Unfortunately, I have experienced the most common form of back pain, sciatic nerve pain. OUCH! The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the body (1) and is comprised of two nerves, “tibial and common fibular—bound together by a common sheath of connective tissue. It splits into its two divisions, usually at the knee. Injury to the sciatic nerve results in sciatica, pain that may extend from the buttock down the posterior and lateral aspect of the leg and the lateral aspect of the foot” (1). Sciatic pain has a range, “from a mild ache to a sharp, burning sensation or excruciating pain. Sometimes it can feel like a jolt or electric shock. It can be worse when you cough or sneeze, and prolonged sitting can aggravate symptoms. Usually only one side of your body is affected” (2).
There are several possible causes of sciatica, “the sciatic nerve may be injured because of a herniated (slipped) disc, dislocated hip, and osteoarthritis of the lumbosacral spine” (1). I personally experienced sciatic pain during one of my pregnancies which is common because of the increased, “pressure from the uterus during pregnancy”(1).
References:
1. Tortora, G. & Derrickson, B. (2017). Principles of Anatomy and Physiology, 15th
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When I worked as a teacher, I had a hearing impaired student with a cochlear implant. A cochlear implant is used when there is damage to the hairs in the inner ear, which work to, “generate an electrical current in the auditory nerve. The electrical signal travels through inter-connections in the brain to specific areas of the brain that recognize it as sound” (1). Since there is no damage to the auditory nerve the implant will, “bypass damaged hair cells and convert speech and environmental sounds into electrical signals and send these signals to the hearing nerve” (1). My student had the surgery for the implant over the summer and with the implant, he was able to