The sciatica is a set of symptoms that include pain that can be caused in general by compression or irritation of one of the five roots of the spinal nerves that give origin to each sciatic nerve, either irradiating to the left side, towards the right or both sciatic nerves. The pain is felt in the lumbar zone, buttocks, or diverse parts of the leg and the foot. Besides the pain there can be numbness, muscular weakness, sensation of swarming and difficulty in the movement or the control of the leg. Typically, the symptoms only feel in one side of the body.

In spite of the fact that the sciatica is a relatively common form of pain of lower back and pain in the legs, the real meaning of the term is often an understood evil. The sciatica is a set of symptoms more than a diagnosis of what irritates the root of the nerve, causing the pain. This point is important, because the treatment for the symptoms.