A common complaint I see in my clinic is sciatica. Sciatica can be a blanket diagnosis for pain in the hip, buttocks and down the leg. It’s labelled “sciatica” because often the sciatic nerve — a nerve that exits at the base of your spine and travels down the back of your legs, can be a contributor to these symptoms.
The textbook description for the cause of sciatica symptoms is that muscle groups near the nerve’s pathway tighten and impinge on the sciatic nerve as it exits through the pelvis and carries on down the leg. Common reasons for these muscles to tighten and wreak havoc include inactivity, poor hip mobility, muscle tension related to injury or stress, mineral or nutrient deficiency or sedentary activities.
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Among the important things to know about sciatica is that it’s not a permanent, unsolvable issue. Many professionals in the health care industry have written off sciatica as a chronic label their patients take to mean they are stuck with it for life. This is untrue. Sciatica, like most other pains, can be resolved. It takes time and effort, but it is possible.
A small percentage of individuals are born with the sciatic nerve travelling through the piriformis muscle, which opens the door for a greater chance of symptoms. Does it mean you’re doomed? Of course not. But you will have to pay attention to how your body moves and encounters stress, specifically in the hips and spine down to the foot. Ensuring appropriate mobility and biomechanical function, from the feet upward, can support individuals with that rare anatomy — as well as those who encounter tension-related sciatica symptoms.
Stress will also exacerbate sciatica. I’ve met individuals with very little physical reason behind their sciatica symptoms. When we talk about “other” things going on in their lives, they usually report various objective stressors. It’s often underestimated how much emotional state carries into physical state. This doesn’t mean it’s “just in your head.” You still have a valid reason for your symptoms, and they are still resolvable.
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Often sciatica requires manual therapy, and a good physical therapy program, to resolve in both the short and long term. Along with professional guidance, we can also take our own steps toward a life without sciatica symptoms, looking at our lives from a holistic perspective: that means we assess our nutrition, whether we’re achieving a sustainable active lifestyle, how we relate to our overall stress response, and how we resolve the emotional or energetic barriers we encounter as we operate.
Professionals well equipped to help manage sciatica symptoms include any form of physical therapist (physiotherapy, athletic therapy, kinesiology), massage therapists, movement professionals and, of course, medical professionals.
