What Causes Sciatica?

In this video, Dr. Rowe (chiropractor in St. Joseph, MI) gives a breakdown of what causes sciatica, including 3 main CAUSES of SCIATICA and what SYMPTOMS to look for to help figure out what might be causing your sciatic nerve pain.

 Hi everyone, Dr Rowe here at SpineCare Decompression and Chiropractic Center in St. Joseph, MI. Alright, let’s begin with the most common cause of sciatica, which is a lumbar herniated disc, or a bulging disc.

[see above video for animated explanation of a lumbar herniated disc]

Patients that I see in the office with disc herniations tend to have a lot of pain when they bend forward from the waist, or having to lift something from the floor, cough, or sneeze.  

A second cause of sciatica pain is due to piriformis syndrome. We tend to call this ‘pseudo-sciatica’ since true sciatica comes from a pinched nerve in the low back. However, people suffering from piriformis syndrome will still feel sciatica symptoms such as pain, tingling, or numbness in the back of the thigh, calf, or foot. So let’s take a look at what causes it. 

The piriformis is a small muscle that lies deep to the glutes or buttocks, and the sciatic nerve runs right below this muscle. In this image you can see the piriformis muscle starts at the base of the spine at the sacrum (that funny looking bone with the tiny holes) and attaches towards the thigh bone. What this muscle does is it helps with rotating the hip and turning the leg and foot outward. 

Since the sciatic nerve runs deep to the piriformis muscle, you can imagine it getting sandwiched and pinched by the swelling of this muscle due to an injury or spasm. This is very common with runners and overuse injuries.

Patients I see with piriformis syndrome are going to have more pain while they sit, since it tightens the muscle and puts pressure on the sciatic nerve. Having pain during activities such as sitting, running, or walking for a long time are also very common.  

The third main cause of sciatica pain is spinal stenosis, which is when the holes where the spinal nerves travel begin to narrow and become closed off. Think of canal where a spinal nerve travels through that is becoming smaller and smaller, until it’s so small it starts to pinch the sciatic nerve and cause shooting​ pains down the leg. Spinal Stenosis is more common in people over the age of 50, due to wear and tear on the spine, leading to the build-up of osteoarthritis and bone spurs.

People that suffer from spinal stenosis have pain when standing up straight, especially after sitting for a long time. Standing and walking for long periods of time also tend to cause a lot of pain. Generally, I notice patients having to lean forward when they walk because it’s too painful to stand up straight.

And that's what causes sciatica. I hope you enjoyed this video and it helped you understand a bit more about how sciatica starts. It’s very important that you know what’s causing your sciatica pain, because it will help give you the correct treatment plan to follow.  

At SpineCare Decompression and Chiropractic Center in St. Joseph, MI, I’ve been able to help a lot of people find relief from low back and sciatica pain. The majority of my patients are sciatica suffers, and I have a lot of experience treating it.

So If you, or someone you know, has been suffering from low back or sciatica pain and need help, don’t hesitate to contact us. We offer modern and effective treatment options that could get you on the road to recovery, today.

If you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them below. Thanks for watching!

Chiropractor in St. Joseph MI — Dr. Michael Rowe

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