If you are experiencing a pain that extends from your buttock or back and travels down the leg into the calf, then you might have sciatica. This condition is actually one of the common causes of leg pain and low back pain. It is often triggered by pressure on your sciatic nerve, the longest and largest nerve in the human body. Since this health issue can be treated effectively if noticed soon, it is important to keep informed with the common signs to consult your doctor. With that in mind, here’s a list of the top 13 sciatica symptoms that you should know.
1Jolting pain
The most reported and obvious sign of sciatica is an electric shock or jolting pain in many parts of the body, especially in the lower area. It often occurs when you sneeze, cough, or sit for an extended period on one side of the body. This condition could be originated from pressure from the pinched nerves on one or many lumbar nerves because of a slipped or herniated disk or degenerative disc disease. In many cases, people could easily mistake sciatica for some muscle-associated pains following a strain or injury to the ligaments and muscles supporting the back. To check this, you can use your fingers to press into the knotted or tense area for at least 10 seconds. If you feel the pain reverberates across the whole body, it might be an injury. [1]
