Sciatica

• Sciatica Overview
• Sciatica Causes
• Sciatica Symptoms
• When to Seek Medical Care
• Exams and Tests
• Sciatica Treatment
• Self-Care at Home
• Medications
  • Learn more about medications like codeine, hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen (Vicodin), and morphine on RxList.com.
• Surgery
• Other Therapy
• Next Steps
• Follow-up
• Prevention
• Outlook
• Synonyms and Keywords
• Authors and Editors
• Related Sciatica articles:
  Sciatica - on WebMD
  Sciatica - on MedicineNet

Sciatica Overview

Sciatica (pronounced sigh-AT-ih-ka) is low back pain combined with a pain through the buttock and down one leg. The pain usually goes past the knee and may go farther to the foot. Sometimes, weakness in the leg muscles occurs with sciatica.

• The sciatic nerves are the largest nerves in the body and are about the size of your little finger. They come out of the spinal column low in the back and then go behind the hip joint, down the buttock, and down the back of the leg to the foot.
  
  
• Sciatica is different from other forms of low back pain because there are 2 sciatic nerves, and the pain is usually on 1 side.
  
  
• The pain is usually a shooting pain, like electricity. It can also burn like fire or tingle much like the feeling when your leg "goes to sleep." The pain can range from slightly annoying to totally unbearable. Some people have pain in one part of the leg and numbness in another part of the same leg.