A pinched nerve occurs if the surrounding tissues — muscles, bones, cartilage, or tendons — press on it. It can occur in almost any part of the body, but according to statistics, most often it occurs in the spine, more precisely in its cervical and lumbosacral spine. Pinched intercostal nerve is noted much less often.
The sciatic nerves are formed by the fusion of the following nerve roots: the last two lumbar and the first three sacral. In the human body there are only two, but they are the largest. They are responsible for sensitivity in the thigh, lower leg, foot and fingers, as well as allow to extend the thigh and trunk, bend the ankle joint and raise the foot up.
Neuralgia, or in a different way, pinching a nerve so important for the body as the sciatic, often occurs after improper lifting or as a result of awkward movements in which damage to the pelvic organs and muscles occurs. The most common cause of such an unpleasant condition is osteochondrosis. Among other causes of this disease can be called a hernia, displacement of the spinal disc, the development of tumors.
If pinching of the sciatic nerve occurs , the symptoms can manifest in completely different ways. In some patients, pain occurs almost immediately, and so severe that they cannot move, while in others, at the onset of the disease, it is barely felt, but gradually increases with time. With a syndrome such as a pinch of the sciatic nerve, symptoms can also manifest as numbness or tingling.
With this disease in women, back pain is usually much less pronounced than in the leg. Moreover, depending on the degree to which the nerve roots in the lumbar plexus are affected, the pain can be given not only to the buttock, but also spread along the back surface of the lower leg or foot, and in some cases even reach the fingers. Sciatic nerve neuralgia is usually one-sided. With physical exertion, even a small intensity, and sometimes just when changing postures, the pain can intensify. Often, the symptoms of the disease are much more pronounced at night. Some patients note that pain becomes stronger with coughing and even laughter.
Not very often, but it happens that pinching the sciatic nerve shows symptoms in the form of edema and redness of the skin on the back, fever, weakness in the legs. In some patients, there is a decrease in effectiveness or a complete loss of control over urination and defecation, and spotting appears in the urine. With such manifestations, you need to seek medical help as soon as possible.
Pinched the sciatic nerve in pregnant women occurs quite often, because the load on the spine increases significantly due to an increase in the body weight of the expectant mother and a growing abdomen. Unpleasant manifestations can last up to 1.5 months, but sometimes the symptoms disappear very quickly. In order to prevent the development of such a disease during pregnancy, it is necessary to perform feasible physical exercises. If there are no contraindications, then therapeutic baths, massage courses, physiotherapy give a good effect.
Most often, when a pinch of the sciatic nerve occurs, the symptoms pass quickly enough when observing the sparing regimen prescribed by the doctor and taking painkillers. Folk remedies, as well as manual therapy , help well . But there are also such cases of this disease when medical care and the appointment of potent drugs for pain relief are needed. It should also be remembered that the symptoms that occur when the sciatic nerve is pinched often arise with other diseases, often more serious. In order not to endanger health, self-medicating, it is better to consult a specialist. Using modern diagnostic methods, he will identify the cause of your malaise, make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe treatment that is adequate to the condition. In order to prevent sciatic nerve neuralgia, as well as pathological changes in the spine, physical labor and sports should be practiced, not to be cold, to lift heaviness correctly, to maintain normal weight.