The cause of sciatica and abnormal muscle syndrome, not herniated disc, should also be considered
Mar 03, 2025
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Sciatica is a pain in the hips, calves, and feet, which are related to the sciatica. Abnormal muscle syndrome is a disease caused by the pressing of the sciatic nerve by the abnormal muscle. Unlike common herniated discs, pain is known to begin in the hip and hip (lower hip) rather than the waist. In the meantime, many studies have been conducted to find symptoms of abnormal muscle syndrome, but it is still difficult to accurately discriminate.
Professor Sohn's team planned a study to analyze the symptoms of sciatica in patients with abnormal muscle syndrome and help them diagnose accurately. From 2021 until recently, patients diagnosed with abnormal muscle syndrome and undergoing sciatic nerve decompression were followed up for more than a year, and 32 patients whose symptoms were confirmed to have improved by more than 50% were selected to analyze the symptoms of sciatica before surgery.
As a result of the study, it was found that the average preoperative pain period of the patient was 5.6 years. Twelve patients (37.5%) out of 32 analyzed subjects also experienced back pain. Prior to sciatic nerve decompression, 17 patients (53.1%) underwent spinal surgery, of which 2 patients even had spinal cord stimulation.
The most common symptom was pain when sitting, which appeared in 26 patients (81.3%). Among them, 18 (62.5%) complained of pain even when lying down at night, which was clearly different from herniated disc, which causes less pain when lying down.
Professor Sohn Byung-chul said, "I have been a neurosurgeon for more than 20 years, and I have been studying the cause of those who suffer pain for a lifetime despite successful back surgery." "Even if no clear abnormality is found on back MRI, accurate differential diagnosis is important if abnormal muscle syndrome is suspected, and if necessary, nerve block surgery or decompression surgery should be considered."I explained the meaning of the study.
Professor Sohn then explained, "As the elderly population increases, the number of patients who have undergone degenerative spinal surgery is increasing, and some patients experience 'Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS)' that continues pain after surgery."Since some of them are likely to be accompanied by abnormal muscle syndrome, if the pain persists even when resting, plan treatment after precise diagnosis considering various possibilities as well as the lumbar disc."
On the other hand, this paper was recently published in the official journal of the Korean Society of Post-Nervous Neurology 'The Nerve' and won the Grand Prize at the 16th regular academic conference of the Korean Society of Post-Nervous Neurology held on January 19.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
