Sciatica and Chronic Pain

Robert W. Baloh, MDDepartment of NeurologyDavid Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Los Angeles, CA, USA

• Introduction.- Nerves and the detection and perception of pain.- What causes sciatica?.- Initial management of sciatica.- Imaging the back and sciatic nerve.- Anesthetics, steroids and surgery for sciatica.- Why does pain persist in so many cases?.- Treatment of chronic neuropathic pain.- Promising new treatments for chronic pain.- Some final thoughts.