Recognizing Sciatica Symptoms

You are hanging up clothes on the line one day feeling fit as a fiddle and then you bend down and pick up a tee shirt to hang and when you try to straighten up again you feel a shooting pain from your buttock down the back of your thigh.

The pain is so sharp it takes your breath away and for a moment or longer you can’t even move. Or perhaps, you are simply sitting in a chair watching television and suddenly it feels like your entire leg went to sleep. Either of these happenings could be Sciatica symptoms.

Sciatica symptoms can range in intensity, amount and kind from person to person and even present themselves differently to the same person at different times on different days. Just as there are so many Sciatica causes so too are there many different Sciatica symptoms. One person may only suffer from one or two Sciatica symptoms while another may experience the entire range of symptoms at one time or another. One thing is sure, none of the symptoms are pleasant and they all indicate that you should seek medical advice.

Recognizing Sciatica Symptoms
Here are some of the symptoms you may experience. Keep in mind while these symptoms usually present themselves on one side of the body or the other there have been instances where the symptoms have presented themselves first on one side then the other and even on both sides at once. While unusual, don’t rule out Sciatica simply because you feel pain or numbness in both legs at the same time.

Here are the symptoms you may experience.
Lower back pain and swelling. This often occurs along with other symptoms and the pain in the back is usually less severe than the pain you are experiencing in your buttocks, thigh, or leg region.

Pain in your buttocks or legs. This is often worse when sitting or after sitting when you attempt to stand. Often times, the pain will begin in your buttocks and travel down your leg eventually into the foot area. This pain can be either a burning pain or stabbing pain or something somewhere in between.
Tingling or pin and needle sensation in your foot, legs, buttocks and sometimes your hips. Your feeling is often like when your hand or foot fall asleep and then you remove the pressure on it and blood begins rushing back to the area.

Weak feeling in your legs, as though they may not hold you up. This feeling may be strongest when you stand up after you have been sitting for a period of time. It can also just occur suddenly taking you by surprise.

Sudden  difficulty in moving your leg or foot. This may be accompanied either by a feeling of numbness or pain. In some people symptoms may first appear as a pain behind the knees.

These Sciatica symptoms may be intermittent (meaning they come and go) or they may be constant affecting your ability to work, sit, stand, and even sleep. Some people find Sciatica pain unpleasant but bearable and others find the pain so intense that they want to scream or cry. It is going to be different with everyone.

Keep in mind that even if your Sciatica symptoms are intermittent and aren’t occurring very often that the longer you wait to find out the cause of these symptoms and get treatment the more severe they will become over time. The sooner you get a diagnosis the sooner that treatment can begin and the pain and other symptoms can be dealt with.

If you can’t immediately get to a doctor and the pain seems unbearable there are some things you can do to ease some of the symptoms temporarily until you can seek medical care. Placing hot and cold packs in rotation on the affected area will help reduce swelling, help get the blood circulating to the area and relieve some of the pain.

Avoid twisting, turning, heavy lifting and other things that irritate the nerve and make the symptoms worse. When sitting avoid sitting on a hard chair and keep your lower back supported. When standing stand with your feet straight your shoulders back and your buttocks tucked in to keep your spine in alignment.

However, keep in mind that these are only temporary measures and that even if the pain has lessened you still need to seek medical help and discover the cause of your Sciatica symptoms and get the proper treatment for what is causing these symptoms.