What Are Common Sciatica Symptoms? Answers About 16 Sciatic Nerve Pains, Sensations, and Uncommon Dysfunctions

Common Sciatica symptoms, as published by Spine-Health.com, include:
1. Pain that radiates from the lower back or buttocks to the thigh and down the leg.
2. Pain along the Sciatic Nerve that is constant or intermittent,
3. A burning sensation or sharp pain in either or both legs.
3. The pain experienced is more severe in the leg(s) than anywhere in the back.
4. Numbness, tingling, and/or pins-and-needles sensations in the back of the one or both legs.
5. Weakness in either or both legs and either or both feet which makes it difficult to lift the foot off the floor.

According to VeryWell Health, some uncommon symptoms that people experience along with a Sciatica flare-up include:
1. Foot Drop: Difficulty lifting the front part of the foot, leading to dragging of the foot when walking.
2. Incontinence: Loss of bladder or bowel control, which can occur in severe cases of nerve compression.
3. Pain in the Big Toe: Sciatica can sometimes cause pain or altered sensation specifically in the big toe.
4. Weakness in Leg Muscles: Specific muscle weakness that may not be immediately associated with nerve issues.

SpineHealth.com adds these uncommon Sciatica symptoms to the list:
5. Abnormal sensations: Crawling or itching on the skin is not common with Sciatica and may be a symptom of Paresthesia.
6. Incontinence: An inability to control bowel and/or bladder movements, difficulty urinating, reduced urinary sensation, the loss of the desire to urinate, or a diminished urine stream.
7. Hyperalgesia: Increased or extreme sensitivity to pain
8. Bilateral Symptoms: Sudden pain and weakness in both legs at the same time, whether the Sciatica has been felt in both legs or not.
9. Saddle Numbness: Groin, buttocks, genitals, and/or inner thighs area numbness

Worth nothing is that Spine-Health.com reports that the last four symptoms on the list are not common with Sciatica because they are actually associated with an uncommon ailment called Cauda Equina Syndrome, which is often misdiagnosed as being Sciatica.

Medical attention is always recommended to people who are experiencing the last four symptoms while they’re having a Sciatica flare-up.

Sciatica includes inflammation of the Sciatic Nerve, which is the largest nerve in the human body. According to VeryWell Health, the body’s immune response to inflammation includes elevating body temperature, as a defense mechanism. So severe inflammation, such as the inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis, can cause a fever.

However inflammation of Sciatica that is severe enough to cause a feverish spike in body temperature is not one of the common Sciatica symptoms. If a Sciatica sufferer does have a fever, it could be related to an infection in another part of the body, or even an abscess or tumor which is the cause of the Sciatica in the first place. According to the Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Center of Oregon an infection in or around the spine can lead to an abscess, which is a swollen and infected mass. This abscess can trap spinal nerves, causing sciatica.

Medical attention is always recommended to people who develop high fevers while they’re having a Sciatica flare-up.

Common Sciatica symptoms can vary, but it’s not necessarily because of the person, but rather because of the different nerve roots that are involved in the condition that’s causing the Sciatica. That’s according to an article published on Spine-Health.com by Veritas Health.

So the type and location of common Sciatica symptoms can actually give clues about the specific malady that is causing the symptoms. Here is the root-by-root breakdown of the most common Sciatica symptoms, according to Spine-Health:

L4 nerve root:
– Pain in the hip, thigh, inner knee and calf.
– Loss of sensation in the inner calf.
– Weakness in the thigh muscles and the hip muscles, which are the muscles that help pull the legs together.
– Reduced knee-jerk reflex.

L5 nerve root:
– Pain in the buttock(s) and outer thigh and leg.
– Loss of sensation in the area of the big toe and the second toe.
– Weakness in the buttocks muscles and in the leg muscles.
– Difficulty moving at the ankle, and difficulty lifting the big toe.

S1 nerve root (classic Sciatica):
– Pain in the buttock, back of the calf, and side of the foot.
– Loss of sensation on the outside of the foot, which includes the third, fourth, and fifth toes.
– Difficulty raising the heel of one or both feet and/or difficulty walking on tiptoes.
– Reduced ankle-jerk reflex.

There are science-backed studies linking lower back pain and Erectile Dysfunction (ED). However, low back pain and Sciatica are two different things. Expert opinions about whether ED is linked to Sciatica vary. But most agree that ED is more often associated with Cauda Equina Syndrome, which is often misdiagnosed as Sciatica.