Which pain medications are effective for sciatica (radicular leg pain)?

摘要

Sciatica is commonly seen in primary care. Its prevalence in the general population varies between 3% and 14%, depending on the definition used.1 The prognosis of acute sciatica is generally favourable: data from a prospective study of 183 patients with a median disease duration of 16 days show that in approximately one third of patients, symptoms improve greatly (ie, measured on a 4 point scale, l=worsened, 2=remained unchanged, 3=improved, and 4=improved greatly) within two weeks, and about three quarters of patients reported improvement within 12 weeks. Nevertheless, in another study of 172 patients, 30% continued to report persistent and disabling symptoms after a year.