It's easy to confuse sciatica pain with other diagnoses because lower back pain is such a common condition in the US. So what should you look out for if you suspect that pain might be due to the compression of your sciatic nerve? Don't worry my dear reader, that's what I'm hear to answer.
No two cases of sciatica are alike so it's important that be attentive to any changes in your pain. Generally though, the pain starts slowly and gets worse with changes in position or the time of day.
It may start as a mild tingle on the back of your leg up to your lower back. Then progress to a dull ache or burning sensation. The pain most often is only one side of the body so if you are experiencing pain on both sides of your body try to determine if one side is more severe than the other or if the pain is equally distributed.
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| Examples of trigger points (red) that result in pain in the pink areas. [source] |
As the pain progresses, some people may have sharp pain that's just in one part of their leg or hip and numbness in other parts. You'll find that the pain worsens after sitting or standing, at the end of the day, sneezing/coughing/laughing, when bending backward or walking more than a few yards. The pain can be bad enough to prevent you from enjoying an active lifestyle. Even walking can become difficult because the affected leg may feel weak and get caught on the ground when walking.
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| Sciatic nerve damage and related pain areas. [source] |
If you're self-medicating with pain medication, it can mask the worsening symptoms until the pain becomes severe enough to make daily life impossible. At this point a surgical intervention will probably be required to relieve pressure on the nerve.
Sources
"Symptoms." Sciatica: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. (2014, September 8). Retrieved April 25, 2015, from [link]
Sciatica. Mayo Clinic. (2012, September 19). Retrieved May 3, 2015, from [link]
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