|2009-01-11|  Frequently Asked Question: My wife has been laid up for over a week now. I took her to both the emergency room and to our primary care physician last week. They say that she has sciatica and may have a herniated disc. She has severe pain in her lower buttock and thigh. She says that it feels like something is broken. They gave her pain meds and soma. She can not sit or stand up for very long. What can we expect? What are her treatment options?

Answer: Sciatica commonly refers to symptoms of pain, weakness, and numbness in the lower back, buttock, and/or various parts of the leg and foot. Sciatica has several causes; it may be caused by compression and/or irritation of one of the nerve roots that come out of the low back and form the sciatic nerve. Or it may be caused by compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve itself. The pain can be mild to severe. Other common causes of sciatica include a herniated lumbar disc, spinal stenosis, piriformis syndrome and pregnancy.

Common treatments for sciatica caused by a herniated disc include anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen or steroids, physical therapy, chiropractic care, lumbar epidural steroid injections and surgery. The good news is that these symptoms usually resolve with anti-inflammatory medications, time and physical therapy. For intractable pain or progressive pain and weakness, a minimally invasive outpatient surgery usually provides immediate relief with very low risk.

Submit questions to:

www.mybrainandspine.com/askthedoc

Michael K. Landi, MD, FACS
Brain and Spine Center

Chief of Neurosurgery
Kenmore Mercy Hospital