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Sciatic Nerve Roots

Sciatic nerve roots are a subset of the spinal nerve roots that collectively form the sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in the body. The sciatic nerve serves your pelvic area, buttocks, both legs, and both feet.

Formed from nerve bundles that pair up and branch off the spine, your nerve roots exit the spinal column through intervertebral foramina (small spaces between the vertebrae) and form a network of nerves through various parts of your body. Nerve roots are a critical cog in the machine we call our peripheral nervous system – forming the all-important junction between the spinal cord and the rest of the body. Therefore, each nerve root plays a vital role in all of our sensory and motor functions.

Of the more than two dozen nerve roots in your body, only L4, L5, S1, S2 and S3 are dubbed the sciatic nerve roots because it is these spinal nerve roots that eventually unite to form the sciatic nerve – the longest, thickest nerve in the human body. The sciatic nerve is responsible for carrying sensations from your pelvic area, buttocks, and lower limbs to your brain, and helps facilitate movement in your legs and feet by ushering motor impulses from your brain to your lower limbs.

Compression of one or more of the sciatic nerve roots will lead to a set of symptoms known as sciatica. These include any of the following:

• Deep, severe, sometimes burning pain that starts on one side of the body; begins in the lower back, then shoots down through the buttock, leg, and foot
• Worsening pain with prolonged sitting or standing
• Bursts of pain occurring after sudden or strained movements
• Foot weakness accompanied by intensifying foot pain that may prevent movement

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Some conservative treatments for sciatica include anti-inflammatory drugs, short-term narcotic pain management, lumbar steroid injections, and physical therapy. Talk to your doctor about designing a treatment plan specifically for the lumbar spine nerve roots.

If conservative remedies don’t alleviate the pain, and you’re considering conventional open back surgery, contact Laser Spine Institute (LSI) first. The surgeons at LSI may be able to treat your pain with our minimally invasive, endoscopic procedures, which are performed on an outpatient basis. Contact LSI today to schedule a free review of your MRI or CT scan and take an important step toward treating your pain.

Please note: Laser Spine Institute currently does not perform endoscopic procedures on the thoracic spine.