Can Shingles Cause Sciatica

Sprenger de rover reported that the absence of abnormal mri findings in the lumbar spine can rule out sciatica of lumbar spine origin.

Can shingles cause sciatica. A variety of problems can put the squeeze on your sciatic nerve. There are several reports that have described the differential diagnosis between herpes zoster infection and sciatica of lumbar spine origin. I m a 70 year old healthy female. Shingles other shingles symptoms include headache fever nausea and body aches.

Some of the more common culprits include. Medication to alleviate pain physical therapy and bed rest are treatments for sciatica. There s no cure but treatments can ease symptoms. Risk factors for sciatica include.

The chickenpox herpes zoster virus causes shingles. Herniated slipped discs between the vertebrae pressing on the. By increasing the stress on your spine excess body weight can contribute to the spinal changes that trigger sciatica. According to the national institutes of health the name shingles comes from the latin word cingulum which means belt or girdle and connotes the virus preference for the back.

The area can become so sensitive that even wearing a soft undershirt can cause pain as the cloth rubs against the chest. Shingles a common name for herpes zoster results from reactivation of the virus that causes chicken pox within sensory nerve roots of the back and spine. Causes of sciatica. Inside a spinal nerve then surfaced as sciatica 30 years later.

Ive had a slipped disc and had an operation 3 years ago to shave away the disc that was pressing on the nerve 3 yrs later i get terrible sciatica some shooting pains and then. Funny you should comment on the sciatica i had a terrible few days of sciatica and then a week later shingles came on i think its something to do with the nerves and the stress of the pain that can bring it out. For most people postherpetic neuralgia improves over time. Phn is a persistent nerve pain that can occur as a result of shingles.

In other words i think in my case and perhaps in many others sciatica is just a different manifestation of shingles. I had chickenpox as a child and a mild case of shingles in 1992. Applying heat to the virus for lengthy periods inactivated it just as applying heat to a viral or bacterial respiratory infection clears it more quickly. Shingles is caused by the herpes varicella zoster virus the virus known to cause chickenpox after a person recovers from.