Sciatica Treatment Doctors Specialists in Manhattan, NYC

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What Is Sciatica?

Sciatica (also known as lumbar radiculopathy) is a medical condition that affects your sciatic nerve pain. This large nerve runs from your lower back to your hips, buttocks, and on either side of your legs. The sciatic nerve runs all the way down to the soles of your feet. When the nerve is damaged or compressed, you feel a stabbing, shooting, or burning pain— as well as tingling, numbness, and weakness— anywhere in your lower back and hip region to the backs of your legs down to your feet and toes.

Sciatica is more common among people between the ages of 20 and 60. It usually affects only one side of your body. Any movement, including sneezing or coughing, can aggravate your pain. To get complete sciatica pain relief in NYC, a qualified pain doctor at the pain relief center needs to perform a complete medical check-up before suggesting sciatica treatments.

What Causes Sciatica?

Sciatica disease is typically caused by irritation of the root of the lower lumbar and lumbosacral spine.

Other sciatica causes include:

• Lumbar spinal stenosis
• Spondylolisthesis
• Degenerative disc disease
• Muscle spasm
• Pregnancy

Sciatica issues can be triggered by several problems that involve your spine. It might affect the nerves running along your back.

What Are the Risk Factors for Sciatica?

About 40 percent of Americans experience sciatica in their lifetime. Age is a major risk factor. As you grow older, your body, especially your spine, changes, and it can pinch the nerve.

• Degenerative disc disease is a medical disorder caused by the wear and tear of your spine over the years. This wear-and-tear can result in injuring or impinging your sciatic nerve.
• Obesity, along with a sedentary lifestyle, contributes toward the bones in your back losing flexibility and becoming stiff. The extra weight may cause pressure on your sciatic nerve.
• Untreated diabetes, a result of obesity, causes a condition called diabetic neuropathy. High blood sugar damages the nerves in your extremities, especially your feet and toes.
• Desk jobs and truck driving can adversely harm your spine from the long hours of sitting in one place.
• Jobs that require heavy lifting or twisting your spine can also create problems that lead to sciatica. People complaining of acute or chronic lower back pain or hip pain have a high chance of getting exposed to sciatica disease.

What Are the Symptoms of Sciatica?

Sciatica pain treatment depends on the root cause of the sciatic nerve damage. All of these medical conditions can cause undue pressure on your sciatic nerve. Pressure leads to the painful sciatica symptoms you’re experiencing, such as:

• A herniated disc in your spine. Discs have jelly-like insides with a harder shell that weakens with time. If the shell cracks or ruptures, the contents spill out and press against your sciatic nerve.
• Spinal stenosis. This is a disorder that narrows the spinal canal, compressing the nerve roots and spinal cord. The wear and tear of your spine are usually associated with osteoarthritis.
• Spondylolisthesis. This medical disorder affects your lower back when a vertebra slips and becomes misaligned with your spine. It ends up narrowing the exit of the sciatic nerve, irritating it in the process.
• Piriformis syndrome. The piriformis muscle is found in the lower part of your spine, hips, and buttocks. When the muscle develops spasms, it can compress the sciatic nerve.
• Other related medical reasons for lumbar radiculopathy may include a direct impact force from a car accident, a sports injury, or falling downstairs. Osteoporosis, a weakening of your bones, can create compression fractures in your spine.