All Sciatica Is Not Alike

“Sciatica” is a name frequently used to describe back and leg pain.   The word sciatica comes from the name of the sciatic nerve.  This is a nerve trunk whose roots come from the spinal cord.   The sciatic nerve can get injured from many things.  Only one of those things is a lumbar disc.  It is quite possible to have a lumbar disc that does not press on the sciatic nerve or to have sciatic nerve pain that does not come from a disc.  It is also quite possible to have back and leg pain that does not come from either a lumbar disc or the sciatic nerve.  In short only a minority of sciatica patients need surgery and the vast majority of back and leg pain patients have something else causing their pain.  Learn more about sciatica, back, and leg pain at piedmontpmr.com.