Causes of sciatica during early pregnancy

Nowadays, many people suffer from sciatica, especially middle-aged and elderly people, but some young people also have this condition. However, most of them are caused by sitting in the office without exercise and being busy with work. Today I will introduce to you the basic symptoms and treatment methods of sciatica. Let’s take a look at it together.

Sciatica is a syndrome characterized by pain along the sciatic nerve pathway and distribution area. The vast majority of sciatica cases are secondary to lesions in the local sciatic nerve and surrounding structures that cause stimulation, compression and damage to the sciatic nerve, which is called secondary sciatica; a few are primary, namely sciatica.

1. General symptoms

(1) The pain is mainly limited to the sciatic nerve distribution area, the posterior thigh, the posterior and lateral calf, and the foot. Patients with severe pain may adopt a unique posture: bending their waist, bending their knees, and standing on their toes. If the lesion is located at the nerve root, the pain will worsen when the pressure in the spinal canal increases (coughing, exerting force).

(2) The degree of muscle weakness can vary greatly depending on the cause, location of the lesion, and the extent of the damage. The muscles innervated by the sciatic nerve may be completely or partially weak or paralyzed.

(3) There may or may not be tenderness over the sciatic nerve trunk at the sciatic notch.

(4) There is a sciatic nerve traction sign, positive Lasegue sign and its equivalent sign. The presence of this sign is often parallel to the severity of pain. This symptom may disappear after local anesthesia of the sciatic nerve root or nerve trunk.

(5) The Achilles tendon reflex decreases or disappears, and the knee reflex may increase due to stimulation.

(6) There may be a decrease or disappearance of various sensations in the area innervated by the sciatic nerve, including a decrease in vibration sensation at the lateral ankle, or there may be very mild sensory impairment.

2. Sciatica

It is often accompanied by various types of infections and systemic diseases, such as upper respiratory tract infections. Because the sciatic nerve is relatively superficial, sciatica is prone to occur when exposed to moisture or cold. When sciatica occurs due to systemic diseases, attention should be paid to the presence of complications such as collagen disease and diabetes.

Most cases of sciatica are unilateral and not accompanied by waist or back pain. The pain is generally continuous but can also be paroxysmal. Symptoms worsen when spinal canal pressure increases and can also radiate along the sciatic nerve. There is obvious tenderness in the sciatic nerve trunk and gastrocnemius tenderness. The pain and muscle weakness are often not parallel. The pain is generally severe, while the muscle weakness is often not obvious. In the acute phase, it is difficult to judge motor function due to pain. Foot drop and atrophy of the gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscles may be detected. The Achilles tendon reflex is reduced or absent, but the Achilles tendon reflex may also be normal. The knee reflex is normal, and superficial sensory impairment is obvious.

treat

First of all, the cause should be treated, and attention should be paid to symptomatic treatment. All sciatica patients should rest in bed on a hard bed. Use vitamin B drugs and pain relief treatment, and do not use physical treatment until the cause is determined.

The above are some symptoms and treatments of sciatica introduced by professionals, so we should pay more attention to our living habits and not sit all the time, which is most likely to cause sciatica. You can exercise more often and don’t sit there all the time to keep in good shape. Finally, I hope all patients recover soon.