It impacts your sleep, your daily habits, you can’t cough cause of pain, or even bend down to tie you shoes. Lifting weights, running and keeping up with your fitness and health goals are so far off - you can’t imagine that you will one day go back to lifting weights or even exercising because of the pain. Sciatica is a debilitating thing and can cause pain in more ways than one

What is Sciatica?

Sciatica refers to pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve, which is the longest nerve in the human body. This nerve runs from the lower back, through the buttocks, and down the back of each leg. Sciatica isn't a medical condition itself but rather a symptom of an underlying problem, such as a herniated disc, bone spur, or spinal stenosis, that compresses or irritates the sciatic nerve.

Common symptoms of sciatica include:

1. Pain: It often starts in the lower back or buttock and can radiate down the back of the thigh and leg. The pain might range from mild to severe, and it could be sharp, burning, or shooting.
2. Numbness or Tingling: Some individuals may experience numbness, tingling, or weakness in the affected leg or foot.
3. Worsening with Certain Movements: Activities such as sitting for prolonged periods, coughing, sneezing, or straining can exacerbate the pain.
4. One-Sided Affliction: Sciatica typically affects only one side of the body.
5. Potential Muscular Weakness: In severe cases, individuals might experience difficulty moving the affected leg or foot and could have diminished reflexes in that leg.

Let’s get even more nerdy as we believe this is important information as you battle Sciatica.

In the context of Sciatica, particularly related to spinal issues and nerve-related pain, "peripheralization" and "centralization" are concepts often used in the assessment and management of symptoms, especially in cases of back or neck pain with associated radicular symptoms (symptoms that radiate along the nerve pathway).

1. Peripheralization: This term refers to the movement or shifting of symptoms away from the center or origin of the issue. In the context of spinal problems like disc herniation or nerve impingement, peripheralization means that symptoms, such as pain or tingling, tend to move outward or extend further down the extremities. For instance, in a person with low back pain that radiates down the leg (sciatica), if the pain extends or worsens further down the leg, it is considered to be peripheralizing.
2. Centralization: In contrast, centralization involves the opposite pattern. It refers to the movement of symptoms from the periphery (such as the arms or legs) back toward the center or origin of the problem, typically the spine. For example, if a person with radiating leg pain (sciatica) experiences a reduction or disappearance of leg pain and a return of symptoms more centrally in the low back, it's considered as centralization.

In short, Centralization = ‘Getting better’ ‘Feeling Better’. Peripheralization = ‘I don’t feel as good’
This is a critical piece to assess whether or not you are progressing in your rehab process. This will also help identify whether you can proceed with your fitness and functional goals and desires vs. having to pivot away from them. Get your Sciatica right today!