Final Stages of Sciatica: Symptoms & Relief Options

Sciatica pain is a common complication of lumbar scoliosis. When an unnatural spinal curve develops in the lower back, it can compress the sciatic nerve and cause a number of symptoms felt throughout the lower body. The first step to treating sciatica involves determining its underlying cause.

The final stages of sciatica are marked by chronic pain, symptoms that persist, and potential nerve damage. While some cases of sciatic nerve pain resolve on their own, others are more severe and require treatment.

Sciatica pain can range from mild and intermittent to chronic and debilitating.

What is Sciatica?

The term sciatica doesn't reference a condition, but is a set of symptoms that involve the sciatic nerve.

The sciatic nerve is the largest in the body and starts in the lumbar spine and extends down the hip, buttock, leg, and into the foot.

Sciatic nerve pain can develop if the nerve is being compressed (exposed to uneven pressure), and if this happens, the nerve can become irritated, inflamed, and/or impinged.

Sciatic nerve pain is most commonly felt down the left side of the body, but it can also involve the right side, and although rare, it can affect both sides.

If a nerve is compressed, it doesn't have the optimal space it needs to function within, and this can cause a number of symptoms.

Sciatic Nerve Pain Symptoms

Sciatic nerve pain can involve a number of symptoms because the sciatic nerve is a mixed nerve containing both motor and sensory fibers.

Sciatic nerve pain can be felt anywhere along its route. Symptoms of nerve compression can be felt far from its source as nerves are like branches of a tree, fanning off in several directions.

Nerves carry signals between the brain and the rest of the body that control movement, reflex, sensation, and more.

The spinal cord is a complex bundle of 31 pairs of spinal nerves that with the brain form the body's central nervous system.

There are many nerves within and around the spine that can be compressed for different reasons.

Sciatic nerve pain can feel like sharp stabbing pains, constant pain, tingling sensations, numbness, electric shock-like sensations, burning pain, and can cause muscle weakness and mobility challenges.

Sciatic nerve pain can range in severity with many people's pain resolving on its own in a matter of weeks, while others can experience periodic flare ups during which time symptoms intensify and then abate.

Sciatic nerve pain symptoms that continue to persist and don't go away on their own will likely require treatment that addresses its underlying cause.

The last stages of sciatica can be particularly debilitating.

The Last Stages of Sciatica

The last stages of sciatica are characterized by chronic sciatica symptoms and pain. Severe pain can be a result of lasting nerve damage caused by constant sciatic nerve compression that's left untreated.

Over time, constant compression can change the function and health of the sciatic nerve, and if neuropathy develops, a sign is frequent or constant tingling in the hands and feet; the sensation has been described as wearing a glove or sock that's too tight.

Muscle weakness in the legs is also a common sign that nerve damage is occurring.

While not all cases of neuropathy can be reversed, there are often improvements that can be made, but this will depend on the underlying cause of the nerve compression, the degree of nerve involvement, and symptom severity.

Common Causes of Sciatica Pain

The most common cause of sciatic nerve compression are disc issues.

The spine consists of vertebrae (bones) that are stacked on top of one another in a straight and neutral alignment, and adjacent vertebrae are separated by an intervertebral disc.

Disc health is key to overall spinal health; the discs act as the spine's shock absorbers, provide cushioning between adjacent vertebrae, give the spine structure, and facilitate flexibility.

When the spine starts to experience degenerative changes, it most often starts in the discs, and if a disc degenerates, it commonly changes shape.

This can cause a bulging and/or herniated disc, and when this happens, the disc's change in shape and position pushes against nearby nerves, causing nerve compression in the area.

A bulging disc occurs when a disc's inner nucleus is pushing against its outer annulus, causing the entire disc to bulge outwards and project into its surroundings, and if a bulging disc is left untreated, it can become a herniated disc.

A herniated disc is more severe because its inner nucleus has pushed through a tear in the outer layer, and the disc's inner material is now taking up space within the spine.

Lumbar Stenosis

Spinal stenosis is another common cause, and while stenosis can develop anywhere in the spine, if it develops in the lumbar spine, it can cause sciatic nerve compression.

Stenosis is a condition that involves the narrowing of the spinal canal that houses the spinal cord within, so if the space within the spinal canal is smaller, the sciatic nerve within can become irritated and disrupt its function.

Bone Spurs

Bone spurs are another common cause and are bony overgrowths that develop on the edges of bones and/or in the joints, where bones meet. These bony growths can project into areas needed by other structures, like the spinal cord.

Scoliosis

Compressive spinal conditions like scoliosis can also cause sciatic nerve compression as the spine's unnatural bend and twist can expose its nerves within to uneven pressure; a common complication of lumbar scoliosis is sciatic nerve pain.

Pain reduction is a focus of treatment, and plans need to be proactive and addressing the underlying cause of the nerve compression.

Sciatica Relief Options

Pain is a symptom that something is wrong; it alerts us to changes within the body that need assessment and treatment.

When it comes to spinal health, this can shape a person's overall health and quality of life, and determining the underlying cause of spinal nerve compression is key to sustainable long-term pain management.

Sciatic pain management strategies involve early detection and intervention.

When a disc issue has caused sciatic nerve compression, the health of the disc needs to be improved so it can restore its shape and central position between adjacent vertebrae, and the disc's inner nucleus can reclaim its central position inside the disc.

Disc issues can be addressed with lifestyle modification, chiropractic care, and physical therapy that reduce nerve compression by taking pressure off the nerve.

If lumbar spinal stenosis is the cause, space needs to be restored to the area so nerve root compression is addressed, and this can involve physical therapy exercises, lifestyle modifications, and pain medication.

Some bone spurs require surgical intervention, but physical therapy and injections can also help control symptoms in many cases.

Scoliosis causes the spine to bend and twist unnaturally, and once it becomes a compressive condition when skeletal maturity is reached, severe nerve compression can occur.

When it comes to scoliosis, as a progressive condition, symptoms can get worse over time, and managing sciatica symptoms means treating their underlying cause: the scoliosis itself.

Here at the Scoliosis Reduction Center®, patients benefit from a proactive nonsurgical treatment response that combines a number of conservative treatments to impact conditions on every level.

Through chiropractic care, physical therapy, corrective bracing, and rehabilitation, the unnatural spinal curve may be improved so pressure is taken off the nerves within, including the sciatic nerve.

Conclusion

Sciatica treatment has to relieve nerve compression, and the first step towards this is determining the underlying cause of the sciatica nerve being irritated.

The sciatic nerve starts in the lower back and extends down the back of the lower body, so symptoms of sciatic pain will be felt in the lower back, hip, buttock, leg, and into the foot.

While some cases of sciatica resolve on their own, others will require intervention, particularly cases that involve intense pain.

While pain medication and muscle relaxants can help with temporary pain management, this isn't working towards addressing the underlying cause of the nerve damage, and to relieve pain permanently, causation needs to be the focus.

Common causes of sciatica pain include degenerative disc disease, lumbar spinal stenosis, bone spurs, and compressive spinal conditions like scoliosis.

While treatment results can never be guaranteed, when conservative treatments are able to relieve pressure on the sciatic nerve, the nerve's healing process can begin and symptoms can be improved.