SCIATICA PAIN, EXERCISE, CAUSES, SYMPTOMS

SCIATICA

• Sciatica is a nerve pain that radiates along the course of the sciatic nerve which is the largest and widest nerve in the human body.

• All pain that radiates from the back to the leg cannot be defined as sciatica, it has to be differentiated before starting exercise.

• Sciatica is a symptom and not a cause or diagnosis that occurs due to a pinched sciatic nerve.

SCIATICA SYMPTOMS

• It can be a sharp shooting pain or pins and needle or burning sensation originating from the back, radiating to buttocks, posterior of the thigh, and running down to the legs and the foot.

• Numbness and weakness of leg and foot can also be felt.

• Sciatica symptoms may increase with lumbar flexion (forward trunk bending), coughing, and twisting.

• Avoid forward bending exercises (back flexion exercises) and heavy load exercises that put stress on your back until your symptoms subside.

CAUSES OF SCIATICA

Sciatica is commonly caused due to disk prolapse.

The other causes are:

• Spondylolisthesis.

•  Sacroiliac joint arthritis.

•  Herpes simplex virus can cause radicular pain by affiliation of the sciatic nerve

•  Tuberculoma causing cord compression.

•  Lymphomas and pelvic malignancy.

•  In curled thickened ligament flavum.

•  Cysts of the sacral nerve root.

•  Intraspinal neurofibromas and other tumors.

•  Hemorrhage in the ependymoma can cause a sudden and gross neurological deficit, resembling acute disk prolapse

•  Diabetic neuropathy, osteoid osteoma.

TREATMENT FOR SCIATICA

ELECTROTHERAPY FOR SCIATICA

SWD (SHORT WAVE DIATHERMY)

IFT (INTRTFERENTIAL THERAPY)

THERMOTHERAPY

SCIATICA EXERCISES

LEVEL 1

BACK ISOMETRIC EXERCISE

SUPINE PELVIC TILT

CAT AND CAMEL

PRONE ON ELBOW

MCKENZIE EXTENSION

ONE LEG CIRCLE

SCIATIC NERVE SLIDES 1

HAMSTRING MUSCLE STRETCH 1

LEVEL 2 (SHOULD BE STARTED ONLY WHEN YOUR PAIN REDUCE OR RESOLVES)

SEATED HIP TILT

STANDING BACK EXTENSION

PRESS UPS

SINGLE KNEE TO CHEST

DOUBLE KNEE TO CHEST 

BRIDGING

BACK ROTATION

SCIATIC NERVE SLIDES 2

POSTURAL CORRECTION

HAMSTRING MUSCLE STRETCH 2

LEVEL 3

Once SCIATICA is fully resolved and good improvement is noticed you can start BACK STRENGTHENING exercises like pilates and aerobics in order to prevent reoccurrence.

Be gentle with your spine while performing exercises, don’t try to push yourself hard to avoid exacerbating your sciatic pain or creating a new injury.

Doing exercise in a wrong way may increase your pain so perform the exercise carefully

If exercise increases your pain and/or causes nerve-related symptoms such as weakness, tingling sensations, or numbness, stop and contact your spine specialist immediately.