sciatica – coughing, sneezing and straining

Sciatica is often worsened by coughing, sneezing and straining. It is a sign that patients complain about in the case of back pain. In some, the act of coughing or sneezing can actually cause a disc herniation.

In a recent study in The European Spine Journal, researchers wanted to find out if the act of coughing, sneezing or straining is important in the assessment of nerve root compression or disc herniation on MRI.

In “A diagnostic study in patients with sciatica establishing the importance of localization of worsening of pain during coughing, sneezing and straining to assess nerve root compression on MRI” ¹ they found that the worsening of leg pain with these actions which includes increasing intradiscal pressure ² has good diagnostic value for nerve root compression and disc herniation with MRI.

The research revealed the importance of asking whether the patient has these symptoms in the history taking.

At Dynamic Disc Designs, our models showcase how compression will extrude the nucleus….helping patient’s understand their pain.

Quote by the famous Karel Lewit:

“The first task for the physician is to show the patient the cause of their pain”.