SCIATICA

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21326, 29 October 1932, Page 7 (Supplement)

SCIATICA

BY A DOCTOR / " What Is sciatica ? " somebody asked toe. I, explained that it was an inflammation of the sheath of the sciatic nerve, which runs from the back of the thigh all the way down the leg. My questioner was a young man who spent a great deal of time driving a car, and whenever he drove a long distance he would get pain down his right leg, chiefly from the back of the thigh to the back of the knee. Of course there are lot of causes tor this disease; but in his case the trouble was due to chronic stretching of the nerve and possibly also to pressure upon it from the seat of the car. The right leg is particularly liable to sciatica in motorcar driving, as it ii the leg used in working the accelerator, the loot being held for long periods of time forced backwards at the ankle. - The trouble is also largely due to the driver's seat being too low and too close to the foot controls, and also to the iprings of the seat wearing out. The remedy is, if possible, to push your seat further back, and either to have it repadded or to sit on a cushion. In this way the pressure on, and the stretching of the sciatic nerve is relieved.