Sciatica Pain After Work Injury in Virginia

Many on-the-job injuries cause workers to suffer from sciatic pain. Sciatica is not a diagnosis, but a symptom; meaning that something more is happening within the body that is causing your sciatic pain.

You can experience sciatic pain caused by many different things. I found this list (below) from www.spine-health.com highlighting the 6 most common causes of sciatic pain. While there are several causes not on the list, the diagnoses detailed below seem to be the ones my clients face most often.

6 Most Common Causes of Sciatica or Sciatic Pain

• Lumbar herniated disc – A herniated disc occurs when the soft inner core of the disc (nucleus pulpous) leaks out, or herniates, through the fibrous outer core (annulus) and irritates the contiguous nerve root. A herniated disc is sometimes referred to as a slipped disc, ruptured disc, bulging disc, protruding disc, or a pinched nerve, and sciatica is the most common symptom of a lumbar herniated disc.
• Degenerative disc disease – While disc degeneration is a natural process that occurs with aging, for some people one or more degenerated discs in the lower back can also irritate a nerve root and cause sciatica. Degenerative disc disease is diagnosed when weakened disc results in excessive micro-motion at that spinal level, and inflammatory proteins from inside the disc become exposed and irritate the area (including the nerve roots).
• Isthmic spondylolisthesis – This condition occurs when a small stress fracture allows one vertebral body to slip forward on another (e.g. the L5 vertebra slips over the S1 vertebra). With a combination of disc space collapse, fracture, and the vertebral body slipping forward, the nerve can get pinched and cause sciatica.
• Lumbar spinal stenosis – This condition commonly causes sciatica due to a narrowing of the spinal canal. Lumbar spinal stenosis is related to natural aging in the spine and is relatively common in adults over age 60. The condition typically results from a combination of one or more of the following: enlarged facet joints, overgrowth of soft tissue, and a bulging disc placing pressure on the nerve roots, causing sciatica pain.
• Piriformis syndrome – The sciatic nerve can get irritated as it runs under the piriformis muscle in the buttock. If the piriformis muscle irritates or pinches a nerve root that comprises the sciatic nerve, it can cause sciatica-type pain. This is not true radiculopathy (the clinical definition