Sciatica News and Research

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Sciatica is a symptom of a problem with the sciatic nerve, a large nerve that runs from the lower back down the back of each leg. It controls muscles in the back of your knee and lower leg and provides feeling to the back of your thigh, part of your lower leg and the sole of your foot. When you have sciatica, you have pain, weakness, numbness or tingling. It can start in the lower back and extend down your leg to your calf, foot, or even your toes. It's usually on only one side of your body.

DePuy Synthes launches CONCORDE Clear MIS Discectomy Device to simplify spinal fusion surgery

DePuy Synthes today announced the launch of CONCORDE Clear MIS Discectomy Device, a surgical solution designed to simplify discectomy in minimally invasive spinal fusion surgery.

From DePuy Synthes 12 Dec 2017

Less invasive therapy relieves low back pain, study states

According to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, most patients who had undergone image-guided pulsed radiofrequency treatment for sciatica and low back pain were pain-free.

4 Dec 2017

Dying at home in an opioid crisis: Hospices grapple with stolen meds

Nothing seemed to help the patient — and hospice staff didn't know why. They sent home more painkillers for weeks. But the elderly woman, who had severe dementia and incurable breast cancer, kept calling out in pain.

22 Aug 2017

Elderly patients can benefit from herniated disc surgery, study shows

People 65 and older benefit just as much from an operation for a slipped disc in the lower back as do younger patients.

9 May 2017

Experts defy exclusion of acupuncture in two British governmental guidelines

Even as news in the United States recently highlighted the growing inclusion of acupuncture and other complementary and integrative medicine therapies in guidelines for multiple pain conditions, the exclusion of acupuncture in two British governmental guidelines is challenged in a paper and a commentary that are presently available free on The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine website until May 29, 2017.

28 Apr 2017

Non-invasive optogenetic therapy can help treat chronic pain

The potential of light as a non-invasive, highly-focused alternative to pain medication was made more apparent thanks to research conducted by scientists at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital of McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre.

21 Apr 2016

Promising therapeutic strategy for relieving neuropathic pain

A specific molecule involved in maintaining pain after a nerve injury has been identified and blocked in mice by Hiroshima University researchers. These results reveal a promising therapeutic strategy for treating neuropathic pain.

1 Mar 2016

Short course of oral steroids unlikely to provide much benefit for patients with acute sciatica

Among patients with acute sciatica caused by a herniated lumbar disk (a condition also known as "acute radiculopathy"), a short course of oral steroids resulted in only modest improvement in function and no significant improvement in pain, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

19 May 2015

New research can help explain prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome and sciatica

New research from the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital can help explain the prevalence of widespread syndromes such as carpal tunnel syndrome and sciatica. According to the results, neural movements can be measured by using non-invasive techniques, which are also applicable in diagnostics and rehabilitation planning.

6 May 2015

Controlling acute and chronic pain in women

Despite the variety of effective treatments, and physicians who specialize in treating pain, women often suffer unnecessarily from conditions ranging from backaches to pain after cancer surgery, and also treat their pain with medications that may be ineffective and possibly harmful, according to a review of research related to women and pain by the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

20 Jan 2015

Poor body mechanics cause chronic lower back pain

If you want to steer clear of lower back pain, remember this: Arch is good, flat is bad.

7 Oct 2014

Ortho-oncology team successfully adapts shoulder surgical aid

An ortho-oncology team at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center successfully adapted a shoulder surgical aid (the Spider Limb Positioner) to conduct a left hip disarticulation on a melanoma patient as described in a case report published online in Medical Devices.

9 Sep 2014

LUHS study explores ways to effectively treat pregnancy-related pelvic pain

Aches and pains are common during pregnancy, yet many women dismiss them as a normal part of carrying a baby.

13 Aug 2014

Keele University professor receives £1.8M grant to improve primary care of sciatica patients

Professor Nadine Foster, of the Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre at Keele University, Staffordshire, UK, has been awarded an National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment grant of £1.18 million for a randomised trial that seeks to improve the primary care management of patients with sciatica and suspected sciatica through a new approach called stratified care.

4 Jul 2014

MRI findings rarely associated with spine-related symptoms

Incidental magnetic resonance imaging findings are not generally associated with the development of chronic low back pain or radicular symptoms, US study findings indicate.

5 Jun 2014

FzioMed receives FDA notification to convene usage of Oxiplex Gel

FzioMed, Inc., a medical device manufacturer specializing in biomaterials, has received notification from FDA that the Medical Device Dispute Resolution Panel (MDDRP) will convene and make a decision on the approvability of Oxiplex Gel on June 10, 2014.

11 Apr 2014

Surgery leads to greater long-term improvement for patients with herniated discs in lower spine

For patients with herniated discs in the lower (lumbar) spine, surgery leads to greater long-term improvement in pain, functioning, and disability compared to nonsurgical treatment, concludes an eight year follow-up study in Spine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

27 Dec 2013

Amgen presents data from several romosozumab and Prolia at ASBMR 2013 Annual Meeting

Amgen today announced that it will present data from several romosozumab and Prolia® (denosumab) studies at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) 2013 Annual Meeting in Baltimore from Oct. 4-7, 2013.

5 Oct 2013

Intrinsic Therapeutics enrolls 400th patient in randomized clinical trial to evaluate effectiveness of Barricaid prosthesis

Intrinsic Therapeutics today announced the enrollment of the 400th patient in a level 1, prospective, randomized, multi-center clinical trial evaluating the effectiveness of its Barricaid Prosthesis in improving outcomes for lumbar discectomy patients suffering from sciatica.

1 Aug 2013

S.M. Rezaian says that the spine degrades following inadequate treatment

S.M. Rezaian, MD, FRCS, FICS, PhD has treated well over 13,000 patients throughout his illustrious career in orthopedic medicine. He's truly been an innovator in the field, creating the Rezaian Spinal Fixator and applying minimally-invasive laser back surgery both of which allow for more comprehensive and less risky surgical treatments.

6 Jul 2013