Sciatica has become associated to the characteristic discomfort that manifests in the lower back and/or buttocks and which expands down to the back of one leg to the knee and even up to the foot.
However, sciatica nerve pain is not the only symptom that a patient could develop when the sciatic nerve (or "sciatica nerve") is irritated or pressed.
Another symptom of sciatica is sciatica numbness.
In clinical terminology, numbness occurs when there are disorders in the nerves which leads to a reduction or lack of feeling.
It may also indicate irregularities in sensation, like paresthesias.
Unexpected numbness that expands down to one lower extremity may also happen, apart from pain, in some sciatica cases.
The reduced or absence of sensation in the affected limb may make walking tough.
When sciatica numbness occurs while they are mobile, patients are known to tumble and fall.
The pins and needles sensation or tingling sensation is also another type of sciatica numbness which can start from the buttocks and expand down to the rear of the leg then to the soles.
The toes may also experience the tingling.
Flexibility is also hampered when this manifests.
In Piriformis Syndrome, sciatica numbness is one of the main symptoms.
Typically, the sciatic nerve moves underneath the piriformis muscle and for some patients, the nerve passes directly through the muscle and when it contracts, the nerve becomes suffocated causing discomfort and numbness.
Piriformis Syndrome can be determined by letting a patient sit with a wallet in the back pocket for a prolonged period.
Oftentimes, sciatica numbness cannot be cared for with the use of pain relievers not like for sciatica nerve pain.
A combination of pain relievers and Vitamin B complex are prescribed to patients who experience both sciatica nerve pain and sciatica numbness.
For those with problematic nerve sensations, high dose Vitamin B complex formulations help in maintaining nerve health.