Sciatica in Spanish

What it means

Sciatica is a symptom: MedlinePlus describes it as pain, weakness, numbness, or tingling in the leg, caused by injury to or pressure on the sciatic nerve. It is a symptom of a medical problem, not a medical condition by itself. The sciatic nerve starts in the lower back and runs down the back of each leg. The feeling can start in the lower back and extend down the leg to the calf, foot, or even the toes, and it is usually on only one side of the body. Sciatica pain can vary widely: it may feel like a mild tingling, a dull ache, or a burning sensation, and the affected leg may feel weak. It may get worse after standing or sitting, or when sneezing, coughing, or laughing.

Sciatica in Spanish

Spanish term: Ciática
Gender and article: feminine: la ciática
Pronunciation: SYAH-tee-kah

Other Spanish terms	Where it is used	Note
dolor ciático	General	Descriptive phrase (sciatic pain) that MedlinePlus en español uses in its article on ciática.

Ciática is the word MedlinePlus en español uses for this symptom, and it is feminine: la ciática. The nerve is masculine, el nervio ciático, and the same adjective appears in dolor ciático (sciatic pain). MedlinePlus en español states that ciática is a symptom of another health problem and not a disease in itself; "I have sciatica" is tengo ciática.

To describe what is felt, MedlinePlus en español uses dolor (pain), debilidad (weakness), entumecimiento (numbness) and hormigueo (tingling). For the quality of the pain it gives hormigueo leve (mild tingling), dolor sordo (dull ache), sensación de ardor (burning sensation) and dolor agudo (sharp pain). Body-part words on the same pages are la parte baja de la espalda (the lower back), la pantorrilla (the calf) and la planta del pie (the sole of the foot).

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Patient	I have pain that starts in my lower back and goes down my left leg to my foot.	Tengo un dolor que empieza en la parte baja de la espalda y me baja por la pierna izquierda hasta el pie.
Clinician	Is the pain on one side only, or in both legs?	¿El dolor es de un solo lado o en las dos piernas?
Patient	Only on the left. It feels like burning, and sometimes my foot tingles.	Solo del lado izquierdo. Lo siento como ardor, y a veces me hormiguea el pie.
Clinician	Do you feel numbness or weakness in that leg?	¿Siente entumecimiento o debilidad en esa pierna?
Patient	It gets worse after sitting for a long time, and when I cough or sneeze.	Empeora después de sentarme por mucho tiempo, y cuando toso o estornudo.
Clinician	Do you wake up at night because of the pain?	¿Se despierta por la noche a causa del dolor?
Clinician	I am going to lift your leg straight up; tell me if it hurts.	Voy a levantarle la pierna estirada; dígame si le duele.
Patient	The back of my calf feels numb, and my leg feels weak when I walk.	Siento entumecida la parte de atrás de la pantorrilla, y siento débil la pierna al caminar.

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Sciatica
Spanish (Español)	Ciática
Chinese (中文)	坐骨神經痛
Korean (한국어)	좌골신경통
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Đau dây thần kinh tọa
Filipino (Tagalog)	Sciatica
Portuguese (Português)	Ciatalgia
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	อาการปวดเส้นประสาทไซแอติก
Japanese (日本語)	坐骨神経痛

Where you'll see it

chartintake formmedical recordtriage note

Related ICD-10-CM category

ICD-10-CM code: M54 → Dorsalgia

Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: Brain and nerves

All terms in this area: Brain and nerves — Cerebro y nervios

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.