Sciatica – what is it?
The Sciatic nerve is the longest and largest nerve in the human body, and is the thickness of a finger.
It runs down the spinal cord through the hips and down each leg. It has roots that branch out though the lower back from the spine.
Sciatica back pain can be felt when the nerve or nerve roots becomes compressed for some reason. Some of these reasons can be due to trauma from injury, pregnancy, tumors on the spine, herniated discs, spinal Stenosis, bony growths and more.
The main nerve becomes inflamed and swells resulting in pain anywhere from your lower back through your hips and down one leg. Usually you will experience pain in all these areas at one time or another.
Some people will suffer from Sciatica back pain regularly where others may have an isolated occurrence. Pain can sometimes and often lasts for days, and can range from irritating through to unbearable. Spines that are out of alignment can cause Sciatica back pain and pain in other areas too.