Pinched Sciatic Nerve Symptoms
Only about 5% of people with lower back problems will have pinched sciatic nerve symptoms. Most people will have non-specific lower back pain. Don’t automatically assume that because you have pain in your back or buttock that it is sciatic nerve pain. Read more about the cause of lower back pain.
What are pinched sciatic nerve symptoms?
In summary, the symptoms of a pinched sciatic nerve may include some or all of these symptoms:
- Pain – most often in the leg and buttock, sometimes in the foot, not always in the lower back.
- Altered sensation such as pins and needles and numbness in the leg or foot.
- A feeling of weakness in the leg or foot.
Sciatica symptoms vary depending on which nerve root is irritated and by how much. The level which has bulged determines where the pain will be felt. The diagram below shows the two most common areas that are affected. These are the last 5th Lumbar and 1st sacral nerve root, also called level L5/S1 (shown on the right) and also the level above at the junction of the 4th and 5th Lumbar vertebrae, this one is refereed to as L4/5 (shown on the left)
Sciatic nerve pain is generally felt in the buttock, thigh and calf. Sometimes the symptoms will also be felt in the foot.
It is not at all uncommon for someone with pinched sciatic nerve symptoms to have no lower back pain at all.
Sometimes, if the nerve is very affected it can interfere with how it works. When I am assessing someone that I think might have sciatic nerve pain I look to see if the things that the nerve controls are affected at all. I do this by checking the different functions of the nerve.
Sensation
Often the person will complain of having pins and needles or numbness in the leg or foot. Testing light touch and pinprick sensation sometimes shows a difference between sides.
Power
The nerve controls the nerve impulses to the muscles in the hip and legs. If the lower nerve roots are affected sometimes power is lost. If this is severe the person will complain of foot drop type symptoms or weakness in the leg.
Reflexes
This needs to be tested with a reflex hammer. The one at the knee tests the L3 reflex and as I have said it is usually the lower levels that are affected. Consequently this one is usually OK. However, the reflex at the ankle is the S1 reflex and this one is often affected. Symptoms may include a complete loss of the reflex or sometimes it is just diminished.
Occasionally a disc bulge is very severe and actually presses on the lower part of the spinal cord – the cauda equina. Read more about the symptoms of this severe lower back pain problem and make sure if you have any of them that you talk straight away to a medical professional.
If you have buttock pain also look at these sections on piriformis syndrome and sacroiliac joint dysfunction
Read more about pinched sciatic nerve symptoms
Lower Back Pain Toolkit Home Page
14-Sep-2009
