Sciatic pain is simply caused by pressure being placed on the sciatic nerve and there are primarily four things that can create this, you may have one or more of the following conditions:
Condition #1 - Piriformis Syndrome
This is the most common cause of sciatic pain and is created when pressure is placed on the sciatic nerve by the piriformis muscle. Muscle imbalances pull the hip joints and pelvis out of place and this change of position typically shortens and tightens the piriformis muscle, which then places pressure on the sciatic nerve.
What The Heck Is a Muscle Imbalance Anyway?
When a muscle overpowers the opposing muscle, you have a muscle imbalance, Think Tug-of-War,
When your muscles are out of balance they pull your bones and joints out of their normal position and this places your muscles, bones and joints under constant stress and uneven pressure.
For example, the position and curvature of your spine is determined by numerous muscles and whether they are balanced or not. There are over 640 muscles in the human body! Nearly every muscle in the body affects your spine and if just one of these muscles are out of balance you're in trouble.
What Your Body and a Automobile Have in Common, So what the heck does this have to do with getting rid of sciatica?
Here's a quick analogy that will show you how much alike the human body and an automobile are. What happens when you drive your car with unbalanced tires or your steering out of alignment? Your tires will wear down unevenly and quicker than normal, and eventually you'll have a blowout, the same is true for your body!
It's critical for you to understand that your body alignment and mechanics are affected by your muscles and even the smallest muscle imbalance can, overtime, place tremendous amounts of uneven pressure and wear and tear on your body, especially the spine and it's supporting muscles.
Condition #2 - Herniated Discs Sciatica can also be caused by pressure on the nerve due to a herniated or bulging disc. A herniation is when a disc protrudes out from between the vertebrae and this can either be caused by an event like a car accident, or by months or years of uneven pressure due to muscle imbalances.
Herniated discs are probably one of the most common diagnosis's for sciatica out there and this diagnosis is often used when a doctor can't find an explanation for the person's pain similar to a doctor explaining away various aches and pains as arthritis. Plus, research has shown that in many cases, people live with herniated discs yet never have any back pain or symptoms. The point is, if you've been diagnosed with a herniated or bulging disc, it may not be what's really causing your back pain! Even if you've had x-rays and MRI's done that show a herniated disc, chances are still very good that it's not the problem...
The problem is, even if you were diagnosed with a herniated disc, you have to understand that if you don't address what caused the disc to herniate in the first place, you'll likely struggle with back pain or sciatica for years.
Author Resource:-
The Healthy Back Institute is recognized as one of the leading experts in the treatment of back, neck and sciatic pain. Take advantage of all the free back pain relief videos and articles at www.losethebackpain.com
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