sciatica

[DEFINITION]

• A syndrome characterised by pain radiating from the back into the buttock and into the lower extremity along its posterior or lateral aspect and most commonly caused by prolapse of the intervertebral disk, the term is also used to refer to pain anywhere along the course of the sciatic nerve.
• Pain radiating (travelling) into the buttock, back of the thigh, and often into the calf and foot. This is usually caused by irritation of a nerve root of the sciatic nerve, often from compression by a disc or degenerative disease.