How to Determine if Surgery is Necessary for Sciatic Nerve Damage

Pain from sciatica is felt due to the damage in the tissues of the sciatic nerve. In most cases the injury is impermanent; so it gets better with in a few weeks and pain relief can easily be treated with non-surgical methods like exercise or traction. However, there are some instances where sciatica becomes so severe that it requires immediate medical attention. Below are the following signs that indicate the need for surgery.

Instructions

• 1

  If you have unbearable pain in the leg or when you experience severe leg pain while walking (claudication).

• 2

  When debilitating neurologic dysfunction is present, such as severe loss of strength on the lower extremities.

• 3

  When spinal stenosis becomes serious that you suffer from excessive tingling, numbness and loss of sensation radiating from the lower back in to the buttocks and to the legs.

• 4

  If you experience bowel and bladder incontinence, where in you lack the capacity to control urination and bowel discharge. This case is mostly rare, but an individual with spinal cord compression is likely to suffer from this condition.

• 5

  If symptoms persist and non-surgical treatments are no longer effective.