You know what it feels like: sharp pain in the leg. You may also have tingling or numbness. His doctor says is sciatica, but to more confusion, sciatica is not actually a condition. It is a medical term used to describe the symptoms, sharp pain, tingling and numbness, caused by a lumbar condition.
This means that your sciatica may be caused by a herniated disc or a herniated disk, degenerative disk disease, piriformis syndrome, pregnancy, spinal stenosis, a spinal tumor or spinal infection, spondylolisthesis, trauma.
Any of these conditions can put pressure on the sciatic nerve or nerve roots in the lumbar related. And that pressure is what causes pain and other symptoms.
Your doctor may also call sciatica a radiculopathy, which is a medical term used to describe pain, numbness, tingling and weakness in the arms or legs. Since sciatica originates in the lower back, lumbar spine, which is called a lumbar radiculopathy.
