When the pain in your lower back or hip radiates down your buttock to the back of one thigh and into your leg, it is called sciatica. The causes of sciatica are not always structural defects or trauma; on the contrary, sciatica is usually caused by a non macroscopic stimulus pressing on the nerve roots. Often the cause is insufficient mobility of vertebral joints, or spasms that cause tenseness and irritation in the muscle and connective tissues surrounding the nerve roots, and therefore nerve functions are disturbed. On the other hand, spasticity of the back muscles may lock the vertebral joints. Straining of connective and muscle tissues may cause swelling and irritation in soft tissues around the nerve roots, and subsequent pressure and irritation disturb impulses in the nerve tracks.
When an intervertebral disk is herniated, the gel-like inside (nucleus) may protrude into or through the disk’s outer lining (annulus), and stretch the disk tissue which in turn presses directly the spinal nerves. This type of herniated disk can often be cured by back manipulation. However, if the disk has already ruptured, and the gel-like inside of the intervertebral disk has protruded, quick cure using manual treatment is not possible any more, and surgery may be necessary. It is always, however, advisable to find out if the ailment can be treated manually rather than by surgery.