Have you ever had a literal pain in the butt that continued all the way down your leg? Have you ever felt like someone was sticking a hot poker into your leg? If you have answered yes to either or both of these questions, you have probably suffered from sciatic nerve pain, commonly referred to as sciatica.
The sciatic nerve (commonly misspelled cyatic nerve or siatic nerve) is the largest nerve in your body, which starts in the low back and travels all the way down your legs to the bottom of your feet. It controls nearly everything within your legs — from the large hamstring and quadriceps muscles in your upper legs to the smallest blood vessels in the bottom of your feet.
Sciatica comes from a pinched sciatic nerve (or at the least an irritated sciatic nerve problem) which can happen several different ways. Frequently sciatic nerve pain is a result of the joints in your lower spine being misaligned and putting pressure or stretching on the nerve roots as they come off from your spine. Siatica can also occur due to spasm of your piriformis muscle in the buttock, which passes over your sciatica nerve as it travels through the pelvis near the hip out to the back of your leg.
Now that you know what is causing that pain in your rear and/or leg, what can you do about it?
Sciatic nerve pain relief is possible through non-invasive means and can sometimes even occur through methods and products utilized at home. Chiropractic care is efficient at correcting misalignment in the spine and thereby reducing the pinched nerve commonly associated with sciatic nerve damage. You can also achieve sciatic nerve treatment through physical therapy which will reduce spasm in the muscles associated with your sciatic nerve problem.
As pinching of the sciatic nerve can occur in several different locations, not every case responds to the same sciatica treatment. In addition to professional health care, you may need to get proper lumbar support by means of lumbar cushions, seat wedges and seat support. Pain relief gels and stretching can help reduce muscle spasms which may be producing sciatica symptoms. Be sure to read 10 Tips to Relieve Sciatic Nerve Pain and also check out the products to the right to see how they can help you on the road to recovery from your pinched nerve symptoms.
