Drug Treatment of Sciatica

Sciatica is not a condition in-and-of-itself, but is instead a term that refers to the symptoms that occur when the sciatic nerve is damaged. The term refers to the pain, tingling, weakness, numbness, or pain experienced in one or both legs when the sciatic nerve is damaged. Treatments include pain medication to treat the sciatica, and physical therapy or surgery to treat the underlying cause of the symptoms.

Causes of Sciatica

• The sciatic nerve is a nerve located in the back of the leg. It provides the sensation to the knee, lower leg, thighs, and soles of the feet. Sciatica can be caused by damage to this nerve. Damage may occur as a result of an injury, (including a pelvic fracture or other injury to the pelvis) a degenerative disk disease, a slipped disk, a tumor, or spinal stenosis.

Symptoms of Sciatica

• Symptoms include aches, pains, tingling, (in one or both legs) and in some extreme cases, difficult moving the knee or leg. Pain may be local to one leg, or to one side of a leg, calf, hip or foot, or it may extend to both legs. The pain may be worse when you sit, stand, cough, laugh, sneeze, walk or bend. Pain may also intensify at night.

Treatment

• Sciatic may resolve itself without treatment, if the underlying damage to the sciatic nerve was minor and if the symptoms are minor. Physical therapy may also help to resolve the underlying cause of the nerve damage, which will lead to a cessation of sciatica. However, if the cause of the nerve damage is significant or persistent, the underlying cause will need to be treated to cure the sciatica. This may involve injections to reduce inflammation around the sciatic nerve, or surgery to repair slipped disks or legions that are putting pressure on the nerve. Because sciatica itself refers to the symptoms, and not the underlying cause, treatment of sciatica involves the use of pain killers or steroids to relieve pain.

Drug Therapies

• Typically, the drugs used to treat sciatica are drugs which help to manage pain. Analgesics, or pain killers, are typically the first treatment recommended. These include over the counter medications including Acetaminophens (like Tylenol) or NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin).

  Stabbing pains may require more extreme forms of pain killers. These pain killers include carbamazepine, phenytoin, or tricyclic antidepressants. The purpose of each of these medications is to reduce the pain associated with sciatica, not to treat the underlying damage to the sciatic nerve.

Prognosis

• Generally, if the cause of sciatic nerve damage is diagnosed and properly treated, full recovery is likely and the sciatica will disappear. However, if the underlying cause of the sciatica is not treated and cured, the sciatica may persist and become worse.