For people struggling with this excruciating nerve pain, a decent night’s rest is the thing they need most – and the hardest to achieve If you’ve ever had sciatica, it’s not the type of pain you’re likely to forget in a hurry. “Pain is not always an accurate marker for the degree of injury , but nerve pain can be particularly unpleasant; sciatica has been described as like having toothache in your bottom,” says Aidan Spencer, an osteopath who frequently treats patients with the condition. “ Sciatica refers to pain down the leg along the course of the sciatic nerve, and typically the cause is compression of one of the nerves in the spine,” says Mr Michael Mokawem, a consultant spinal surgeon with Cleveland Clinic London.
Often this is caused by a spinal disc protrusion. “This is a disc that bulges or protrudes, squashing one of the nerves,” he explains. The sciatic nerve runs from the spinal cord in the lower back and extends through the buttock area to send nerve endings down the leg, and sciatica, which is usually felt down one side of the body, is a common condition affecting 40 per cent of the UK population at some point.
And while most patients with acute sciatica make a good recovery, 20-30 per cent have persisting problems after one or two years. Causes of sciatica.
