Sciatica Spasms – How Does Stress Play Into It?
Sciatica spasms are extremely painful. The muscles along the sciatic nerve could spasm when the nerve gets irritated for several possible reasons, for example a herniated disk in the lumbar spine, Piriformis syndrome and other underlying causes. On the other hand it could also be muscle spasms from for example a strained muscle that in turn irritates the sciatic nerve. It’s a vicious cycle and when you bring stress into the arena it will get real interesting. Stress and back pain, in this case sciatica pain, are strongly related. Stress hormones can heighten the perception of pain and also cause the muscles to tense up. In fact muscles can tense up to the point of going into painful spasms. Stress causes muscle tension. Muscle tension then decreases blood flow in the tissues, which results in less oxygen and nutrients going into the muscles and less acidic waste (a byproduct of muscle activity) going out of the muscles. Reduced circulation also delays the healing process. Increased Mus
