Sciatica loosely describes pain that originates in the back and spreads down the leg. Usually the pain is only in one leg, but not exclusively. At worst the pain is severe and debilitating and can be described as searing, shooting or like a severe toothache. Sciatica can also cause weakness and pins and needles and numbness in the leg.For the vast majority of people, their experience of sciatica is far less dramatic than that. At times the pain is only in the leg and not in the back. The pain can be in a line down the leg, it can present as pain in the groin, in the hamstring area, behind the knee, around the heel and achilles or a combination of these seemingly unrelated areas. Because some of these pains can seem vague or unrelated or be only in the leg, people sometimes blame their hip , knee or ankle for the pain. Physiotherapists are experts in diagnosing the origins of these pains.

Like many conditions connected to back pain, there are as many people who hear the term sciatica and think negative thoughts about outcomes. As Physiotherapists, we successfully treat sciatic pain on a daily basis.

Published in “The Village Observer”, June, 2015.Written by Burns Bay Physiotherapy.