Sciatica Symptoms

Although the nerve is irritated just as it leaves the spinal cord it is unusual to feel sciatica symptoms in the back. Usually the pain is felt along the ‘distribution’ of the nerve or in other words in the area that the nerve supplies. This means that sciatica is often felt as leg pain.

Sciatica and Leg Pain

Where the leg pain is felt depends on which nerve root has been irritated. It is possible to have a reasonable guess at this by looking at something called a dermatome chart (see below). This chart gives us an approximation of where the pain is normally felt when a specific nerve is irritated.

Dermatome Chart Showing the Distribution of Different Nerve Pains

If the nerve is irritated enough it can also lead to changes in the way your legs feel and how strong they are. These changes are called ‘neurological changes’. In severe cases of sciatica you may feel:

numbness and pins and needles in a part of your leg or foot.
weakness, often when walking, pushing the toe off can be a bit difficult, or foot drop may be noticed.
your reflexes may be altered, they are often reduced but sometimes completely lost.

You may not notice this until you are checked by a doctor or physical therapist. The most common nerves to be irritated in the lower back are the 4th and 5th Lumbar nerves. The body chart below shows where the pain is felt with these nerves.The image on the right shows an irritation of L5, the image on the left shows L4.

Nerve Root Irritation - Sciatica

sciatica nerve pain