting point for a problem: tumors, infectious lesions, thrombus formation, abscess, etc.

Treating a pinched sciatic nerve

The choice of treatment method directly depends on what exactly became the root cause of the pinching. Since this can only be established by a specialist after a comprehensive examination of the patient, it is useless to self-medicate, you can only waste time, and in the worst case, aggravate the situation. However, you can list the medicines that are almost always used.

Primarily, these are anti-inflammatory drugs, the main purpose of which is to reduce the level of inflammation in a specific area, due to which the pressure on the nerve is weakened and the pain subsides. However, the medicines used in this case have a lot of side effects, so it is strictly contraindicated to use them without a doctor's prescription. But even with a prescription, admission is strictly limited in time. If the pain is severe, the prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs may be of steroid origin, and the duration of administration is no more than 14 days.

As for physical exercise, its effectiveness in treatment is extremely low, although it is possible to relieve pain syndrome with the help of physical activity. This situation is explained precisely by the fact that pinching does not occur as an independent ailment, but as a symptom or consequence of other health problems.

To treat a pinched sciatic nerve, physiotherapy methods are also used, which include:

• UHF. The direction of the action is produced directly on the inflammation focus by means of an electromagnetic field and high-frequency waves.
• Applications with paraffin. The whole essence of the procedure is reduced to a long-term thermal effect on the inflammation focus. Exposure to heat helps relieve muscle spasm, normalize blood flow and lymphatic drainage, which helps to reduce edema and normalize metabolic processes.
• Electrophoresis is characterized by the introduction of special substances into the pathology zone by using an electric current.
• Magnet therapy. The principle is clear from the name itself - the effects of a magnet on the problem area. It improves metabolic processes, relieves swelling and improves blood flow.

You can additionally try traditional medicine recipes in treatment, here are some of them:

• Grind 300 g of black radish on a fine grater and combine with half a glass of honey. Ideally - well in advance take a steam bath... If this is not possible, then you can take a hot shower or bath. After that, put the cooked gruel on the steamed lower back and sore leg for ten minutes and rinse with water. Next, you need to crawl under the covers and sweat thoroughly, for this you can drink hot tea. If you follow the recommendations correctly, everything will come off after the first procedure.
• For treatment, you can use fir oil compresses. You just need to saturate the fabric with this composition and apply it to the problem area; simple rubbing is also allowed. Lay cellophane and a heating pad on top. Get ready for the fact that it will burn very strongly, so in order to prevent burns, the lower back should be lubricated with vegetable oil. The duration of the procedure is an hour or two.
• If there aloe more than three years old, you can use it for treatment. Take a leaf of this adult plant, chop it thoroughly, you can rub it on a grater, sprinkle with red pepper and mix well. Put the resulting gruel to the problem area, cover with cellophane and tie the lower back with a woolen scarf. This compress is best done at night. The duration of the course is about five to six procedures.
• Grate raw potatoes and stir with a large spoonful of honey. Put the porridge in cheesecloth. Rub the loin with sunflower oil and apply the prepared compress. Lie on your stomach, on top to press the compress, put a heavy pillow and blanket. With this therapy, you cannot move, and even less walk, just lie quietly for about an hour. Arrange these sessions every other day.

Exercises for pinching the sciatic nerve

The video below shows an exercise that will help to effectively relieve pain syndrome when the sciatic nerve is pinched. By the way, if you do this exercise regularly, you can minimize the manifestation of acute pain.