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Sciatica: What Is It, and How Can You Ease the Pain?

If you have had a sharp pain shooting down one leg, you may be experiencing a condition called sciatica.

Here is what you need to know about sciatica, including what it is, its causes, symptoms and treatments. Plus, learn about medications, self-care and stretches that may provide relief.

What is sciatica?

  • Sue Benzuly, RN HealthDay Reporter
  • |
  • June 26, 2023
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  • Full Page
  • Vision Damage May Begin Long Before Type 2 Diabetes Is Diagnosed

    Nerve damage is a common side effect of type 2 diabetes and it might start in the eyes long before the condition is ever diagnosed, new research suggests.

    In this study, scientists used neuropathy, or nerve damage, in the eye's cornea as a proxy for the damage to nerves throughout the body.

    The study included nearly...

    Kids With Bell's Palsy Typically Recover Without Treatment

    While adults typically need steroid medication to treat Bell's palsy, most children can recover without treatment, a new study finds.

    Bell's palsy temporarily causes weakness and paraly...

    COVID Can Leave People With Lingering Nerve Damage

    For many people, damage from COVID-19 continues well beyond the initial infection. A case in point: Pain, tingling and numbness in the hands and feet can occur for weeks or months afterward, a new study reveals.

    The researchers surveyed more than 1,550 patients who underwent COVID-19 testing at the Washington University Medical Campus in St. Louis over a 10-month period early in the pande...

    2 Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs Tied to Lower Risk of Parkinson's

    Two rheumatoid arthritis drugs show potential for lowering the risk of Parkinson's disease, new research shows.

    Some previous studies have found that people with rheumatoid arthritis have a lower risk of Parkinson's, and it was suggested that a class of rheumatoid arthritis drugs called disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) may play a role in that reduced risk.

    To learn mor...

    Experts Issue Guidelines on Diabetes-Linked Nerve Damage

    A leading medical group has updated a guideline for treating pain and numbness caused by diabetes.

    The problems, which affect the hands and feet, are the result of nerve damage, also known as diabetic neuropathy. The new guideline from the Ame...

    Many Psychiatric Patients Are Getting Risky Drug Gabapentin 'Off-Label'

    Most prescriptions for the medication gabapentin are for unapproved uses -- and many patients end up taking it along with drugs that create potentially dangerous interactions.

    That's the conclusion of a new study that looked at "off-label" use of gabapentin. In the United States, the drug is officially approved for treating certain seizures and some forms of nerve pain.

    It's known, ...

    Mouse Study Points to Possible Breakthrough Against Spinal Cord Injury

    Severe spinal cord injuries are incurable today in humans, but a new injectable therapy that restored motion in laboratory mice could pave the way for healing paralyzed people.

    The therapy -- liquid nanofibers that gel around the damaged spinal cord like a soothing blanket -- produces chemical signals that promote healing and reduce scarring, researchers report.

    The treatment p...

    Tingling, Burning in Your Feet? Common Condition May Be the Cause

    The number of people experiencing numbness, pins and needles, and burning pain in their feet and toes seems to be on the rise, new research suggests, and some of these folks may be at increased risk for heart trouble.

    Exactly why there has been an uptick in "small fiber neuropathy" is not fully understood yet, but it could be due to the ongoing diabetes and obesity epidemic as both condit...

    A 'Bionic' Arm That Feels Like Her Very Own

    Former Marine Cpl. Claudia Mitchell can hold a banana or a water bottle in her left hand without squishing it as she opens it.

    She can use her left hand to help cut peaches for a pie. She can hold someone's hand without squeezing too hard, and she can grab her makeup bag with just her thumb and forefinger.

    Years ago, Mitchell, 41, wouldn't have imagined any of these feats were possi...

    Cluster of Symptoms Common in People First Diagnosed With MS

    A number of symptoms are common among people who are newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a patient survey shows.

    Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an incurable disease in which the nerves' protective layers are damaged, resulting in progressive disability.

    New Clues to Why Disability Strikes People With MS

    A new study may help explain why people with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience worsening disability while those with two related diseases do not.

    MS causes permanent brain and spinal cord scarring, and researchers investigated whether the same damage accompanies two rarer, similar diseases in which the immune system also attacks the central nervous system.

    The diseases are known a...

    Type 2 Diabetes in Teens Can Bring Dangerous Complications in 20s

    Children diagnosed with type 2 diabetes face a high likelihood of developing complications before age 30, a new study suggests.

    Researchers found that among 500 children and teenagers with type 2 diabetes, 60% developed at least one complication over the next 15 years -- including nerve damage, eye disease and kidney disease.

    Type 2 diabetes, which is often associated with older age...

    Could Losing Your Wisdom Teeth Enhance Your Sense of Taste?

    Having your wisdom teeth yanked could have one culinary up side: Heightening your sense of taste.

    So claims a new study that challenges previous research on the issue.

    "Prior studies have only pointed to adverse effects on taste after extraction, and it has been generally believed that those effects dissipate over time," said study senior author Richard Doty. He is director of the S...

    First Signs of MS May Often Go Undiagnosed

    Early symptoms of multiple sclerosis may commonly be missed for years before the right diagnosis is made, a new study suggests.

    Researchers found that patients with MS had a higher-than-average number of medical appointments, with doctors of various specialties, for up to five years before their diagnosis.

    And for the most part, those visits were for neurological symptoms consistent...

    Alligator Attack Nearly Cost This Firefighter Dad His Arm

    You might not believe it, but Florida firefighter Carsten Kieffer was incredibly lucky when a 12-foot alligator leapt into his boat and chomped down on his right forearm.

    Just about no one else thought so, and that went double for Kieffer: Both main bones in his arm were broken, and a big bite had been taken out of the back of his forearm. After the attack, the arm essentially dangled fro...

    'MIND' Diet Can Help Preserve Brain in People With MS

    A diet designed to boost brain health appears to benefit people with multiple sclerosis (MS), new research suggests.

    For the study, a team from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City examined 185 people diagnosed with MS within the past five years. Each had MRI brain scans and responded to detailed questionnaires.

    The upshot: Those who ate more of the "good" foods ...

    Most Severe COVID Cases Involve Neuro Issues, and They're More Often Fatal

    Neurological problems are occurring in a very high percentage of hospitalized COVID-19 patients -- and what's worse, those symptoms foretell a bad end for many sufferers, a new study finds.

    About four out of five people sick enough to be hospitalized for COVID-19 suffer some sort of neurological problem, ranging from headache and a loss of sense of smell to confusion, delirium, stroke a...

    For Amputees, a New Kind of Surgery May Allow Better Control, Sensation

    A new type of surgery offers amputees better control of muscles that remain after surgery, and of their prosthetic limbs, its inventors say.

    The standard surgical approach to amputation has changed little since the American Civil War, according to developers of the new approach. In their small study, the new procedure also helped curb pain and sensations like the troubling "phantom limb" ...

    How Climate Change Could Put More MS Patients in Danger

    When temperatures rise, people with multiple sclerosis need to keep cool. Heat sensitivity is a hallmark of the central nervous system disorder.

    So, what happens when warm weather spikes become more frequent because of climate change?

    More MS patients end up in the emergency room. A new study found that during periods of unusually warm weather, they were more likely to visit the eme...

    What Causes Herpes Cold Sore Flare-Ups? New Study Offers Clues

    Scientists may have discovered why cold sores caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV) are triggered by stress, illness and sunburn.

    The finding could lead to new ways to prevent recurring cold sores and herpes-related eye disease, U.S. and British researchers say.

    More than half of Americans are infected with herpes simplex virus. It is spread through close contact with someone wh...

    Nerve Drug Might Curb Spinal Cord Damage, Mouse Study Suggests

    The nerve pain drug gabapentin might reduce damage after a spinal cord injury, research in mice suggests.

    The drug prevented harmful structural changes in injured spinal cords, as well as cardiovascular changes and immune suppression caused by spinal cord injury, according to the study.

    "Gabapentin is often prescribed as a treatment for pain, but if it is given early after injury --...

    Could Stem Cell Therapy Be a Breakthrough Against MS?

    Stem cell transplants may have long-lasting benefits for some people with aggressive cases of multiple sclerosis, a new study suggests.

    Italian researchers found that among 210 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who received a stem cell transplant -- with cells from their own blood -- two-thirds saw no worsening in their disability 10 years out.

    That included 71% of patients with rela...

    No Link Seen Between COVID, Guillain-Barré Syndrome

    There's no evidence of a link between COVID-19 and a serious neurological condition called Guillain-Barré syndrome, British researchers say.

    Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare autoimmune condition that attacks the peripheral nervous system, typically causing numbness, weakness and pain. In severe cases, it can cause paralysis and is sometimes fatal.

    The exact cause isn't known, but...

    A 'Stunning' Alternative Rx for Arthritic Joints?

    A procedure that "stuns" pain-sensing nerves might offer relief to people with severe arthritis of the hip or shoulder, a small, preliminary study suggests.

    The procedure is a form of radiofrequency ablation, where doctors use needles to send a low-grade electrical current to nerves that are transmitting pain signals from the arthritic joint to the brain. The current heats and damages the...

    New Drug Could Extend Life for People With ALS

    An experimental drug combination lengthens survival for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), new research shows.

    A previous clinical trial found that the two-drug combo -- called AMX0035 -- slowed progression of the neurodegenerative disease over six months.

    The new clinical trial of 137 patients with the disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, found that ...

    Nerves May Play Important Role in Autism

    Autism may involve nerves that control touch, pain and other sensations as well as the brain, a new study suggests.

    "More than 70% of people with autism have differences in their sensory perception," said researcher Dr. Sung-Tsang Hsieh, an attending neurologist at National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei. "For some people, even a light touch can feel unbearable while others...

    Permanent Nerve Damage for Some COVID-19 Survivors

    Placing a hospitalized COVID-19 patient in a face down position to ease breathing -- or "proning" -- has steadily gained traction as a pandemic lifesaver. But a small new study warns that it may lead to permanent nerve damage.

    The concern is based on the experience of 83 COVID-19 patients who were placed face down while attached to a ventilator. Once they improved, all began post-COVI...

    New Drug May Beat Older One at Preventing MS Relapse

    A new injection drug can prevent multiple sclerosis flare-ups better than an existing medication, a clinical trial has found.

    The drug, called ofatumumab, beat a standard MS medication in reducing patients' symptom relapses. It also slowed down the progression of their disability over six months.

    The researchers said the findings, published Aug. 6 in the New England Journ...

    COVID-19 Can Start With Neurological Symptoms

    While a fever and cough have seemed to be the early warning signs of COVID-19, new research shows almost half of hospitalized patients experience a host of neurological problems.

    In fact, headaches, dizziness, strokes, weakness, decreased alertness or other neurological symptoms can appear before the more commonly known symptoms of infection with the new coronavirus (known as S...

    Could an Injected Electrode Control Your Pain Without Drugs?

    An injectable electrode could prove a better way to ease chronic nerve pain than opioid painkillers or bulky and expensive implants, animal research suggests.

    It's called an "injectrode." It appears easier and cheaper than spinal implants for debilitating back pain, and safer than long-term use of opioids like OxyContin (oxycodone), a recent paper suggests.

    A liquid silicone...

    Is Your Smartphone or Tablet an Injury Risk?

    Here's a good reason to put your electronic devices down whenever you can: Experts say that using them incorrectly or too often can put you at risk for a range of injuries.

    "When people position their hand, arm or neck in uncomfortable positions for a prolonged period of time, it can lead to strains and overuse injuries," said Dr. Michael Darowish, an orthopedic surgeon at Penn State ...

    Lab Discovery Offers Promise for Treating Multiple Sclerosis

    A new discovery could lead to better treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases, such as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis, researchers report.

    MS occurs when immune cells get into the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), causing nerve damage that results in neurological problems. However, the cause is unclear.

    Studies in a mouse mo...

    Nerve Stimulation Therapy Could Cut Fibromyalgia Pain

    For people with the mysterious chronic pain condition fibromyalgia, researchers say nerve stimulation may offer some relief.

    In a recent study, use of TENS -- transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation -- during movement or activity was shown to significantly reduce pain associated with fibromyalgia after just four weeks.

    Dr. Lesley Arnold, who was not involved with the n...

    Skin-Lightening Cream Could Cause Nerve Damage, CDC Report Warns

    A skin-lightening cream from Mexico that contained toxic mercury left a California woman with significant central nervous system damage, doctors report in a case study.

    Many weeks after her initial hospitalization, the woman requires "ongoing tube feeding for nutritional support" and can't speak or care for herself, according to the authors.

    The cream contained a form of org...

    Could MS Have Links to the Herpes Virus?

    A variant of a common herpes virus may play a role in the development of multiple sclerosis (MS), Swedish researchers say.

    They analyzed the blood of about 8,700 MS patients and a control group of more than 7,200 people without MS. They were looking for antibodies against proteins of two variants (A and B) of human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), which has been linked with MS.

    MS pat...

    'Nerve-Release' Surgery Helped Ease One Man's Tough Migraines

    Chronic migraine headaches plagued Adam Pressley from childhood, and by his 30s they had become a near-daily occurrence.

    Pressley, 31, had tried everything to stop them: blood pressure drugs, antidepressants, seizure medications, and even quarterly injections of Botox.

    Then his doctor suggested something surprising, saying plastic surgery could potentially relieve nerve pres...

    New Hope Against a 'Dizzying' Form of Migraine

    People who suffer bouts of vertigo and dizziness may be suffering from a type of migraine for which treatments rarely work.

    But a new, preliminary study of 18 such patients found that stimulating the vagus nerve in the neck can help relieve vertigo.

    "Vestibular migraine can occur with or without headache. It's an uncomfortable feeling, an abnormal sense of motion. A lot of p...

    Fitter Bodies Make for Healthier Brains, Study Finds

    If you're looking for incentives to hit the gym, new research suggests that staying in good shape may help preserve brain structure, boost memory, and improve the ability to think clearly and quickly.

    The finding follows an analysis of fitness and brain health among more than 1,200 young adults, average age 30. All underwent brain scans; tests to measure memory, sharpness, judgment an...

    Face Transplants Improve Lives Years Later

    Not so long ago, face transplants were considered futuristic medicine, but a new report shows these patients are better off years after their groundbreaking operations.

    Six people who received full or partial face transplants have since had significant restoration of feeling and movement, along with an improved quality of life, surgeons say.

    "From the data, you can see the c...

    Nerve Stimulation May Help Curb Stroke Damage

    Could electrical stimulation of nerves that sit behind your nose help limit the harm done to your brain by a stroke?

    New research suggests it's possible. In early experiments, blood flow to the brain was increased by widening undamaged arteries and bypassing the clot. This delivered oxygen-rich blood to threatened areas of the brain.

    How could that reduce disability after a ...

    New Theory Sheds Light on Leonardo da Vinci's Artistic Decline

    A fainting-related fall that caused nerve damage in his right hand could explain why Leonardo da Vinci's painting skills declined later in life, a new paper suggests.

    The report, published as the world marks the 500th anniversary of the artist's death, contradicts the common belief that da Vinci's difficulties stemmed from a stroke.

    To arrive at that conclusion, the report a...

    Weight-Loss Surgery Typically Pushes Type 2 Diabetes Into Remission

    As many as 7 out of 10 people with type 2 diabetes can achieve long-term disease remission by having weight-loss surgery called gastric bypass, according to a new Danish study.

    The surgery isn't necessarily a cure for type 2 diabetes. Some people who go into remission and appear to no longer have the disease can relapse and start having symptoms again. In this study, 27 percent of peop...

    Good News, Bad News on Levodopa for Parkinson's Disease

    The most potent drug available for Parkinson's disease, levodopa, treats symptoms of the disease but does nothing to either ease or increase its still-mysterious underlying causes, a new clinical trial has concluded.

    Doctors often delay prescribing levodopa, or L-dopa, to Parkinson's patients for fear that the drug might have toxic effects that produce jerky involuntary body movements o...