Question

A client visits an orthopedic specialist because of pain beginning in the low back and radiating behind the right thigh and down below the right knee. The doctor suspects a diagnosis of sciatica. The nurse knows that the origin of the pain is between which intervertebral disks?

Answer 1

ANSWER: The origin of the pain is from the intervertebral disks of the lumbosacral spine.

EXPLANATION:

Sciatica is pain in the lower extremity resulting from irritation of the sciatic nerve.

The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body and begins from nerve roots in the lumbar spinal cord in the low back and extends through the buttock area to send nerve endings down the lower limb.

Sciatica is caused by irritation of the root(s) of the lower lumbar and lumbosacral spine. Additional common causes of sciatica include: Lumbar spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower back) Degenerative disc disease (breakdown of discs, which act as cushions between the vertebrae).