This article is part of a series written by Dr. Kevin Pauza
There are many misconceptions about sciatica that have been bolstered by many doctors who are unaware of what actually causes sciatica pain. This is why I wanted to lay out all of the facts of what I have learned about sciatica and its cause throughout my time of treating it and I hope that it will help you have a greater understanding of this condition as well.
All About Sciatica
The sciatic nerve is a nerve that runs down the back of the buttocks, leg, and foot. It’s the merger of the 3 bottom nerve roots (L4, L5, and S1).
A common misconception about this condition is that pinched nerves cause sciatica pain. The truth is that sciatica pain is actually caused by inflammation of the nerve roots as a result of leaky spinal discs.
Sciatica and Annular Tears
Spinal discs can become leaky due to annular tears, which can either build up and develop slowly over time or develop quickly due to trauma or injury. If the spinal disc develops enough annular tears, the gel-like liquid contained in the center of the disc, called the nucleus pulposus, can begin to leak out. This is what leads to inflammation and irritation.
This occurs because the nucleus pulposus is perceived as a foreign substance by the human body when it leaks through annular tears and onto nerve roots. The leaked gel, like all foreign substances, causes inflammation that attacks nerve roots. It beats and damages nerves so much that it is referred to as “Battered Root Syndrome” by many scientific papers.
My own research has shown that chemicals from leaky discs can also cause fatigue, depression, and limited function. This is why I coined the term Leaky Disc Syndrome.
Why is This Condition Called Sciatica?
Although the sciatic nerve runs down the back of your leg, there’s another nerve called the femoral nerve that runs down the front of your leg. The femoral nerve comes from your top three nerve roots, while your sciatic nerve comes from your bottom three nerve roots.
So why did ancient doctors call leg symptoms “sciatica,” and not “femora”? It’s because the bottom three discs tear much more often than the top three discs. This is because your bottom discs separate damaging lower pelvic forces from damaging upper trunk and body forces.
Radiculopathy
Further, while laymen may call this condition sciatica, physicians refer to it as radiculopathy.
Radiculopathy originates from two Latin words: radical, meaning root, and opathy, meaning injury. Therefore, radical + opathy = root injury = radiculopathy. This definition ties into why this condition is often called Batted Root Syndrome.
The Discseel® Procedure
At this point, you may be wondering what the best treatment option for sciatica is because most treatment does not take annular tears into consideration, even though these tears are the underlying cause of pain.
Further, even treatments that are meant to heal or solve annular tears can fail because they leak out of the disc before they can have a healing effect, or simply fail to seal up the tears themselves.
Fortunately, the Discseel® Procedure uses a natural fibrin biologic that is known to encourage tissue growth in the body and has done the same for many patients’ torn spinal discs. Following an annulogram, the fibrin is injected into the torn spinal discs and goes to work sealing all tears. After this, the fibrin encourages the spinal disc’s own tissue to regrow and heal the tears over time. This ensures that the fibrin will not leak out of the disc and that the annular tears in the disc are actually repaired.
The Discseel® Procedure has allowed a number of patients to get back to living life without pain and could do the same for you, even if you’ve failed to find relief from past procedures.
If you’re ready to get back to the life you had before your pain began, apply for the Discseel® Procedure today and find out if you’re a candidate.
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