Pain extending from your lower back down one leg might be sciatica. If these symptoms sound familiar, visit Asher C. Goldstein, MD, and his team of pain specialists at Zephyr Medical in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. They offer the highest quality, personalized services to every patient. You receive a detailed diagnosis and access to the best available treatments for your sciatica. Call Zephyr Medical today or book a consultation online to learn more about their exceptional standards of care.

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What is sciatica?

Sciatica is a back disorder that develops when something presses on or damages the large sciatic nerve. This nerve travels from your lower (lumbar) spine into your pelvis, dividing into two branches, one going down each leg to your foot.

Pressure on the sciatic nerve causes lower back pain that extends into the buttocks and hips. Most patients find their pain travels along the path of one of the nerve branches down one leg. Very often, the leg pain is worse than the lower back pain.

In addition to pain, you can experience:

  • Numbness
  • Tingling
  • Burning
  • Prickling
  • Pins-and-needles sensations
  • Weakness
  • Loss of function

Sciatica pain tends to be sharp, like an electric shock. A sneeze or cough often causes a stabbing pain down your leg

What causes sciatica?

The nerve damage or compression responsible for sciatica can have several causes. Among the most common is a herniated disc. Spinal discs sit between the vertebrae (bones) that form your spinal column. They provide your spine with cushioning and stability.

Inside each disc is a jellylike substance. If something damages the tough outer shell, the jelly can push through into the spinal canal and press on the sciatic nerve.

Arthritic changes to the bones can also cause nerve compression. Arthritis sometimes triggers the growth of bone spurs, bony projections can damage the sciatic nerve.

You can develop spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal) from a herniated disc or arthritis. Thickened ligaments and misalignments in the vertebrae can also cause spinal stenosis, resulting in sciatica.

How is sciatica treated?

The Zephyr Medical team assesses your sciatica and its cause before preparing your personalized treatment plan.

Physical therapy, adjusting your activities, and anti-inflammatory medication are often all you need to treat sciatica.

Patients with more severe pain or whose initial treatment is unsuccessful might benefit from epidural steroid injections. These injections contain an anesthetic and a steroid to reduce inflammation and pain when oral medication isn’t powerful enough.

Zephyr Medical also offers advanced treatments for the root causes of sciatica. One of these is lumbar disc gel sublimation — injections into the disc that shrink it, relieving nerve pressure. Another is minimally invasive lumbar decompression (mild®), which involves removing thickened ligaments.

Call Zephyr Medical today or book an appointment online to find the most effective sciatica treatments delivered with the utmost expertise and compassion.