Sciatica

Are you experiencing any of the following?

• Pain down the back of your leg
• Shooting pain down your leg
• Muscle weakness of your leg
• Pins and needles along your leg
• Numbness of your leg
• Pain when standing on the affected leg
• Difficulty sitting or walking due to pain
• Back pain
• Buttock pain

We can help! Physiotherapists are experts in human movement and have great outcomes with sciatica.

Causes

True sciatica is compression of the sciatic nerve as it exits the lumbar spine causing pain down the back of the leg. The most common cause of sciatica is from a disc prolapse in the lumbar spine, resulting in a compression of the nerve.

Piriformis syndrome is another condition that may cause similar symptoms. In some cases, the sciatic nerve runs down through the piriformis or buttock muscle instead of underneath it. When the muscle becomes tight and shortens it compresses the nerve causing similar symptoms to true Sciatica.

Your physiotherapist at Body Rhythm Physiotherapy will be able to carry out a thorough assessment to establish an accurate diagnosis for the cause of your condition and how best to manage it.

Treatment

We offer a range of treatment options depending on your particular complaint and goals, consisting of:

• Postural improvements or re-training
• Muscle/soft tissue therapy – Trigger point release, myofascial release, massage
• Dry needling/Acupuncture
• Joint mobilisation
• Joint manipulation
• Taping
• Ergonomic advice
• Rehabilitation, strengthening and education programs
• Pilates