A term that is commonly thrown around to indicate back pain. Orthopedic doctors like to throw this term around loosely because it includes such symptoms as radiating pain down the leg, chronic muscle stiffness and such. I do not like the term, along with terms like arthritis, mainly because they are umbrella terms denoting a symptom and do not indicate a cause of the offending event. There are several causes of sciatica as there are several for arthritis.
For example, sciatica can be caused by what is called piriformis syndrome, where the thick almost ligamentous band of muscle called the piriformis clamps down on the very large sciatic nerve. Low back pain of this sort is said by patients to originate from deep within the buttock. Herniated disk may also cause sciatica depending on the level of their location. The treatment of both are slightly dissimilar
If a doctor is saying you have sciatic pain, press him more for an explanation of where the problem is and if you been in a traumatic situation (i.e. car accident or slip and fall) then get x-rays and/or an mri to get a clearer picture. It’s about time we started taking charge of our own individual health and responsibility for our own well-being.
drmichaelstevenlee 