A Year After the Treatment, Sciatica Recurred. What Actually Caused It?

Patient Information

70s Female

Disease/Symptoms

• Spinal Canal Stenosis
• Sciatica

Condition

The patient underwent Discseel Procedure for spinal canal stenosis in March 2024. After the treatment, her sciatica disappeared, and she was so satisfied that she introduced many friends to our clinic. However, around April of this year, her sciatica began to flare up again.

VAS Score (Pain Scale)

MRI Examination Results

These are MRI photos before and after treatment. The photo on the right is before treatment (March 2024), and the photo on the left is today's photo (May 2025). Intervertebral disc volume is maintained, and no new lesions are observed. The MRI images show a stable condition.

Diagnosis Results

Upon listening to her story, she said that her neuralgia started after she worked quite hard cleaning the garden in March. Also, pressing on her buttocks worsened the neuralgia, so sacroiliac joint dysfunction was suspected. We determined that the problem was likely due to a pelvic joint disorder rather than her lower back, and asked her to take oral medication and undergo rehabilitation. We expect symptom improvement in about 2 months. We explained that the cause of her sciatica recurrence was "overworking," and that moderation is important in everything.

The Director's True Feelings

Although I specialize in lower back pain now, I am also a certified internal medicine physician, an anesthesiology certified physician, and a cardiovascular specialist. Thanks to that, I was able to examine many patients, but I noticed something. That is, humans are basically weak-willed creatures.

It's easy to recommend things patients should do for their illness (for example, strict diet or rehabilitation, or restrictions on daily life) to patients, but in reality, most cannot continue them. The reason is that what doctors recommend is mostly "not fun." Therefore, in my outpatient clinic, for patients who need exercise therapy, I explain it with ingenuity such as, "It's fine to do what you can, so please take a walk for about 30 minutes after meals with your family while chatting and laughing. This also helps prevent divorce in old age..."

I believe that for work, housework, medical care, hobbies, and life itself, it's important to do things "in moderation," "to a sustainable degree," and "enjoyably."