Is It Sciatica or Something Else in Vacaville

When you feel a radiating pain traveling along the sciatic nerve path that runs from your lower spine to the buttock and down the back of the leg, then it is referred to as sciatica in Vacaville. The pain can flare up when your sciatic nerve is pinched or irritated by any problems you have in your lower back.

Sciatica in Vacaville

Sciatica is nerve pain

There are several nerve roots that exit from your lower spine. When these nerve roots on either side of the lower spine becomes pinched or irritated, pain will radiate from the nerve root to the sciatic nerve. This pain will travel down the sciatic nerve through the buttock then down the back of the leg and into the foot and/or toes. It normally happens on only one side of the body.

The pain is something else wherein it can be felt as shooting or searing and can be felt deep in the buttocks and radiates down the back of the leg. Burning, numbness, or tingling can also be felt along the nerve and some people even experience the pain as an electric-like sensation. However, the most common sciatica symptom is experienced as a constant, dull pain.

Common lower back problems that cause sciatica

A lumbar herniated disc is what causes sciatica the most. Other causes may include spondylolisthesis, facet join osteoarthritis, lumbar spinal stenosis, or lumbar degenerative disc disease.

Sciatica is often misused wherein some people would attempt to self-diagnose and may provide the wrong treatment for their sciatica. This is the reason why it is so important to determine the underlying cause of your sciatica before you begin any form of treatment.

Some conditions mimic sciatica

Many people would immediately assume that any type of leg pain is already sciatica. But there are many causes of leg pain that have been falsely classified as sciatica and requires a different treatment approach.

Here are some problems that have similar symptoms of sciatica:

• Joint problems in the spine - The spinal joints can refer pain down into the leg. This problem is not technically sciatica and it requires a different treatment. Joint degeneration from spinal arthritis may cause pain that projects symptoms like sciatica.
• Sacroiliac joint dysfunction - Too little or too much motion in the sacroiliac joints can cause pain that radiates down the leg, thereby mimicking sciatica. Treatment for this condition can be non-surgical and it focuses on restoring motion in the joint. But if the pain is severe and debilitating, then sacroiliac joint fusion can be administered.
• Piriformis syndrome - This has symptoms that are too similar with sciatica. It happens when the piriformis muscle in the buttocks is irritating the sciatic nerve, thereby causing the pain to radiate along the nerve path into your leg. This pain is not sciatica since the nerve irritation doesn't originate in the lower back. The treatment for this includes anti-inflammatory medication and specific physical therapy.

So, if you are having doubts on whether it is sciatica or not, you need to be consulted by a licensed physician like a chiropractor. Dr. Alex Tam of Absolute Integrative Physical Medicine can help you out with that. Just dial (707) 474-5688 to schedule an appointment and receive the proper treatment for it.