Lower back and hip pain can be caused by mechanical injuries, age-related degenerative diseases, and other factors such as spinal disorders. One of them is sciatica.
Given the trajectory of the sciatic nerve, spanning from the lower back region, down through the hips and the back of the legs, there is a link to be made between the symptoms caused by sciatica and the occurrence of lower back and hip problems.
What is Sciatica?
Sciatica is the name that was given to a set of symptoms that a person feels when the sciatic nerve that passes through the spinal column and the back of the legs if pinched in one or more points along its way.
What Causes Sciatica?
Sciatica appears mostly due to spinal compression of some form. The most common medical conditions that can lead to nerve compression include herniated discs, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, and in more serious cases tumours.
What other factors can cause lower back pain?
Other factors apart from sciatica may lead to lower back pain. Below you can find some other examples of either factors or medical conditions that can cause lower back pain:
- Degenerative disc disease
- Buttock pain that is referred to the lower back
- Herniated disc(s)
- Sacroiliac joint pain syndrome
- Injury to either the soft or bony tissue
- Lack of physical activity
- Muscle strains or sprains
- Obesity
- Poor posture
- Spinal stenosis
- Tumours
What other factors can lead to hip pain?
Apart from sciatica, these are other factors and medical conditions that can lead to pain in the hip region and affect your hip bones:
- Aging. The wear and tear of the hip bone and hip joints can lead to pain and other symptoms.
- Arthritis. Pain that is due to arthritis may be similar to that caused by sciatica.
- Bursitis
- Death of bone tissue due to lack of blood supply
- Hip dislocation
- Hip fracture
- Labral tear
- Muscle strains of sprains
- Osteoporosis
- Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
- Sprains
- Tumours
- Other hip bone and hip joint dysfunctions
Symptoms associated with sciatica that lead to lower back and hip pain
Because the sciatic nerve starts in the lumbar region of the back (or lower back) and branches down on each side of the hips, then all the way through the back of the legs and calves, it is quite likely that it will cause symptoms along the areas that it runs through.
Whether it manifests itself in the lower back, hips, or legs, the main symptom of sciatica is pain on one or both sides of the lower body, in the regions previously mentioned.
Apart from the pain, there are other symptoms that are characteristics of sciatica, such as:
- A sensation of tingling in the lower back (mostly), hips (or one or both sides) or legs (in one or both legs)
- Numbness in any of these areas
- In more severe cases, it may cause difficulty in controlling one’s bladder
Diagnosis
In order to discover if your lower back or hip pain is caused by sciatica and not by a different factor or medical condition, it is recommended that you seek medical advice from a spinal specialist.
Depending on how difficult it is to pinpoint the cause of your pain, the diagnosing process takes place in a few stages.
Initially, the specialist will conduct a physical examination around the affected side (or sides, if both of them are affected) of your lower back or hips to check for any other symptoms or visible deformities. During this examination, you will be asked relevant question to further understand the extent of your problem.
If a cause for concern is detected during this process, you may be asked to undergo further tests such as an MRI, CT scan or X-ray to rule out more serious conditions such as fractures and tumours.
However, if you receive a confirmation that the source of your pain in the lower back or hip region is caused by sciatica, you may then proceed to finding an appropriate treatment plan for your set of symptoms.
Treatment
Because sciatica is mostly caused by spinal compression, it is recommended to appeal to a method of treatment that can reverse that compression. Unfortunately, not all methods of treatment that are currently available are focused on treating sciatica in this manner.
These are the some of the treatment options for sciatica:
- Surgery – which is the most invasive option, and has the overall lowest risk to reward ratio
- Painkilling injections – although you may get temporary relief from pain with this method, it is only a way to manage the pain, rather than treat it
- Anti-inflammatory medication – to temporarily manage the pain
- Weight loss – if the pain is caused by obesity, it is recommended to lose weight
- Physical therapy – is one of the most effective ways to treat pain caused by sciatica
- Our method:
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