What Are the Causes of Sciatic Nerve Pain in the Lower Back?

If you’re unfamiliar with sciatic nerve pain, this refers to pain that runs along your sciatic nerve from your lower back through your hips and into your thighs. Typically, sciatic nerve pain affects only one of your legs, but in rare cases, it can affect both.

Sciatic lower back pain is usually sharp and burning, but it can be dull and achy too. Mild cases of sciatica can occur if your nerve gets pinched or is irritated. This kind of pain goes away after a short time. However, you can experience chronic pain related to sciatica if your nerve is compressed and irritated for long periods of time.

Common causes of pain to the sciatic nerve in your lower back

You can irritate your sciatic nerve with poor posture or by sitting for prolonged periods of time. In these cases, the pain tends to go away with a little time and correction to your posture.

In more severe cases of sciatica, the cause may be related to one of the following:

• Herniated disc — A herniated disc happens when the padding between the discs in your spinal columns leaks fluid that causes irritation and pain to the sciatic nerve running through the spine.
• Spinal stenosis — Stenosis is the narrowing of the spinal column. This is common among seniors over the age of 60. When stenosis affects your lower back, it puts pressure on your sciatic nerve, which causes pain.
• Spondylolisthesis — Spondylolisthesis is the slipping of one vertebra over another. This condition usually occurs as the result of a small fracture. When one of your vertebrae slips, it can pinch your sciatic nerve, causing sciatic nerve pain.
• Pregnancy — The many changes that your body goes through during pregnancy, such as weight changes and hormone changes can put pressure on your sciatic nerve.

If your sciatic nerve pain is severe or lasts longer than a few days, you should seek professional assistance. Ignoring this pain may result in the development of a more severe condition or permanent disability.

Treating sciatica lower back pain with physical therapy

At Advent Physical Therapy, we specialize in working closely with patients to develop nonsurgical solutions to lower back pain related to sciatica. Your physical therapist will assist you in stretching and strengthening the muscles and ligaments around your spine to help reduce pressure off of the sciatic nerve.

Are you ready to get assistance with treating your sciatica pain? Contact Advent Physical Therapy today to schedule an appointment with one of our physical therapists.