Sciatica refers to pain, numbeness and weakness felt along the lower back all the way down to the calf regions, the condition is usually caused by injury or pressure on the sciatic nerve (the nerve starts in the lower spine and travels down the back of each leg). It is more common for Sciatica to occur at either left or right side of the lower lumbar and patients may suffer more intense pain especially at night, when they cough, after they sit or stand too long or during defecation.
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Some common causes:
- pelvic injury (from sports or fall)
- slipped disk (protrusion of a disk along the lower spine)
- piriformis syndrome
- tumors (compression of tumors against the sciatic nerves)
Patients should do adequate local exercises to strengthen the lower back and abdominal muscles to improve on the condition. Here are some examples:
- Swimming is one good way to prevent and also to improve this condition.
- "Air-cycling", lying face up and kicking legs away from the body to 'cycle' in the air.
- Leg-raise or leg-lift.
Bed rest is recommended ONLY within the first week of having a more severe Sciatica, after that gentle exercises will improve the condition. For mild cases, the pain will get better on its own though the recurrence rate is high.
It is best to seek advice from medical doctor if the pain is excruciating or persist after some time.
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