The sciatic nerve’s “long arm…”

When I had my slip-and-fall accident, my buttock’s piriformis muscle pinched my right sciatic nerve, but that son of a gun kept the pain going and carried it downstream alongside my thigh, my knee, my lower leg and even my ankle 9 days later. It also went back and “tickled” my lower spine in recent days, more than 10 days after the accident occurred. 

In addition to that invasive bad behavior, I got an attack 3 days ago from the radial nerve, on the same right side, the one that works with our arms and hands, in which my wrist and lower arm became stiff, swollen and exhibited all the signs of carpal syndrome. 

This latter problem seems now to be losing some of its sting. So, all this made me think that there might be a connection, a connivance of sorts, between these two giant nerves. 

My initial research on the subject tells me “NO”, but deep inside I’m not yet convinced… Sure, l learned that the sciatic and radial nerves are peripheral nerves, meaning they’re coming out of the brain and spinal cord. 

Both contribute to motor function in controlling muscle movement. The sciatic nerve controls muscles in the back of the leg and foot, while the radial nerve controls muscles in the back of the arm and hand. 

They’re also susceptible to being injured, compressed or irritated, leading to pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness. What’s different about them is their origins and functions as the sciatic nerve originates from the lower spine (L4-S3 nerve roots) in the lumbar region, while the radial nerve stems out of the cervical spine (C5-T1 nerve roots) in the neck region. 

Still I can’t comprehend what had “woken up” the radial nerve while the sciatic one was being pinched and acted out. I continue to believe that a big problem with the sciatic nerve “provoked” the radial nerve to manifest itself. 

This remains a total mystery, a troubling coincidence and I’m awfully tempted in connecting these two dots...