What is sciatica?

One of the most common causes of buttock and thigh pain is sciatica. But what does it mean when your doctor informs you that your symptoms are caused by sciatica? Sciatica is the medical name given to the syndrome caused by irritation of one of the large nerves in the body--the sciatic nerve. When a patient has sciatica, they may experience thigh and buttock pain, often accompanied by a tingling or numbness sensation...read on.