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Sciatica is pain going down the leg from the lower back. [1] This pain may go down the back, outside, or front of the leg. [3] Onset is often sudden following activities such as heavy lifting, though gradual onset may also occur. [5] The pain is often described as shooting. [1] Typically, symptoms are only on one side of the body. [3]
Referred pain, also called reflective pain, [1] is pain perceived at a location other than the site of the painful stimulus.An example is the case of angina pectoris brought on by a myocardial infarction (heart attack), where pain is often felt in the left side of neck, left shoulder, and back rather than in the thorax (chest), the site of the injury.
The sciatic nerve supplies sensation to the skin of the foot, as well as the entire lower leg (except for its inner side). Sensation to skin to the sole of the foot is provided by the tibial nerve, and the lower leg and upper surface of the foot via the common fibular nerve. [2]: 422–4 The sciatic nerve also innervates muscles.
The calf muscles are your “second heart,” squeezing veins in the lower legs to help return deoxygenated blood from the feet back up towards the chest, the Cleveland Clinic notes.
A common form of radiculitis is sciatica – radicular pain that radiates along the sciatic nerve from the lower spine to the lower back, gluteal muscles, back of the upper thigh, calf, and foot as often secondary to nerve root irritation from a spinal disc herniation or from osteophytes in the lumbar region of the spine.
The pain is usually located in the calf muscles of the affected leg and is relieved by rest. [30] This occurs because during exercise, the muscles require more oxygen . Normally, the arteries would be able to increase the amount of blood flow and therefore increase the amount of oxygen going to the exercised muscle.
The flow of lymph from the legs towards the heart is the result of the calf pump– during walking the calf muscle contracts, squeezing lymph out of the leg via the lymphatic vessels. When the muscle relaxes, valves in the vessels shut preventing the fluid from returning to the lower extremities. [3]
Intermittent claudication, also known as vascular claudication, is a symptom that describes muscle pain on mild exertion (ache, cramp, numbness or sense of fatigue), [1] classically in the calf muscle, which occurs during exercise, such as walking, and is relieved by a short period of rest.