Who knows somebody that's constantly complaining about their "Sciatica"? Have you ever wondered what they're talking about or if you had/have sciatica? Well if you have, here's a blog post for you!!!
If you'd survey a bunch of people and ask them what it's called when you get pain in side of the hip/back that travels down into the leg or foot, you'd probably get a lot of people saying "sciatica". With that answer, they'd be correct (partially...)! Sciatica is basically an irritation of the sciatic nerve. Typically the pain is unilateral, or one-sided. The pain can stem from the top of the buttock region and run all the way down the posterior aspect of the leg to the bottom of the foot. However, the pain does not always have to go down to the foot. Instead of pain, you can sometimes get tingling and numbness.
With that knowledge, it may sound like all low back pain/tingling/numbness is sciatica...hence why you'll always hear someone at a holiday dinner or at the rec league softball game saying "My sciatica is acting up again!". When you experience anything similar, those same people might even try to tell you that your back pain or leg pain is sciatica. In some cases, they may be correct, but "sciatica-like" pain can be caused by a variety of different structures in the low back and legs. It's important to figure out what the true cause is, so that you can properly treat it!
Some common conditions that have similar symptoms to "sciatica" are: herniated discs, facet syndrome, SI joint dysfunction, gluteus maximus/medius trigger points, spinal stenosis, degenerative discs, trochanteric bursitis, piriformis syndrome and sometimes specific peripheral nerve entrapment. To think that all of these conditions could fall under the same umbrella diagnosis of sciatica is pretty crazy. However, if you don't know specifically what you're dealing with, then you don't know what treatment will be most effective. That's why if things aren't improving with your home remedies, you should consider seeing a professional.
Once you figure out the source of pain, you can tailor your treatment to be very effective. For example, some people stretch their hip repeatedly yet the pain keeps getting worse. They may think that they need to stretch more, but in certain cases of Sacroiliac joint instability, stretching could be making the pain worse! For people with certain types of disc herniations, they might see something online that says leaning forward and doing toe touches is good for back pain. However, once again, doing that stretch can actually be harmful for them! If they have a bulge or herniation, that forward leaning motion actually increases the pressure in the discs and presses the disc material towards their nerves, thus making their pain worse!
Moral of the story, if you've been struggling with pain and you think it's "sciatica", take the guess-work out of it and see a professional! We'll save you some time on WebMD and possibly weeks of trying a bunch of solutions! You may even prevent yourself from digging a deeper hole by doing the wrong home remedies.
If you have any questions related to sciatica or low back pain, feel free to email rosecitysportandspine@gmail.com or call 717-228-8536. Even if a chiropractor isn't the right healthcare provider for your back pain, we'll gladly point you in the right direction!
-Dr. Henly