Sciatica is a set of symptoms including pain that may be caused by general compression and/or irritation of one of five nerve roots that give rise to the sciatic nerve, or by compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve itself. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, and/or various parts of the leg and foot. It is also possible to sometimes get leg pain without back pain.

In addition to pain, which is sometimes severe, there may be numbness, pins and needles or tingling, muscular weakness and difficulty in moving or controlling the leg. In most cases the symptoms are felt on one side of the body, although they can occur on both sides.

Sciatica is a common form of low back and leg pains, however the true meaning of the term is often misunderstood. Sciatica is a set of symptoms rather than a diagnosis for what is irritating the root of the nerve, causing the pain. This point is important, because treatment for sciatica or sciatic symptoms will often be different, depending upon the underlying cause of the symptoms.

For further information please refer to our Back Pain section.