What is Sciatic Nerve Injury?

Sciatic nerve injury occurs due to trauma such as pressure, stretching, or cutting to the nerve and can cause symptoms such as paresthesias, loss of muscle power, and pain.

Causes of Sciatic nerve injury:

  • Trauma such as-Hip dislocation, Acetabular fracture.
  • Other causes such as-Direct surgical trauma, Faulty anesthesia procedure, Injection of neurotoxic substance, Improper use of tourniquets, Dressing, cast or faulty fitting orthotics, Radiation.

Clinical signs and symptoms of sciatic nerve injury:

Foot drop, Difficulty in external rotation and abduction of the hip, Equinovarus or Equinus deformity, Muscular weakness/atrophy, Motor and sensory deficits such as paraesthesia and numbness.

Physiotherapy Management:

Pain management: Hot & cold therapies: Hot therapies include such as Hot packs, TR therapy, and High-intensity laser therapy. Heat therapy can bring more oxygen and nutrients to the area and hence helps to reduce spasms. Cold therapies include such as Ice packs, Cryo-air therapy, or Frozen peas, and frozen water bottles that can be placed at the painful area. Cold therapy slows blood circulation, helping reduce inflammation, muscle spasms, and pain. Use of Therapeutic modalities such as-Combo therapy (US+TENS), Magnetotherapy, Super inductive system: this modality helps to mobilize the joints mechanically.

Joint mobilization and manipulation: Spinal mobilization, spinal traction

Soft tissue mobilization: To retain flexibility of muscle, nerve, and soft tissue and prevent deformity.

Deep tissue massage: 

Strengthening exercises: Core strengthening, low back strengthening such as extension exercises, bridging, and superman exercises.Leg strengthening, McKenzie exercise. 

Stretching: Stretching of lower back and hip muscles such as leg raise stretch for hamstring, fire log poses stretch, piriformis muscle stretch, etc.

Dry needling.Hydrotherapy:

Hydrotherapy uses the gentle resistance of water to build and tone muscle. And those people who find weight-bearing exercise on land painful can go with this form of activity.

Balance and coordination training

Splinting.