Getting a pain in your legs and lower back without facing any severe trauma or incident is a concerning symptom to feel as varying factors can lead to the diagnosis of Sciatica. Without proper treatment, a condition can go from acute to chronic.
Let's discuss how to identify sciatica on its onset and follow tips to deal with the sharp pains experienced during the situation of suffering from sciatica.
Causes of Sciatica Hip Pain
Sciatica is common, it's affecting 10% to 40% of the population, yet there isn't much awareness regarding the condition, which often leads to a stump in the betterment treatment for people suffering from Sciatica. "Trigger points can ‘pinch' the sciatic nerve, causing an intense, radiating pain down the back and legs," says Dr. Andrew Bang,DC.
The pinching of the sciatic nerve is what causes sciatic pain. The main cause for the pinching of the nerves occurs from an overgrowth of bone or a herniated disk in the spine. The overgrowth of bone is called bone spurs which are formed on the spinal bones.
Other causes of Sciatica can occur from tumors or even diabetes disease. There are quite a few risk factors for Sciatica, from Age, obesity, and occupation to prolonged sitting and diabetes.
Symptoms of Sciatica Hip Pain
The sciatica hip pain is most likely to occur anywhere along the nerve pathway, from the lower back to the buttocks and onto the thigh and calf. You'll feel the sciatica hip pain to focus on being a mild ache to a sudden sharp, burning pain. It almost feels like a jolt or electric shock. Usually, you can only feel the effect of sciatic hip pain on one side of the body.
"You could feel pain or tingling down the front, back or side of your leg," Says Cara Sieberth, PT. "The pain can be constant, or it might bother you when you sit or lie in certain positions."
The comparison of sciatica hip pain differs in both legs in most cases; one leg can feel the sciatica hip pain occurs in sharp waves while the other leg goes numb. The sciatica hip pain can also worsen when you cough or sneeze, any activity that moves every muscle of your body.
Read More: What Are Sciatica Symptoms? Helpful Guide to Tell If It Sciatica
Can a Bad Hip Cause Sciatica?
The trauma or injuries to the hip bone can cause pinching of the sciatic nerves in the leg, causing pain throughout the lower back to the legs. The compression of nerve roots in the back can cause serious pain in the hips.
Differentiation between the pain is necessary to provide the right treatment for Sciatica hip pain relief. Sciatica is known for collective symptoms, which can cause pinched nerves; it's highlighted because it is the largest nerve in the human body, branching out along the veins that reach the toes.
If the pain around the buttocks area increases without any damage to the sciatica nerve, it is most likely due to hip arthritis. The pathology of hip pain is centered on the groin and doesn't go past the knee point, unlike in Sciatica, where you can feel the pain in the calf.
The path to finding which issuing factor is causing the pain; the doctor examines the patient and extracts the history of the pain to determine what it is exactly. Physical examinations are essential to determine which area receives the most pain to ensure proper treatment.
Can Sciatica Cause Hip Pain on Both Sides
Usually, Sciatica hip pain only occurs in one leg at a time, but sciatica hip pain can occur in both legs at once. The pain usually depends on which nerve vein is being pressed at a given moment.
What Does Sciatica Hip Pain Feel Like
Having two Sciatica nerves running down each leg means that the pain can be felt in one leg at a time or both at once. The Sciatica hip pain is a dull ache or excruciating pain that worsens when your body sneezes or coughs or makes any movements that revolve around the nerves' pinching.
How Long Can Sciatica Hip Pain Last
The pain usually lasts around 4-6 weeks; it is an acute process that can feel like a stabbing, shooting, or burning sensation and dies down as a subtle dull ache in the legs, hip, and lower back. The pain can become chronic if it's not treated within 6 weeks.
Doctors recommend waiting to let the issue subside, but if the pain is constant for 12 months or more, it is more likely acceptable to seek treatment.
7 Tips for Sciatica Hip Pain Relief
To ensure that you can achieve sciatic hip pain relief, here are 7 tips for sciatica hip pain relief:
#1. Consulting Professional
By consulting a professional in the early stages of the pain, you can create a timeline where every symptom can be seen as a marker for your consultant to analyze and provide the right treatment for you.
#2. Fitness Focus
Constant movement is necessary to ensure that your body doesn't get stuck up on itself, allowing movements to free the nerves from any areas you can pinch. Fitness allows the body to explore ways to open up, allowing stretches for sciatica pain.
#3. Lifting With Legs
By allowing your legs to do any lifting, you can ensure that there aren't any kinks formed between the muscle and the bones, allowing the nerve to stretch out and avoid any symptoms of Sciatica from occurring.
#4. Practical Footwear
What goes on your feet is essential as a foundation or platform to rest your feet can decrease the chance of facing issues that can turn chronic in the future. Comfortable footwear, dependent on the type of activity you're conducting, is essential in keeping your body safe and pain-free.
#5. Standing Up At Work
Work can get us all lethargic and lazy while sitting and completing the given task; therefore, you should challenge yourself to make sure that 50% of your time is spent standing up and walking around the office to perform various tasks.
#6. Checking Out Mattress
Checking out your mattress is similar to checking out the chair you're sitting on. If the bed is too worn down, soft, or even too firm, these can contribute to your body ache and pain even more.
#7. Gentle Stretching
Stretches for Sciatica pain relief are highly important as they can bring out the kinks easily and help your body open up and relax more. It's advised to visit a licensed physical therapist to give you the right methods of providing the utmost care for your body.