Sciatica Back Pain - Definition, Causes and Symptoms of Sciatica Back Pain

The sciatic nerve, which is the longest nerve in our bodies is located in the lower back, travels through the hips and buttocks and continues down the leg.

Sciatica back pain is a symptom (pain is a symptom - very real, but still a symptom) that is caused by irritation or pressure on one of the five nerve roots or on the sciatic nerve itself. The pain can be very severe, limiting mobility (it can in fact be very painful to walk) and therefore affecting your activity. There can be levels of pain, form moderate to severe, but as with all pain it is difficult to clearly identify. Pain varies as does tolerance to pain.

The pain can be felt along the sciatic nerve (hips, buttocks, upper or lower leg) and also there can feeling of numbness and weakness of the muscle. Many times the pain is felt in the lower back but it can also be reflected along the back of the thighs or knees and downwards.

As mentioned above sciatica back pain is a symptom of something affecting the sciatic nerve and causing pain or numbness.

The actual cause of the sciatica can be different things and therefore the treatment will depend on the cause. A diagnosis is important as the treatment will be defined on the basis of the cause.

Some causes for Sciatica Back Pain, are:

Spinal disc hernia directly pressing on one of the nerve roots. This is the most common cause. The pressure on the sciatic nerve is the cause of the pain.

Reasons of a spinal nature that compress the sciatic nerve.

Over the last few years there is more awareness of what has been termed "self afflicted" cause, which basically refers to habits. For example sitting on a wallet, or workmen with tool belts with badly distributed weight, causing misalignment.

Self afflicted causes can be work related or as a result of bad habits. In short what happens is that the sciatic nerve is pressed upon. If after a long car trip in which you have your wallet in your back pocket, or after a long session sitting down, you feel numbness behind the knee, it is very possible you have been pressing on your sciatic nerve.