Contrary to popular belief, sciatica is not an independent disease. By and large, is nothing more than a radicular pain syndrome. The most common sciatica – lumbar, treating it a little different from the standard for all diseases of the spine scheme, but there are a number of nuances associated with the specifics of the lumbar spine.
But the peculiarity is that this section of the spine experiences the maximum load as close to the center of gravity of the body. At the same time, this Department should be sufficiently movable to provide the degree of freedom of movement.
It should be noted that the human spine is perfectly copes with its tasks, but the emergence of various diseases are able to quickly break the “habitual way” of the work of the lumbar spine.
What causes sciatica?
Consensus about the cause of this disease has not been a long time, do not have it now. At first it was thought that the cause is unexplained inflammation of the nerve root, then the entire guilt “piled up” of herniated discs, and now it is believed that the reason is the damage to the spine, or rather in its various diseases.
So now the most common causes in the human sciatica are diseases such as osteochondrosis, deforming spondylosis, intervertebral hernia and various degenerative-dystrophic processes in the spine. The development of the disease may be a complication of some diseases such as cerebrospinal meningitis, syphilis, influenza, brucellosis, rheumatism and tuberculosis.
In other words, the number of possible causes is large enough and not always the cause of sciatica obvious.
Symptoms of sciatica in the lumbar
As we have said, sciatica in the lumbar Department – a very common phenomenon. Generally, this pain syndrome can manifest as sciatica, lumbago or sciatica. In any case, we are dealing with a serious pain that can limit mobility in the lumbar spine. But let’s see more.
In the General case, we can distinguish three groups of symptoms of sciatica.
This:
- pain. The pain may be of different duration and intensity and of a different nature. It is the pain that makes it clear that there is an effect on the nerve fibers;
- violations of sensitivity. The compression of the nerve roots often leads to the appearance of different neurological symptoms due to violation of the passage of nerve impulses. As a result, the feet can appear burning or tingling, feeling of pins and needles or numbness;
- weakness of the muscles. The reason is the same compression of the neural canal is interrupted by the arrival of nerve impulses, causing impaired muscle performance.
Also, there are three main pain, which occur with sciatica. This:
- backache or lumbago. Is a sharp pain in the lower back, which in most cases occurs after sudden physical exertion, or caused by hypothermia. The duration of the attack can be different – from several minutes to days. The most common causes of the occurrence of such pain is muscle spasm, displacement of the vertebrae or intervertebral hernia;
- sciatica. A distinctive feature of this pain syndrome is that the pain is localized slightly below the waist, most commonly in the buttocks. However, it can spread throughout the leg down to the foot. Often accompanied by muscle weakness. The pain in this case usually shooting, it is something like an electric shock;
- sciatica – kind pain syndrome that combines the symptoms of the two syndromes described above. Usually the pain is localized in the lower back and radiates to the leg. In most cases, this burning aching pain.
Drug treatment of the disease
It is possible to allocate two basic stages of treatment of this disease. In the first stage the task of the physician is to eliminate pain in this widely used a variety of medicines, which should ease the pain and speed up recovery. Therefore, this stage is also called medication.
So, what drugs are used in the diagnosis of “lumbar radiculitis”? First and foremost, it is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They effectively remove the pain by removing inflammation and swelling in the affected area of the spine. But it should be noted that the deadline for the adoption of such drugs is limited due to the fact that they affect the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, the physician must weigh the potential benefits and possible negative consequences.
Treatment of lumbar sciatica is never quick because of the nature of this spine. Because often, the use of anti-inflammatory drugs is often limited, can be used painkillers. Severe pain used in the form of “blockades”, alkalifa the affected area. This method rapidly relieves pain but is not a treatment, no in this situation, pain is simply the effect of the drug, and not a sign of recovery.
If necessary, the doctor may prescribe other drugs, such as muscle relaxants, which are necessary to relieve spasm of the muscles.
What to do when the pain has receded?
The disappearance of pain is not recovery. It is necessary to ascertain the reason of their occurrence and according to it, prescribe treatment. Because the causes may be different, and the treatment may vary drastically. For example, in some instances, continued use of chondroprotectors and others have enough b vitamins.
You can only select such therapies as massage and physiotherapy, which are used in almost every case. These methods lead to the optimal condition the muscles and the ligaments of the back, thereby prevented the development of diseases of the back and develops joint mobility.
Separately want to mention the treatment of lumbar sciatica with traditional methods. Note that almost all these methods are somehow based on warming of the affected area of the back. In principle, this allows to improve blood circulation and reduce pain. But, seriously speaking, this is not a complete treatment, but just trying to eliminate the pain, and not too effective. So it is better to seek help from professionals, and not rely on “miracle” methods.
