Dr. Ebraheim’s educational animated video describes the condition wallet sciatica sciatic nerve symptoms caused by sitting on a fat, thick wallet for too long.
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Your Sciatica May Be Caused By Your Wallet – Everything You Need to Know

Sitting on a heavy wallet can create wallet neuropathy, sciatica, neuritis, piriformis syndrome or temporary concussion of the nerve. When men sit on their large wallet for a long time, it creates postural changes in their spine, and it creates sciatica like symptoms. How does a heavy loaded wallet create these symptoms? The wallet creates compression on the sciatic nerve and with time, it causes focal neural edema, compression of the blood supply and inflammation of the nerve. The longstanding use and sitting on a bulky wallet produce sciatica like symptoms, which may be difficult to differentiate from the other conditions. This back pocket sciatica or fat wallet syndrome will generate a clinical feature that simulates sciatica. No one knows the size of the wallet that is responsible for creating the sciatica, which wallet is safer to use and what is the duration of use that develops this problem so we can avoid it.
The patient may complain of buttock pain with radiation of the pain to the lower extremity, especially when the patient is seated on a heavy wallet for a while. The diagnosis can be confused with other conditions that generate sciatica such as a herniated disc which can compress the nerve roots (true sciatica). Also, the condition can be confused with piriformis syndrome where the sciatic nerve is compressed by the piriformis muscle. If compression of the sciatic nerve occurs due to a wallet, then it is called “back pocket sciatica”. The long standing, sitting on a fatty wallet subjects the piriformis muscle and the sciatic nerve to compression, generating the sciatica and low back pain. The condition can also be confused with conditions that generate low back pain such as SI joint dysfunction, lumbar facet arthritis, spinal stenosis, ischial bursitis, and hip arthritis.
The blood flow and the function of the sciatic nerve are affected when the nerve is compressed by the wallet. Loss of feeling of the foot and loss of power can make it difficult to drive and if this were to happen, stop and remove the wallet from the back pocket and make sure that you have recovery of the function of the foot and ankle before you start driving again. It is better to take your wallet out of your back pocket if you think that you are going to sit or drive for a long time.
Another problem is when a person sits on a heavy, bulky wallet, the pelvis and the spine tilts and rotates to one side. Overtime, this stress on the spine not only leads to piriformis syndrome and sciatica but it can also cause postural imbalance and changes of the pelvis and lower back. This misalignment of the pelvis and the spine will cause spine problems to the patient and the pressure on the pelvis due to the lopsided sitting position with the thick, heavy wallet in the back pocket will stretch the piriformis muscle and cause more pressure on the nerve. The pain will increase if the patient sits on the involved hip and when you look at the patient, the patient will have a lopsided posture while sitting.
So how do you avoid and treat this condition?
• Avoid sitting for long periods of time
• During sitting or driving for a long time, take your wallet out of your pocket
• Try to use a slim wallet and remove unnecessary objects from the wallet, especially the hard objects such as credit cards
• Try to avoid a lopsided posture
• Sit with a straight posture to reduce pressure on the nerve. A straight posture distributes the pressure between the two sides and will avoid pressure on the spine