5 Common Types of Sciatica - Which Do You Have?

spinal stenosis

A lot of people don't know this, but sciatica isn't a disease. It is actually a symptom of some other kind of problem. It is sort of a clue that something else is wrong, so to speak. You probably have sciatica, if you have a stabbing or shooting pain in your legs, buttocks, hips, or lower back.

There's a nerve in your body called the sciatic nerve, and sciatica is the result of this nerve being irritated on compressed. There are quite a few things that could cause trouble with the sciatic nerve, but here are 5 common causes of sciatica.

Piriformis Syndrome - It can be difficult to treat or diagnose piriformis syndrome since it is a muscular problem and hard to detect on an X-ray. Your piriformis muscle connects to your hipbone and it assists your hip rotation. The muscle is located in the lower pelvis.

When the muscles spasm or become too tense, you develop what is called piriformis syndrome. The piriformis muscle can compress the sciatic nerve and cause significant pain. What happens is that the sciatic nerve runs behind your piriformis muscle and it can easily be irritated when the muscle tenses up or constricts around it.

Piriformis syndrome is what I used to suffer from, but thankfully it is actually one of the easier forms of sciatica to clear up with a few proper stretching exercises.

Bulging or the Herniated Disc - A herniated or bulging disc is a very common cause to sciatica. What's the difference between the two? When the soft nucleus of a disc breaks through your tough outer layer then a herniated disc occurs. When the nucleus does not break through the outer layer of the disc, but only bulges outward, that is a bulging disc. Since your herniated disc is not as reversible as a bulging disc, the consequences that you get from your herniated disc are much worse than a bulging disc.

It doesn't matter whether your disc bulges or herniates, this disc can press against an adjacent nerves in the spine and can compress them, causing sciatica. Often times there can be inflammation that follows which can lead to tingling or numbness.

Lumbar Spinal Stenosis - Spinal stenosis is a slow and gradual narrowing of the spinal canal. This is where your spinal cord runs, and after the spinal canal becomes too narrow, you may experience pain and pressure on the nerves in your back.

Spinal stenosis is often related to age. This kind of stenosis condition can cause different spinal elements to sag or bulge from arthritis. The discs, joints and ligaments are affected as well. The changes that can happen with age, can have an effect in narrowing the spinal canal and can trigger spinal stenosis pain.

Spondylolisthesis - This is a condition where one of your vertebra in your spine is out of alignment and actually overhangs the rest of the vertebra. This problem can cause pain due to pressure or pinching of the nerves in the spine.

More often than not, this condition is something you're born with, but it can also be caused when you suffer a physical injury.

Inflammation - When the tissues in your body are irritated by injury or by toxins, inflammation can result. This is a natural defense mechanism for your body. Inflammation happens to protect you against further injury or damage.

However this swelling can cause pressure on the nerves and muscles in the back (or in any other part of the body, to be honest). Inflammation can be caused by many different things ranging from traumatic injury to even specific foods that are common in modern diets.

These are, of course, only five potential causes of sciatica. There are many other possibilities. Most cases of sciatica can be alleviated by correcting muscle imbalances, which are the root cause of most back pain problems.

If you have sciatica, and you don't know the specific cause, it is important to go see your doctor to learn the true cause to your condition and receive appropriate recommendations on how to fix it.