Sciatica

The word sciatica defines the symptoms of joint pain — and potentially tingling, numbness, or weakness — that originate in the lower back and travels through the buttocks and down the big sciatic nerve in the back of each leg.

Sciatica is often characterized by one or more of the following symptoms:

1. Constant pain in only one side of the buttock or leg (rarely in both legs)
2. Pain that is worse when sitting
3. Leg pain that is often described as burning, tingling, or searing (versus a dull ache)
4. Weakness, numbness, or difficulty moving the leg, foot, and/or toes
5. A sharp pain that may make it difficult to stand up or walk
6. Pain that radiates down the leg and possibly into the foot and toes (it rarely occurs only in the foot)

Sciatic pain can differ from infrequent and annoying to constant and incapacitating pain. Symptoms are generally caused by the place of the pinched nerve.