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Topic Date User

Back injury, Sciatica 4-Apr-2008 At 12:48:07 PM prb

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On 4/04/08 Bel wrote:

>technically sciatica is caused by compression of the sciatic nerve between the layers of your
piriformis (a muscle in your butt) as apposed to nerve root pain caused by compression of a nerve root
at a given level caused by protusion of disc material.

On 4/04/08 tobyholyhead wrote:

>I had a CT scan that shows some bulging of a disc. I thought it was piriformis syndrome if caused by
the piriformis muscle?

I disagree with Bel and I would say tobyholyhead has true sciatica, my references being the Oxford
Textbook of Medicine and Wikipedia. The latter gives the term "pseudo-sciatica" when it's caused by
the piriformis muscle:

"In 15% of the population, the sciatic nerve runs through the piriformis muscle rather than beneath it.
When the muscle shortens or spasms due to trauma, it can compress or strangle the sciatic nerve
beneath the muscle. This cause of sciatic symptoms is piriformis syndrome. This may be the major
cause of sciatica when the nerve root is normal."

Hope you recover well. I had several months of it a couple of years ago and it certainly makes life
miserable. I hurt my back lifting stuff; climbing seemed to help if anything.These days it's a case of
once bitten twice shy in any "at risk" lifting situations. Interestingly, people who spend their working
lives at a desk are at the same risk of bulging disks as manual workers.