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Anatomy of the Sciatic Nerve

Someone you know may have complained about a condition known as sciatica, but what is it? To understand the condition, it’s helpful to know a bit about the anatomy of the sciatic nerve.

Sciatic Nerve

The sciatic nerve is the largest and longest nerve in the body. It begins at the base of the spinal cord and extends down the length of each leg to the toes on each foot. The sciatic nerve is really made up of five separate nerves that come together to form one large nerve that is as big around at one point as your thumb!

The sciatic nerves provide sensation and strength to the leg and connect the spinal cord with muscles in the thigh, lower leg, and feet. Muscle weakness or a tingling sensation in the legs can result when the sciatic nerve is compromised or compressed in some way.

An inflammation of the sciatic nerve or compression on the nerve can cause profound pain. This is the condition known as sciatica; symptoms of sciatica include a dull ache to moderate or even severe pain, shooting pains, numbness, or a tingling feeling in the legs. Individual symptoms and their severity can usually be traced back to where one of the five nerves originates in the lower back.

While treatment in the past may have included muscle relaxants, pain medicine and even surgery that had only a 60% success rate, chiropractic care has been shown to be quite effective in relieving the nerve interference and irritation that is causing the pain in the first place.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, and feel that sciatica may be the problem, please call our office to schedule an appointment. A thorough examination will determine whether or not you have sciatica and we can discuss what can be done to help.

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Dr. Chris Asks some important questions of interest to Anacortes residents - Chiropractor Anacortes Dr. Chris Asks...

What's the difference between sick care and health care?
Sick care is largely about relieving or suppressing symptoms. Health care is about improving performance. While sick care is about how you feel, health care is about how you function. Sick care is what you do to treat an obvious problem, and health care is what you do to avoid the problem and advance your well-being.
What's the difference between a "good" drug and a "bad" drug?
As a chiropractor, I see the use of many drugs (legal or illegal) as merely symptom treating. Worse, virtually every drug produces unwanted effects. The effects of chiropractic are largely positive effects. If you're a Anacortes parent, consider carefully before giving your child a cough medication, cold remedy or pain reliever so this sort of question doesn't arise in the first place.