Sciatica Treatment in Delhi
MBBS, MS (General Surgery), M.Ch. Neurosurgery. A neurosurgeon with over 10 Yrs. years of experience Awarded as the best resident in Neurosurgery and was a regional & zonal winner at TYSA neurosurgery.
UNDERSTANDING SCIATICA
Sciatica is a fairly common problem in general population. If you have ever felt a “sudden jolt of electricity” involving your back and gong down along your thigh to your toes, or a dull vague ache involving your buttocks that just keeps on nagging you, you’ve likely met sciatica.
Sciatica is a not a disease. It’s a symptom of irritation of “sciatic” nerve of your body. Hence the term sciatica. Sciatica is a result of different diseases that can cause compression or irritation of sciatic nerve. What sounds as a very complex disease process is a cry for help by one of the biggest nerves of your body.
Consider your brain and spine as the main transformer from where current is transmitted to your house. From this main transformer, thick wires would go for each floor of your house and then to all the rooms and various plug points in a room. Sciatic nerve is one of those “big wires” running from the transformer (brain and spine) to your lower limbs. Any pressure, compression, physical or chemical damage of the sciatic nerve can bring about “sciatica”.
One of the most common causes of sciatica is a prolapsed intervertebral disc. Intervertebral discs are soft doughnut-like structures filled with shock absorbing jelly. These intervertebral discs provide resilience and permit cushioning effect while vertebral bodies move against each other. Once the pressure increases on the discs, jelly like material may leak out and compress the sciatic nerve giving rise to symptoms.
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THE MANY FACES OF SCIATICA
Symptoms and their intensity may be different for different people and depends how severely the nerve is pinched or is damaged. It may present as
- A jolt of electricity that may originate in the back but travels along the thighs and legs up to the toes.
- Sensation of tingling or pins and needles along the same area. Alternatively, the affected area may feel numb, and the leg may feel heavy at rest or after walking a distance.
- Weakness of muscles and difficulty in getting up from sitting position may be also seen
- A dull aching pain that does not go away mostly involving one of the buttocks. It may be at rest or may occur after walking some distance.
DO I REALLY NEED SURGERY
Good news is that most of these cases do not require any surgical intervention. 80-90%
of cases can be managed with alone or a combination of
- Rest
- Specialized physiotherapy
- Hot fomentation
- Simple analgesics and anti inflammatory drugs.
WHEN SHOULD I CONSULT A DOCTOR
One must not ignore certain “red flags” in sciatica. Prompt medical consultation should be sought in the following conditions
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
- Sudden weakness causing difficulty in standing and walking
- Numbness in the perianal area or a saddle shaped numbness