Question I have a sciatica nerve problem, no real cause explained to me, I had x-rays, nothing out of sort but I do have scoliosis. My question is, in reading up on things to relieve sciatica pain I found a lot of warnings about loss of urinary control, etc. etc. Can sciatica progress to that or would it have already happened? I am scared now, thanks.
P.s. I have the numb/tingling in my leg and foot.
AnswerHave you had xrays of your actual hip joint (not just of your lower back)? I would also advise an xray of your knee in the affected leg. Recently I have become a skeptic of the diagnosis "sciatica". Sciatica simply means leg pain. But what is causing it?
My dad was misdiagnosed for a year with "sciatica," given antiinflammatories, vicodin and steriod shots, but it turned out he had almost no joint left in his hip and needed a hip replacement. A simple 50 dollar xray of the hip would have shown his joint deterioration, but instead, they looked everywhere for the leg pain except the leg itself--MRIs of the spine, xrays of the spine were a waste of time because they didn't show the problem. So first, are you certain the diagnosis is correct? Be very insistent with your doctors that they do this simple xray to visualize the hip.
-Maggie Smith, RN, MSN
