Sciatica symptoms - what does a pinched sciatic nerve feel like?

It is unusual to feel sciatica symptoms just in the back, even though sciatica is caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve just as it leaves the spine . Usually sciatic pain is felt along the ‘distribution’ of the nerve or in other words in the area that the compressed or pinched nerve supplies. This means that sciatica is often felt as leg pain. In addition to pain, symptoms commonly include leg and foot tingling and numbness and sometimes weakness.

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Sciatica often causes leg pain, numbness and tingling

Where the sciatica symptoms are felt depends on which nerve root has been pinched or irritated. It is possible to have a reasonable guess at this by looking at something called a dermatome chart (see below). This chart gives us an approximation of where the pain is normally felt when a specific nerve is irritated.

sciatic nerve pain
Dermatome Chart Showing the Distribution of Different Nerve Pains

 

If the nerve is irritated enough it can also lead to changes in the way your legs feel and how strong they are. These changes are called ‘neurological changes’. In severe cases of sciatica you may feel:

  •  leg and foot numbness and tingling

  • leg and foot weakness, often when walking, pushing the toe off can be a bit difficult, or foot drop may be noticed.

  • your reflexes may be altered, they are often reduced but sometimes completely lost.

You may not notice some of these symptoms until you are checked by a doctor or physical therapist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The most common nerves to be irritated in the lower back are the 4th and 5th Lumbar nerves.

The body chart below shows where the pain is felt with these nerves.The image on the right shows an irritation of L5, the image on the left shows L4.

sciatica nerve pain
Where you feel nerve L4/L5 root irritation - sciatica is most often felt in the legs and feet - less often in the back.

Back to Main Lower Back Pain and Sciatica Page
Sciatica Home Treatment
Sciatica Exercises

From Sciatica Symptoms back to Lower Back Pain Toolkit Home Page

21-Jan-2011

 

 

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