Sciatica

Pain that extends from the buttock down the course of the sciatic nerve is common. Nearly 85% of cases are associated with a disk disorder. The causes, assessment, and management of sciatica are discussed. The mundane malady sciatica has been known to physicians since antiquity. 1 It is pain that radiates from the buttock downward along the course of the sciatic nerve, 2 but the term has been used indiscriminately for a variety of back and leg symptoms. Although sciatica has several causes, Mixter and Barr extended previous observations to establish in 1934 that the principal source is compression of a lumbar nerve root by disk material that has ruptured through its surrounding annulus (see the Glossary). 3 Neuroradiologic studies affirm that 85% of cases of sciatica are associated with a disk disorder. 4 Anatomy of the Sciatic . . .