Sciatic is a nerve. The nerve emerges from L4-L5 and L5-S1 nerve roots (mainly). The other counter part of the sciatic nerve is Femoral Nerve which supplies to the front of the leg. Contrary to this Sciatic nerve supplies to the back side. When there is some compression on the nerve roots of Sciatica (L4 and L5 nerve roots), the pain travels across the whole area – where nerve supply goes or pain might be confined to some small area. This pain, is notorious one, among neural pains. This is what we all know as- Sciatica! Therefore pain in sciatic nerve is- sciatica. Here we are discussing what makes sciatica worse?
Before we talk about the what makes sciatica worse, we need to discuss what sciatica is!! Here we go….
Sciatica: Pain in Sciatic Nerve
In initial stage, the pain is quite severe in the lower back. These episodes of pain maybe once a month or so and slowly it becomes more frequent. Pain starts radiating in the lower back that extends down the thigh and sometimes into the knee, calf and ankle. The pain is generally more intense on the left side. The pain is different as it doesn’t feel like a muscular pain but like a bone pain that grows by time.
No doubt, sciatic nerve problems are frustrating. There are many reasons that make the pain worse. Some reasons like bone spurs and herniated discs that place pressure on the sciatic nerve causing it to become inflamed and irritated. Apart from this, our everyday activity is also responsible for aggravating the sciatic nerve pain.
What Makes Sciatica Worse?
The primary thing that makes sciatica intensify is sitting for long periods of time. Sitting can increase the stress put on the lower back and can pinch the sciatic nerve. Especially at workplace we often keep seated for a long duration of time in one posture and mostly sit with a curvy back. While sitting, a person is continually holding his head at an uneasy or incorrect angle watching TV or looking at a computer screen.
This can influence a person’s posture and result in to the pain of sciatica. This can also cause a misplacement of the upper neck vertebrae that the body must balance out by twisting in an uneven way, once again exasperating the sciatic nerve. Similarly, prolonged standing can also give rise to sciatica. Standing for a long time may build up fluids in the veins of your legs. You may feel burning or cramping sensation later.
Besides this, a desk-bound lifestyle is accountable for a number of other serious health conditions, such as:
- High blood pressure
- Raised Blood Sugar levels
- Grossly fat or overweight
- Cardiovascular disease
These are few of the conditions what makes sciatica worse. We can work on these conditions. But these are certain conditions what makes sciatica worse, like –
- Weather condition
- The diet what you eat
- Age of Patient
- The place where you live
We will be discussing about these all factors one by one in our blog, as the discussion will continue. This is a brief account of the causes- what makes sciatica worse!!