The sciatic nerve is the largest in the human body. It originates in the lumbar region and divides into small nerves, going down. With inflammation of the nerve, pain can occur in the buttock, lumbosacral region, lower leg, foot. Correct installation of the cause of the disease will allow a qualified neurologist to alleviate the patient’s condition and prevent relapse in the future.
Inflammation of the sciatic nerve: causes of sciatica
The most common cause of sciatica (inflammation of the sciatic nerve) is a pathological process concentrated in the sacral and lumbar spine.
Inflammation can be caused by:
- complicated osteochondrosis;
- inflammatory diseases of the joints;
- spinal injuries;
- hypothermia;
- changes in the intervertebral disc;
- intervertebral hernia;
- various infections;
- heavy exercise;
- diabetes;
- the formation of bone growths at the level of the vertebral bodies.
The main symptom of the disease is unbearable sharp pain that occurs during physical exertion (for example, when lifting and carrying weights, digging the ground) and aggravated by stretching or spasms of the muscles of the lumbosacral region. In some cases, it is required to treat inflammation of the nerve for people who have neoplasms in the area of the nerve passage or localized in the small pelvis. Pain usually appears after a few hours. When inflammation develops against the background of osteochondrosis, any careless movement can provoke an exacerbation of the disease.
Sciatica pain spreads along the direction of the nerve branches. The patient complains of discomfort in the region of the sacrum, thigh, lower leg, foot. The defeat of the sensory fibers causes numbness of the skin, damage to the motor fibers leads to muscle weakness and atrophy of the muscles innervated by the sciatic nerve. Therefore, having found signs of the disease, it is necessary to immediately start treating the inflammation of the nerve and examine the patient in depth.
To clarify the diagnosis, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive examination of the patient, including:
- methods of biochemical and clinical diagnostics;
- examination by a neurologist, vascular surgeon and rheumatologist;
- X-ray images of the spine in different projections;
- tomographic studies.
The treatment program must include physiotherapy, medication, exercise therapy. It should be noted that in each specific case, a set of procedures is assigned individually.
One of the main components of treatment is the creation of a therapeutic and protective regime: until the pain syndrome is completely eliminated, as well as the condition improves, it is necessary to observe bed rest (the patient should be on a hard bed). Movements should be limited until the vivid signs of the disease fade away.
Sciatica medication is very similar to sciatica therapy. The program provides for the systemic administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in combination with vitamin complexes. At the same time, the duration of the course of treatment should not be unreasonably delayed.
Since the composition of most ointments that help to reduce the severity of pain, poisonous substances (snake, bee venom), they should be applied only to intact skin of the lumbosacral region
Patients who are prescribed physiotherapy, as a rule, recover faster than with a complete rejection of the use of phonophoresis, electrophoresis, compresses and warming up. During the majority of physiotherapy, drugs are injected into the body to help speed up the recovery of injured nerve fibers – antispasmodics, vitamins, muscle relaxants. In this case, the effectiveness of treatment increases many times over, and the dose of drugs entering the body turns out to be less than with a single drug treatment.
When, as a result of the examination, the exact cause of the inflammation is established, it is possible to prescribe physiotherapy exercises. It is important to remember that a set of exercises is selected individually for each patient. In the first days after the onset of inflammation, the range of motion should be minimized, all exercises should be performed in bed, in a horizontal position.
Inflammation of the sciatic nerve
As the patient’s condition improves, the range of motion in the lumbosacral region may gradually increase. In some cases, exercises in the pool are indicated. It should be remembered that motor activity is contraindicated for the patient until the connection between nerve inflammation and pathology of the intervertebral discs is revealed.
Surgical intervention on the sciatic nerve is required in cases where the disease, in addition to persistent pain syndrome, is accompanied by a severe disorder of the functions of the pelvic organs.
It was found that when detecting the pathology of intervertebral discs, the most effective is microsurgical intervention performed with the use of fiber-optic instruments and equipment.
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