SCIATICA BACK STRUCTURE
SCIATICA
Sciatica is pain radiating down one or both buttocks and one or both legs. Sciatica is usually cased by degenerative disc disease or compression, by a disc nerve root irritation of the sciatic nerve. Ruptured disc and sciatica are seen in only a small number of patients with back pain (less than 10%).
The two sciatic nerves are the largest nerves in the body going down both legs and connecting in the lower spinal column. It is the communication line between the brain and the lower part of the body. Irritation of the nerve can cause crippling pain and discomfort.
UNDERSTANDING STRUCTURES IN THE BACK
The main structure in the back is the spinal column, extending from the base of the skull to the bottom of the tailbone, with 33 or 34 vertebrae. The largest vertebrae in the spine are the 5 lumbar vertebrae, the most frequently injured vertebrae in the spine because of the position of the lower back in the body and the resulting pressures and stress on this region. Additional bones in the spinal column include the sacrum and coccyx, part of which is known as the tailbone, and, finally the sacroiliac joint, which is a connecting joint between the pelvis and the spine.
|
Term |
# of Vertebrae |
Body Area |
Abbreviation |
|
Cervical |
7 |
Neck |
C1 – C7 |
|
Thoracic |
12 |
Chest |
T1 – T12 |
|
Lumbar |
5 or 6 |
Low Back |
L1 – L5 |
|
Sacrum |
5 (fused) |
Pelvis |
S1 – S5 |
|
Coccyx |
3 |
Tailbone |
None |
The spine has numerous muscles, nerves, joints, and discs. Nerve roots are small structures coming from the spinal cord through small openings made by the connection of two vertebrae.
Facet joints are the joints between vertebrae, present on both sides of the spine, numbering two for each disc, provide flexibility to the spine, which allows you to bend and twist.
 |