Sciatica

The Sciatica (or sciatic syndrome ) refers to pain in one part of the supply area of the sciatic nerve, but strictly speaking it is the site of a lumbar nerve root (almost always L5 or S1, where L5 the fifth and last lumbar or lumbar and S1 the underlying sacred or sacral vertebrae called ).

Lumbago, the usual ' lumbago ', on the other hand is a pure back pain without radiation to the legs. A combination of lumbago and sciatica is referred to as sciatica.

Cause

The sciatica is most commonly caused by compression of the nerve root, for example, by completely stepping out ( prolapse ) of disc tissue ( herniated disc ) with progressive wearing down ( degeneration) of the intervertebral disc. Also bony outgrowths on the vertebral bodies ( spondylophytes ) as a result of osteochondrosis can irritate the nerve roots and thus lead to sciatica. Likewise, the piriformis syndrome, but also expansive tumors or herpes zoster can cause along the nerve pathways to similar symptoms.