Sciatica

What is Sciatica

Sciatica (pronounced sigh-at-ih-kah) is not a medical diagnosis in and of itself—it is a symptom of an underlying medical condition, such as a lumbar herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, or spinal stenosis.

Sciatica symptoms occur when the large sciatic nerve is irritated or compressed in the lumbar spine. The sciatic nerve is the largest single nerve in the body and is composed of individual nerve roots that start by branching out from the spine in the lower back and combine to form the "sciatic nerve." The specific sciatica symptoms - the leg pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, and possibly symptoms that radiate into the foot - largely depend on where the nerve is pinched. For example, a lumbar segment 5 (L5) nerve impingement can cause weakness in extension of the big toe and potentially in the ankle.