Sciatica can also cause numbness, tingling or weakness, which can be a sign of nerve damage. Another symptom that may suggest sciatica is foot drop, when you are unable to hold your toes or foot up at the ankle. The pain may get worse when coughing, sneezing or sitting for long periods of time. Sciatica symptoms include mild to severe pain in the lower back, hips, buttocks or leg. Tumors in the lumbar spinal canal or pelvis.Piriformis syndrome, which causes the piriformis muscle that lies across the back of the hips to spasm or tighten.Injuries or trauma to the lower back, hip joint, sacroiliac joint (connecting the hip to the sacrum), or back of the thigh.Spondylolisthesis, or when a vertebra slips out of alignment in the spine.These conditions can cause compression or irritation of the nerves in the spinal canal. The most common causes include herniated discs and spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal) in the spine.

While sciatica is a recognized medical diagnosis in itself, it can also be thought of as a symptom with many possible causes, explains Michael Schaefer, MD, chief of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at University Hospitals. So sciatica can result from trauma at any point along this nerve or its nerve roots. The sciatic nerve runs from the lower back down through the hips, buttocks and upper leg. The sciatic nerve is the longest and largest nerve in the body, and is made up of five different root sources in the lower back (lumbar spine) and the lowest part of the spine that connects to the pelvic, or the sacrum. These symptoms are all related to irritation, inflammation or compression of the sciatic nerve, or sciatica. It may start with pain radiating down from the lower back, and can also lead to tingling or weakness in the leg.

Sciatica test at home