Sciatic Nerve Pain

Sciatic nerve pain (sciatica) usually affects the buttocks, hips, and legs, but the primary cause of pain typically starts in the lower back. The team of board-certified neurosurgeons at Coast Neurosurgical Associates in Long Beach, California, has significant expertise in diagnosing and treating sciatica. They’re also committed to creating a patient-focused treatment approach that successfully addresses your pain and restores your quality of life. Schedule an evaluation today by calling their office or requesting an appointment online.  

What is sciatic nerve pain?

The sciatic nerves are the longest in your body, exiting the spine in the lower back and traveling through the buttocks, hips, and down each leg. These nerves control movement and sensation in the lower extremities.

Sciatic nerve pain, commonly called sciatica, can occur in the lower back and anywhere along the nerve pathways, sometimes in just one area and sometimes traveling the entire length of the nerve.

Symptoms may affect the back, buttocks, hips, or legs and can include:

• Mild achy discomfort
• Sharp, burning pain
• Electric shock-like pain
• Numbness and tingling
• Muscle weakness 
• Decreased mobility
• Loss of bowel or bladder control

Sciatic nerve pain may worsen after prolonged sitting or with coughing or sneezing.

What causes sciatic nerve pain?

Various factors that affect your spine health and may lead to conditions conducive to sciatica include age, prolonged sitting, repetitive lifting or twisting, and excess weight.

Usually caused by pinching of the nerve as it exits the spine, sciatica may be related to:

• Herniated disc
• Spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal)
• Bone spurs (osteophytes)
• Traumatic injury
• Osteoarthritis
• A spinal tumor

Poorly controlled or long-term diabetes increases your risk of nerve damage and can also cause sciatica.

How do you treat sciatic nerve pain?

At Coast Neurosurgical Associates, treatment for sciatic nerve pain starts with a thorough review of your symptoms, a physical evaluation, and diagnostic studies to accurately identify the cause and level of nerve dysfunction.

Your specialist then develops a personalized treatment plan that may include activity modification, physical therapy, and oral anti-inflammatory or pain medication to soothe irritated nerves. You may also benefit from a corticosteroid injection in the area where the affected nerve exits the spine.

If conservative treatments fail to provide adequate symptom relief, your provider may recommend surgery to correct the condition impinging on the nerve, which is very often a minimally invasive procedure.

Minimally invasive surgery requires smaller incisions, resulting in less tissue trauma and generally offering quicker recovery and return to pain-free mobility. The surgeons at Coast Neurosurgical Associates use the most advanced technology available to ensure your procedure successfully relieves sciatic nerve pain.

Schedule an evaluation at Coast Neurosurgical Associates today. Call the office or request an appointment using their secure online service.