Sciatica pain: physio can help
Sciatica means “pain down the back of the leg,” usually caused by trapping the sciatic nerve running from your lower back down through the buttocks along the back of each leg. A common form of back pain, sciatica is typically caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve from a slipped disc.
Physiotherapy treats sciatica with excellent results. While sciatica can be extremely painful, permanent tissue damage is rare as most pain is caused by inflammation, improving over time. As nerve pain is caused by a combination of pressure and inflammation on your nerve root, physiotherapy treatment focuses on relieving these conditions.
Sciatica pain can range from infrequent and irritating to severe and debilitating. It usually affects one side of the body with pain radiating through the buttock and down the leg. Sciatica is often associated with constant pain burning or tingling down the leg, weakness, numbness or difficulty moving the leg or foot or shooting pain that makes it difficult to stand up and sit down.
Typically, sciatica pain increases with bending, coughing, lifting and sneezing — common among manual workers, office workers and during pregnancy.
Physiotherapy treatment for sciatica intends to:
- Reduce pain and tension
- Restore movement
- Strengthen weak muscles
What causes sciatica?
The sciatic nerve is the largest in your body running from the base of the spine along the back of the thigh to the knee, where it divides into branches. Sciatic pain is caused by compression of this nerve root at the point where it leaves the spine. Damage to the nerve can also cause pain.
In young and middle-aged adults, sciatica is usually caused by a prolapsed intervertebral disc in the lumbosacral area of the lower back. In elderly people, conditions such as osteoarthritis causing changes to the spine may cause localized pressure on the nerve or narrow the spinal canal (spinal stenosis), alongside bone disease and local injury.
Pressure on the sciatic nerve can result from:
- Piriformis syndrome (tightness of piriformis muscle in buttock compressing sciatic nerve)
- Spinal misalignment or vertebral dysfunction
- Slipped disc (herniated disc)
- Poor posture from wearing high heels, prolonged and awkward sitting or poor mattress
- Poor lifting technique and bending habits
- Osteoporosis causing spinal compression
Assessment
Many disorders can cause sciatica, therefore your physiotherapist will first assess your condition to determine the precise cause of your sciatic nerve discomfort, including a spinal and orthopaedic examination.
Treatment
As sciatica results from pressure on the sciatic nerve, treatment focuses on relieving this pressure. Your physiotherapy treatment aims to achieve relief and prevention by reducing nerve pressure caused by poorly moving spinal joints while easing muscular tension in the lower spine, buttock and leg.
Common techniques used to treat sciatica:
- Spinal mobilization
- Massage therapy and acupuncture
- Stretching tight muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments
- Therapeutic ultrasound and modern electrotherapy and modalities
- Minimizing pressure and irritation of sciatic nerve
- Stretching exercises to help your recovery
Need help with managing your sciatica pain? Achieve best results by addressing your symptoms now.