[Therapeutic management of nerve root pain in the lower limbs].

Therapeutic management of nerve root pain in the lower limbs. The treatment of sciatica by disc herniation is foremost, apart from emergencies, conservative treatment. This should start quickly to prevent chronicity of pain. If strict rest is no longer recommended, the lifestyle and dietary rules can be proposed. The consensual drug treatment based on analgesics and NSAID. Systemic steroids do not provide a major bene- fit and have considerable side effects. The epidural steroid injections are proposed after failure of non-invasive medical treatment. These can be carried out according to different procedures and require certain precautions in view of serious accidents described. New avenues are being explored including use of anti TNF or by percutaneous techniques.