Sciatic nerve pain is a condition of pain or numbness that is caused by the irritation of the Sciatic nerve, the major nerve in the body. The causes of this irritation vary a lot and this variation brings about different types of Sciatic nerve pain. Different people’s physiologies may also cause the varying types of the medical condition. Of the different types, some are serious medical cases while others are just mild conditions of pain and numbness that can fade away after some time without any medical attention.
Although there are different types of the condition, most symptoms are common. This commonality in symptoms sometimes makes it difficult to draw a line between ne type of Sciatic nerve pain and the other. Medical practitioners are the only people who can accurately differentiate the types. To many Sciatic nerve pain is one whole condition without any divisions in form of types.
The most common type of leg pain caused by problems of the Sciatic nerve has the following signs; It does not occur in both legs, it occurs in one. The pain or numbness affects a single leg only. Starts from the buttock and goes down the thigh, into the lower leg, and into the foot. You usually experience it as a sharp pain. As opposed to other forms, you experience a very sharp pain or a burning pain. The type is usually worse while standing and the pain goes away when you lie down or make short walks.
Another type of Sciatic nerve pain is the common sciatica. This form of nerve pain originates from a combination of side-tilt and swayback. This combination reduces the space through where the nerve passes and squeezes them.
Piriformis sciatic is another source of Sciatic nerve pain. Piriformis sciatic is rarer compared to common sciatica. It is an irritation in the sciatic nerve brought about by compression of within the lower back or buttocks by a muscle called Piriformis muscle hence the name Piriformis sciatic. The pain of this syndrome is accelerated by a contraction of the muscle, direct pressure applied to the muscle and prolonged sitting. Lower back pain is a common symptom of this form of sciatic nerve.
Another form occurs when the spinal disc has ruptured causing the pressure on the nerve root. This is the rarest form of sciatica and the most painful of all.