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Do You Really Have Sciatica?

By Sara Butler

Many people think they have sciatica because they have pain, weakness or numbness in their legs, but you may be surprised to find out that this may not be sciatica at all. There are several other conditions that may be causing similar pain; the only way you’ll ever know the real reason is to consult with your chiropractor. Here’s what you need to know about your sciatic nerve to help you understand what that pain might be and what it might not be.

The Sciatic Nerve

Your sciatic nerve runs down the back of each of your legs. If any nerve root in your lower back is irritated or compressed, the pain will probably travel down your leg via your sciatic nerve. People who have sciatic pain describe it as:

  • Shooting
  • Searing
  • Burning
  • Electric-like

Sometimes the symptoms of sciatica can be described as a dull and constant pain, it really just depends on your own experience.

Common Causes of Sciatica

Most of the time sciatica is caused by one of these conditions:

  • Lumbar herniated disc
  • Degenerative disc disease
  • Isthmic spondylolisthesis

People often use sciatica to describe any kind of pain traveling down the leg, which makes it easy to self-diagnose yourself – often leading to self-treatment, too. This isn’t a great idea since there are many different things that can mimic sciatica. If you hope to treat your pain, you first truly need to find out what is causing it.

Copycat Conditions

A lot of people consider any type of leg pain sciatica, but there are many causes of leg pain. Some conditions that can cause similar symptoms to sciatica include:

  • Sacroiliac joint dysfunction – This is a common cause of lower back pain, leg pain or hip pain. If your sacroiliac joint moves too much or too little it can cause pain that radiates down your leg.
  • Arthritis of the spine – Arthritis can cause referred pain in your leg that can feel like sciatic pain.
  • Piriformis syndrome – This condition can feel a lot like sciatica, but it actually is the result of a muscle in the buttocks that irritates the sciatic nerve. Although it may irritate your sciatic nerve, it is not considered to truly be sciatica since it doesn’t originate from a condition in the lower back.

Each of these conditions has a specific treatment protocol required to improve the condition, which is why it’s so important to be diagnosed correctly. If you are having pain in your leg and you’re not sure what’s causing it, don’t assume it’s sciatica. Instead, get in to see your chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic today for a proper diagnosis.

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