By: Dr. Sankalp Chawla, Special Correspondent-ICN Group
The sciatic nerve is a large nerve that goes from the lower back, down the legs, upto the feet.
LUCKNOW: Has anyone of us ever tried or even imagined sitting with a TV remote or a sand bag around 2.5cm thickness beneath one side of our hip. Sounds foolish, isn’t it. But this is what we are doing in our daily practice by sitting for hours in the offices, clinics, while driving etc. with these thick wallets in our trouser’s back pocket.
A wallet usually consists of a thin bunch of currency notes, a min. of 2-3 credit or debit cards, a driving licence or any other ID , some bills, visiting cards and a few coins. This makes it as thick as 3-4 cm. Although it is a bit uncomfortable to keep it in our back pockets initially, but human body owing to its great power of adaptability, help us to get used to it.
Known by a number of names like the Back Pocket wallet syndrome, the Hip pocket syndrome or the pyriformis syndrome, it is basically a condition caused or aggravated by sitting for hours with a wallet at the back. Once a rare phenomena , its occurence has increased over the past decade.
Without going into much anatomical details let us just get an insight of the structures of our lower back.
The sciatic nerve is a large nerve that goes from the lower back, down the legs, upto the feet. When this nerve gets irritated, it is capable of causing pain, burning, tingling and numbness (depending upon the extent of pressure on it) along its course, i. e., from hip to foot. This characteristic pain is known as sciatica.
Then again there is a muscle known as piriformis, present over the hip joint. This muscle is pressed by the wallet which in turn exerts more pressure on the sciatic nerve, worsening the pain.
Moreover, sitting with the wallets tends to raise the pelvis of one side. Since the hip and the pelvis serve as the foundation of the spine, this unilateral raise of the pelvis leads to the tilting of spine and postural stress.
The mainstay solution of this problem is by keeping your back pocket free from wallet. Try taking it out while sitting and keeping it safely on the desk, drawer or table and by using your side pockets for the same. You can also consult your physiotherapist if the problem is worse.
