SCiatica…Apparently, it’s an umbrella!

Written By Hayley Biddle

Sciatica is an umbrella term that can be banded around a fair bit!

However, sciatica is actually a symptom of something else happening and not an actual condition in itself! (I know, mind blown!).

Therefore, sciatica is nerve pain from an injury or irritation to the sciatic nerve.

So, if you have been broadly told you have sciatica… it is worth investigating what is causing your sciatica, and as always there will likely be multiple factors!  

A little bit of anatomy..

  •  The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in your body!

  • You have 2 of them (one on either side of your body)

  • It is a major nerve of the lower limb (leg) it’s a thick flat band, approximately 2cm wide

  • It has many contributing nerves that converge and run from your low back to your knee

  • It then branches again and continues all the way to the underside of the foot!

  • Pain can arise from different locations along the nerve, but the most common presentations are in the glute area, low back and posterior thigh (back of your leg).

Symptoms you might experience?

  • Shooting pain from the low back, glute or along the pathway of the sciatic nerve

  • Pins and needles down posterior leg and foot

  • Weakness to the leg

  • Numbness to the leg/foot

In addition, lifestyle can be a big factor, for example;

  • Not exercising

  • Sedentary lifestyle (both job and at home)

  • Excess weight or obesity

  • Highly stressed

 Potential conditions that can cause sciatica are (but not limited to):

•   Disc herniation

•   Nerve root irritation

•   Degenerative disc disease

•   Stenosis

•   Piriformis involvement

The above are just a few potential causes, and although sciatic symptoms can come and go, it is definitely worth considering why they happen in the first place.

Pain in complex, many factors are involved and sometimes with pain there doesn’t always have to be a direct cause – eg: a trauma.

Always remember that everyone is different and can respond differently to treatment. Sciatica is generally self limiting, so patience is very much needed, albeit the journey to recovery can be very frustrating!

So be smart, be gentle with yourself and if you are not sure get checked!

Hayley Biddle
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