English singer Adele has revealed that she is suffering from a debilitating back condition called sciatica.
The 34-year-old award-winning singer who was seen limping across the stage at a New Year’s Eve concert, told her fans, “I have a wobble these days because I have really bad sciatica.”
According to Spine Health, sciatica, which is a term used to describe nerve pain in the leg, reportedly affects 10 to 40 per cent of people, typically around the age of 40 years.
It is specific to pain that originates from the sciatic nerve. But though it is caused by an underlying medical condition, it is reportedly not a medical diagnosis.
The sciatic nerve which is attached to the spinal cord helps in the movement of leg and feet muscles. It also helps provide sensations in the legs.
It is caused by compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve which travels from the lower back through the hips and buttocks and down each leg.
The injury normally occurs due to a slipped disk, which presses against the sciatic nerve.
In a previous magazine interview in 2021, Adele spoke about suffering from back pain and that she suffered two slipped disks in her back.
She reportedly said, "I slipped my first disk when I was 15 from sneezing.”
The second slipped disk injury occurred last year in January 2021 after her 8-year-old son jumped out to scare her as she emerged from the bathroom.
She adds, "I've been in pain with my back for, like, half of my life, really. It flares up, normally due to stress or from a stupid bit of posture."
Normally, there are five bones in the lumbar vertebrae which is the lower back, but Adele supposedly has an extra bone in her spine. Therefore, she has six, the Daily Mail informs.
According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, sciatica is caused by varied factors – right from wear and tear of aging to sudden pressure on the disks around the lower spine, for instance, like a herniated disk or slipped disk.
Symptoms
• The Mayo Clinic informs that sciatica pain can be experienced anywhere along the sciatic nerve pathway which from the lower back to the buttock and the back of a thigh and calf.
• Only one side of the body is affected by sciatica.
• Those suffering with sciatica can experience either sharp, mild, or burning pain. At times, it may even feel like an electric shock.
• The pain can get worse when sneezing, coughing, or sitting for a long time.
• There can also be numbness, tingling or muscle weakness in the leg or foot.
• While there may be pain in one part of the leg, the other part may feel numb.
Causes
• According to doctors at Johns Hopkins University sciatica is usually caused by a slipped, or herniated, disk in the spine. Disks are the rubbery cushions with soft, jelly-like, centers between the bones in the spine.
• When the disks become slipped or herniated, it means the jelly-like center of the disks breaks out through the lining and is pressing up against other bones and nerves and this causes the pain.
• Other causes of sciatica include arthritis, obesity, blood cloths, poor posture, and some nerve disorders.
• At times, the cause of sciatica cannot be diagnosed.
Treatment
Although sciatica pain can be severe, most cases can reportedly be cleared up with treatments within a few weeks.
Doctors treat sciatica by relieving pain symptoms – this includes prescribing painkillers, such as ibuprofen, or a steroid injection around the root of the nerve that is causing the pain.
Physical therapy and weight loss is also recommended to help reduce the symptoms.
Surgery is also a treatment option, in order to remove the bone or disk that is pressing on the nerve. However, this step is only taken when there is loss of bowel and bladder control or muscle weakness.
The NHS states that between 13 per cent and 40 per cent of people will experience sciatica at some point in their life. Also, this condition is most common among those aged 30 to 50 and among those people who already suffer from acute or chronic back pain.
