Does this sound like you?
Common signs
- Pain running from the lower back or buttock down the back of one leg
- Burning, shooting or electric pain rather than a dull ache
- Tingling, pins and needles or numbness in the calf, foot or toes
- Symptoms usually on one side only
- Pain that worsens with prolonged sitting, driving, coughing or sneezing
- Weakness in the leg or foot, or a foot that feels heavy
- Difficulty finding a comfortable position at night
This list describes the condition in general. It is not a diagnosis. Only an in-person assessment can tell you what is causing your symptoms.
What contributes to it
Why it happens
- Disc irritation of the nerve root
- A bulging or herniated disc in the lower back can press on or chemically irritate a nerve root where it exits the spine. This is one of the more common sources of true sciatic pain, and it is why the lower back is assessed even when the leg is what hurts.
- Narrowing of the nerve pathway
- Age-related changes to the spinal joints and discs can reduce the space the nerve passes through. Symptoms in this pattern often build with standing or walking and ease when sitting or leaning forward.
- Tight or overworked gluteal muscles
- The sciatic nerve passes close to the deep muscles of the buttock. Where those muscles are chronically tight or overloaded, they can contribute to symptoms that follow a similar path, so the hip and pelvis are examined alongside the spine.
- Prolonged sitting and pelvic position
- Long hours seated, particularly on a wallet or with one leg crossed, load the lower back and buttock unevenly. This rarely causes sciatica on its own, but it commonly keeps an existing irritation going.
How we help
Our approach
Tracing the pain back to its source
You feel it in the leg, but it usually comes from the spine or the pelvis. Your first visit follows the Gonstead six-step assessment: history taking, visualisation, nervoscope instrumentation, palpation with a full-motion assessment of the spinal and pelvic joints, X-ray analysis where indicated, and only then an adjustment. We are looking for the specific level or joint involved.
Adjustment and soft tissue work together
Once the source is identified, the adjustment is specific to it and delivered by hand. Where tight gluteal or hip musculature is part of the picture, our physiotherapy side may add manual therapy or dry needling to reduce the tissue tension contributing to the irritation.
Movement, then tolerance
Nerve symptoms tend to respond to restoring movement and then progressively rebuilding tolerance rather than to rest alone. You will usually be given specific movements to do between visits, along with practical changes to how long you sit and how you get in and out of a chair or car.
When to seek urgent care
See a doctor first if you have any of these
These need a medical assessment before you begin chiropractic care. If any apply to you, contact a doctor or go to the nearest emergency department.
- Loss of bladder or bowel control, or numbness around the groin, buttocks and inner thighs
- Sciatic symptoms down both legs at once
- Progressive weakness, or a foot you cannot lift or that drags when you walk
- Severe pain that no position relieves, including lying down
- Leg symptoms after a significant fall, accident or direct trauma
- Fever, unexplained weight loss, or a history of cancer alongside new sciatic pain
Frequently asked questions
What patients ask us
How long does sciatica last?
Many episodes of sciatica improve over a number of weeks, but it varies with the cause, how long symptoms have been present and how the spine is loaded each day. Symptoms that have been present for months generally take longer to change than a recent flare. Your chiropractor will give you a timeline based on your own assessment rather than a general figure.
Should I rest or keep moving with sciatica?
For most mechanical sciatica, gentle movement is better tolerated than prolonged bed rest, which tends to leave the area stiffer. Short walks and regular changes of position usually help more than staying still. Avoid movements that clearly worsen the leg symptoms, and follow the specific guidance you are given after your assessment.
Is my sciatica caused by a slipped disc?
Sometimes, though not always. A disc is one of several possible sources, and hip, pelvic and joint contributors are common too. Working out which one applies to you is the job of the assessment. We would not tell you the cause without examining you first.
Do I need an injection or surgery for sciatica?
Most people with sciatica are managed without either. Injections and surgery are typically considered where conservative care has not helped, or where there is progressive nerve weakness or a red-flag presentation. If your chiropractor feels another healthcare provider would better help you, you will be referred appropriately.
