Sciatica Specialist

What is sciatica?

Sciatica is a term describing a wide range of symptoms that develop when your sciatic nerve becomes irritated and inflamed.

You have two sciatic nerves, one on each side of your body. They begin near your lower spine, run through your buttocks, down into your legs, and end in your feet. As the largest single nerves in your body, they connect your feet and legs to your spinal cord.

When you have sciatica, it’s common to have symptoms that radiate along your sciatic nerve from your lower back into your buttocks, hips, and legs. These symptoms can be burning, sharp, or electric, and you can also experience numbness, tingling, and weakness in the affected leg.

Sciatica symptoms can vary in severity and only affect one side of your body. It’s also common for them to become worse if you cough, sneeze, or sit for a long time.

What causes sciatica?

Sciatica is often due to a spinal issue, like herniated discs, bone spurs, or spinal stenosis. Each of these conditions can put unwanted pressure on your sciatic nerve, leading to inflammation.

Your chances of having sciatica are higher if you:

• Have a sedentary lifestyle or sit for extended periods
• Are overweight or obese
• Develop nerve damage from health problems like diabetes

It’s also possible to aggravate your sciatic nerve or trigger sciatica symptoms if you do a lot of heavy lifting, back twisting, or driving.

Without treatment, sciatica can cause permanent nerve damage.

How do you treat sciatica?

As an interventional pain specialist, Dr. Khoury treats sciatica by addressing the cause of your symptoms. After performing a comprehensive physical exam to diagnose your condition, he develops a personalized approach to relieving your symptoms.

Common sciatica treatments include:

• Hot and cold compress therapy
• Physical therapy designed to help improve the health of your spine and back muscles
• Weight management techniques, like diet and exercise
• Joint, nerve, or spine injections
• Piriformis muscle injection

In some cases, Dr. Khoury may also perform an epidural steroid injection to target the specific nerve root causing the symptoms radiating into your legs.

In the event that symptoms do not improve over time, Dr. Khoury may recommend surgical evaluation. In patients with post-laminectomy syndrome, a spinal cord stimulator may be recommended.

To learn more about sciatica, call Advanced Spine and Pain Specialists, or schedule an appointment online today.