

In turn, when these issues occur again, you may find that your sciatic nerve if affected again.

However, in other cases, sciatica may be caused by issues that are more temporary in nature, such as sitting down for long periods of time without taking a break, maintaining a poor posture for long enough to cause the sciatic nerve to fire up, as well as issues with the back muscles, such as strains, sprains or injuries.īecause these factors are temporary in nature, when they tend to go away, so does sciatica.

When the nerve become compressed, essentially, other structures such as bone spurs place pressure on the nerve, irritating it, leading to a flare up.īone spurs, spinal stenosis, as well as herniated and slipped disc are characterised by getting into the space where the sciatic nerve typically resides, allowing less space for the nerve itself, with a high chance to irritate it and produce symptoms. Compression of the nerve roots in itself can be caused by issues such as herniated discs, bone spurs, spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal), cauda equina syndrome, and other factors. An MRI can show the alignment of vertebral disks, ligaments, and muscles. Up to 40 percent of people will struggle with sciatica at some point during their lives. Spinal compression is one of the leading causes for the occurrence of sciatic nerve pain. Does sciatica show up on MRI Diagnosing Sciatica : Imaging Your doctor may order imaging tests, such as an MRI, to get more information about the location and cause of the irritated nerve. What causes sciatica to flare up Learning to identify common triggers can help you keep sciatica from flaring up, and recover quickly when it does.
