What is Sciatica, and how can osteopathy help?

The term sciatica can be expanded to “irritation or inflammation of the sciatic nerve”.

The nerve roots emerge from various spinal levels in your low back and then gather together before running through your buttock region and down the back of your leg. If the nerve is irritated, symptoms can include loss of muscle power and/or sensory changes such as pins and needles, numbness or sharp pain. The affected area is usually the lower leg and/or foot. The nerve irritation can be associated with structural problems in the low back, such as a disc bulge, but the actual vertebral level of the irritation can vary widely and there are other possibilities such as pinching in the sacral or buttock region.

Many more people are told or believe they have sciatica than actually have it. For example, if you have low back pain radiating into the back of the leg, sciatica is one possibility but by no means the only issue. If your symptoms do not extend below the knee, it is less likely that the sciatic nerve is involved.

When you have your condition evaluated by an osteopath for the likely cause you will be able to get appropriate advice and/or treatment. Bear in mind that the term sciatica tells you nothing about where the nerve irritation is, or why it is happening. However, if your symptoms are severe, or are affecting the saddle area or you have disturbances to bladder or bowel function then you should treat it as an emergency (i.e. go to your nearest hospital’s Accident & Emergency).

An osteopath will consider your symptoms, your medical history and their examination findings in coming to a diagnosis as to what is happening to cause your discomfort. Treatment should then be specific and effective; occasionally, there may be cause for further investigation, but then you will be advised about appropriate action in the meantime. Even if you already have a diagnosis such as disc herniation, you may well benefit from treatment because an improvement to the function of the local musculoskeletal structures usually offers some relief and can speed up tissue recovery.