Sciatica is one of those conditions that people often throw around when talking about back pain—but it’s far more specific and complex than that. It’s not a diagnosis in itself, but rather a set of symptoms caused by irritation or compression of the sciatic nerve, the longest nerve in the human body.
If you’ve ever felt a sharp pain shooting from your lower back down to your leg, you may already be familiar with sciatica. But what exactly does it feel like? And how do you know if that pain in your back is really sciatica or something else?
Let’s break down the symptoms in detail.
🧠 What Is Sciatica? A Quick Overview
The sciatic nerve runs from your lower back, through your hips and buttocks, and down each leg. When this nerve gets pinched, inflamed, or compressed—often due to a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, or bone spurs—you’ll experience sciatica.
The symptoms vary from person to person, depending on the cause and severity of the nerve compression.
⚠️ Common Symptoms of Sciatica
1. Pain That Radiates Down One Leg
This is the hallmark of sciatica. Unlike general back pain, sciatica usually affects only one side of the body. The pain starts in the lower back or buttock and travels down the back of the thigh and into the calf or foot.
🔹 The pain can feel sharp, burning, or electric-like.
🔹 It may worsen with movement, coughing, or prolonged sitting.
2. Numbness or Tingling
Many people with sciatica report pins and needles or numbness along the path of the sciatic nerve. This often accompanies the radiating pain and can affect the buttock, thigh, leg, or foot.
3. Muscle Weakness
When nerve compression is more severe, the muscles controlled by that nerve can weaken. You might notice:
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