Sciatica

Causes of Sciatica

Have you ever hit your funny bone and had tingling in your fingers? You’ve hit one area of your elbow and temporarily squished your ulnar nerve, now you’re feeling it in another area altogether. It doesn’t feel like it makes sense but a symptom in one area can be caused by trouble in another area. This is exactly what happens with Sciatica.

Sciatica is a condition whereby pressure is placed on a large nerve called the Sciatic nerve which exits the spine in the lower back at levels L4-S3. When pressure is placed upon the Sciatic nerve it can lead to neurological symptoms in the lower back and down into the back of the legs and as far as the toes.

Sciatica can be caused by tight muscles in the lower back pulling the vertebrae togther, disc degeneration and bulges where the structure of the intervertebral discs can close the gap the nerve passes through, or in the back of the hip around a muscle called the Piriformis muscle.

Sciatica is not a diagnosis, but a symptom of condition that is occuring elsewhere (see funny bone analogy above). At Wokingham Osteopaths & Massage we seek to identify the reason for nerve entrapment. We’ll always take into account a patient’s lifestyle, age, family history and other factors when seeking to establish an accurate diagnosis as this really assists us in getting you better as soon as possible.

Symptoms of Sciatica

How Wokingham Osteopaths can help your Sciatica

After discussing your case history, going through a physical examination and taking into account which of the above factors may be playing a role in your current condition, your osteopath will discuss the diagnosis with you before treatment.

Wokingham Osteopaths utilise a gentle combination of massage, articulation, stretches and manipulation (with consent) in order to relieve our patients of Sciatica.