Sciatica? Pain shooting down your leg?

Is it sciatica? 

Sciatic is an umbrella term encompassing the sharp, shooting nerve pain that can shoot from your low back down to parts of the back of your leg, sometimes stopping at the knee, other times radiating all the way to the ankle and foot.  Oftentimes, it can be worse when sitting for a long time, or while trying to sleep at night.

How is it treated?

It’s important to see a physiotherapist to help differentiate between the causes of sciatic nerve irritation. Most commonly, it could be piriformis syndrome, where in 20% of the population, the sciatic nerve pierces through one of the inner hip rotators, (your piriformis, thus the name), and increased tension in the muscle can create irritation along the nerve. This can be a stiffness or malfunction in your sacroiliac (SI) joint. It could also be stemming from the anatomy of your low back, the discs and the exiting nerve root.

Once the cause of your symptoms is identified, then manual therapy, acupuncture and appropriate exercises can help you settle and eventually remove the irritation.

When will I start feeling better?

Research indicates most people experience compete symptom relief within 1-3 weeks after starting an exercise program for piriformis syndrome.¹

References:

¹Hicks BL, Lam JC, Varacallo M. Piriformis Syndrome. [Updated 2022 Sep 4]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK448172/