Sciatica is a condition that causes pain, numbness, and/or weakness in the lower back, legs, or feet. Many people experience mild discomfort from sciatica; however, it can also become chronic. Sciatica symptoms can range from mild to severe and are often triggered by activity or other factors like sitting still too long. In this guide we’ll cover everything you need to know about sciatica so that you can manage your pain and get on with your life!

Sciatica is a condition that causes pain, numbness, and/or weakness in the lower back, legs, or feet.

It results from pressure on the sciatic nerve—the largest nerve in the body that runs from your lower back through your buttock and down both legs. Sciatica may also be caused by a herniated disc (slipped disc), which often affects people as they age.

Sciatica symptoms include:

• Pain that travels down one leg to foot (sciatica pain)
• Numbness or tingling sensation in affected area
• Weakness in affected area

The sciatic nerve is the longest and largest nerve in the body. It runs from the lower back down through your buttocks and along the back of each leg, connecting to the spinal cord at the lower back and traveling through buttock and thigh muscles. The sciatic nerve controls sensation and movement throughout these areas, which is why pain in this area can be so debilitating.

Pressure or damage to your sciatic nerve can cause many symptoms.

If your sciatic nerve is damaged or irritated, it can cause many symptoms. These include:

• Pain in the back and legs.
• Numbness or tingling in the leg, foot or toes.
• Weakness in the leg or foot.
• Limited range of motion in the hip joint, knee joint and ankle joint.

You may not be able to control what happens to your sciatic nerve, but you can take steps to manage your pain.

Use heat or ice on tense muscles in the back and legs, which can help reduce swelling and relieve pain. Heat is best used before exercising; cold therapy is usually most effective after exercise or at night when you are resting in bed.

Exercise safely when it’s OK’d by your doctor—but don’t overexert yourself! It’s best to start out with gentle stretches, then progress toward more challenging movements as you feel better able to tolerate them without experiencing increased discomfort or pain in the lower body region around the sciatic nerve (the piriformis muscle). If an activity causes increased discomfort or causes any numbness/tingling sensation below the knee(s), stop doing it immediately; this could indicate damage has occurred within those nerves involved with controlling movement of leg muscles needed for walking properly (calves, hamstrings).

Get enough sleep each night so that stress levels do not interfere with healing timeframes required after surgery performed while under general anesthesia (GA) sedation during which patient cannot speak coherently during treatment period due “medication effects” given prior instead oftentimes causing side effects such as nausea vomiting diarrhea constipation dizziness etcetera..

Causes of sciatica include:

Sciatica is caused by a pinched or irritated nerve. There are many reasons why this can happen, including:

• Back problems like spinal stenosis or herniated discs.
• Pregnancy.
• Injury to the spine. For example, if you’re in an accident and hit your back hard enough to cause injury to one of your vertebrae (the bones that make up the spine), you might develop sciatica afterward as a result of this injury and what it did to your body’s structure.

– Back problems like spinal stenosis or herniated discs

• Back problems like spinal stenosis or herniated discs: These are some of the most common causes of sciatica. Herniated discs occur when the jelly-like center of a disk pushes out through the outer wall of the disk. Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal caused by wear and tear on your spine over many years.
• Injury: If you’ve had an injury such as falling, twisting or lifting incorrectly, this can cause damage to muscles and ligaments in your back, causing symptoms similar to sciatica pain.

– Pregnancy

If you are pregnant, your sciatic nerve is already under stress. When that stress becomes too great and the muscles that support and surround the nerve become weak or damaged, pain can result. Sciatica is a common cause of pregnancy-related back pain during pregnancy.

• Treating sciatica during pregnancy may help relieve discomfort during early stages of labor.*

– Injury

Sciatica can be caused by an injury to the sciatic nerve, resulting in pain down the leg and numbness or weakness in your feet. Sports, car accidents and falls are all common causes of sciatica.

However, you can take steps to reduce your risk of injury by wearing seatbelts and using helmets when appropriate.

– Compression due to sitting for long periods of time (among other things)

In addition to the physical benefits that dry needling provides, it may also help relieve the pain of sciatica. The reason for this is compression due to sitting for long periods of time (among other things).

Compression happens when your body tries to compensate for a lack of movement and causes increased pressure on certain areas of your back. This can lead to nerves being pinched or compressed between vertebrae in your spine causing numbness and tingling, as well as pain down one leg or both legs depending on which nerve is being compressed by the vertebrae. Compression can be caused by many factors including poor posture, excessive weight gain/loss, pregnancy (especially during labor), trauma from an accident such as a car crash or fall down stairs etc., but there are ways you can help prevent compression from occurring in the first place by taking care of yourself physically as well as mentally throughout every day life:

Sciatica can work itself out over a period of time, but it can also become persistent.

Sciatica can be a long-term problem. The good news is that there are many treatment options to help you feel better and get back to doing the things you love. But it’s also important to know that sciatica may not go away completely, even if you have surgery or other treatments.

Some people get sciatica after an injury or accident, like falling on the ice or lifting something heavy with their back muscles instead of their legs. It may also be caused by a slipped disc (herniated disc), which happens when one of your intervertebral discs pushes through the outer covering of your spinal column causing pain, numbness and weakness in parts of your body below where it started to bulge out from between two vertebrae (bones). Sciatica can cause compression in one leg or both legs resulting in pain radiating down into one foot or both feet once you walk for extended periods of time such as shopping at the mall where there are lots of steps involved with each store location being accessed via escalators leading up towards each level within these buildings.”

Dry needling is an alternative treatment that may help patients who have chronic pain due to sciatica.

Dry needling is an alternative treatment that may help patients who have chronic pain due to sciatica. Dry needling uses a very fine needle to stimulate the muscles, which can reduce pain and muscle spasms. The stimulation of these muscles helps to heal injured tissues, reduce inflammation and improve movement patterns.

This treatment has also shown some promising results in treating other types of chronic pain, including headaches, tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome. It is non-invasive so there are usually no side effects associated with its use. However, dry needling still needs more research done before it can be considered as a standard treatment for sciatica because the long-term benefits are not yet known or confirmed by reliable sources such as Cochrane Reviews or PubMed searches

Conclusion

Sciatica can be a life-changing condition, but it is possible to manage your symptoms and live a normal life. Dry needling is one of the most effective treatments for sciatica, because it targets the trigger points in the muscles that cause sciatica. If you have been diagnosed with sciatica and are looking for relief from your pain, get in touch with our team today!