The well-known name sciatica means the occurrence of pain and muscle restriction in movements not only in the lumbar region but also throughout the spine. In general, a healthy spine is the health of the whole organism. But the generality of the structure of the entire spine makes it clear that radiculitis can occur in any part of it.
Other names correspond to this disease: radiculopathy. What is sciatica? This is a pinching or inflammation of the roots of the spinal cord. The affected area begins to feel severe pain, numbness, tingling, and some limited movement.
In this video, Dr Yaser Mehrez explains the scenarios that can cause sciatica, what you describe in medicine as aetiology, as precipitating factors, which can be overweight, lack of exercises.
Why do signs of sciatica arise, what troubles can provoke pain and additional complaints? There are various factors:
- Tissue Weakness from inactivity and lack of training;
- Hormonal, metabolic disorders, negatively affecting bone and ligamentous elements, muscle tone;
- Chronic inflammatory processes;
- Different types of posture disease(curvatures, both in the form of a hump and lateral deviations);
- Complexities of the field of operations on the vertebrae;
- A sharp narrowing of the spinal canal and intervertebral due to the fact that the vertebrae are displaced from their usual place;
The most common causes of sciatica are precisely progressive changes against the background of osteochondrosis and changes in the intervertebral discs. Slowly, the discs become weaker, they lose their elasticity, if you don’t take measures, they gradually start to collapse, deform, and conditions are created for the formation of hernial protrusions.
Complications
Complications with sciatica are rare, but with untimely diagnosis and treatment, with prolonged compression of nerve roots, impaired nervous trophism (nutrition) and slowing blood circulation, the most often develop:
- Spinal ischemia and infarction
- Inflammation of the meninges – spinal epiduritis or arachnoiditis of the spinal cord
- Hemiparesis or paraparesis
Atrophic paralysis – develops as a result of prolonged compression of the spinal nerve and a violation of the innervation of the extremities.
If any of your near and dear ones have been facing from the above-mentioned complication of sciatica, it is high time to get in touch with a pain management clinic.
Treatment of the disease
With sciatica, complex treatment is carried out, which allows to eliminate the pain syndrome and restore the nervous trophism of the affected area:
- Bed rest for the first 2 days
- Taking non-hormonal anti-inflammatory analgesics
- Vitamin therapy course
- Physiotherapy – ultrasound, UFO, electrophoresis, inductometry, etc.
- Physiotherapy
- Manual therapy
- Vacuum therapy
- Timely consult with pain management clinic
The long-term wearing of a corset or a special belt is recommended to fix the affected spine. With persistent pain syndrome and sensory disturbances, surgical treatment is performed.
Important! Self-medication using thermal procedures is unacceptable since back pain can be caused by other diseases in which warming are contraindicated.
