Sciatic pain is caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve exiting from the lumbar spine. Nerve irritation can occur from a variety of causes including disc protrusion with symptoms of sciatica including
- Pain down the back of the leg
- Pins and needles and / or numbness
- Weakness in the leg
- Shooting pain into the calf
This injury can be a sudden onset or it can seemingly creep up on the victim. It is common for sciatic pain to be worse when sitting, making desk work and car trips very uncomfortable. For most people sciatic pain is a short lasting episode but for some the problem can be long term. Usually, the longer the problem has been present, the harder it is to fix.
It is most important that if you think you might have sciatic pain that you tend to it in the early stages to enable a quick recovery and a smaller risk of it recurring in the future. Your physio will assess the cause of the sciatic pain and then devise a strategy to treat the problem in accordance to the cause behind it. Treatment may include mobilisations of the back, manipulation, strength training, education and manual handling.
