BLOG - Back pain: have I got sciatica or 'regular' back pain?

Sciatica is a back problem that affects millions of people around the world on a daily basis.

But sciatica is not ‘regular back ache’ and there are several things that set it apart in terms of diagnosis, pain and recovery.

Optimum MD Tom Heeley explains the tell-tale signs to look out for and how to not only treat – but guard against sciatica in the future.

Sciatica delivers pain in a couple of ways. Sciatic pain can be numbness, tingling and pins and needles, generally through your hamstring and up to your bum.

Lower back pain

The most pain comes in the lower back or hamstrings.

People can tend to think they have a hamstring problem. But once you start unravelling it and taking layers off, and you listen to the clients tell you about when the pain started and where it hurts, you realise that it’s only usually a hamstring problem if they have been sprinting or changing direction.

If the client doesn’t do any of that work, it’s not likely to be a hamstring tear and sciatica becomes a possibility.

Sciatica occurs when the nerve gets squished by something squeezing onto it or compressing it. It can lead to pain and disfunction.

But sciatica and back ache are different.

Back ache is usually down to a biomechanic issue, and the pain seems to be there all the time.

Sciatica pain, however, will be there if you do specific things. Like touching your toes, for example, and that can lead to pain down your leg.

Doing regular back stretches can make sciatica worse so my advice is to make sure you get the right diagnosis for any back pain you are suffering and then it becomes reasonable easy to get on the road to recovery and manage things well.

Exercises

Sciatica is not just for old people. For example, cyclists can suffer if the set-up of the bike, handle bars and saddle are not right. This could be a 20-year-old person.

Sciatica is usually best treated with specific exercises like leaning backwards or a yoga-like cobra stretch when you lie flat on your belly. That’s a really useful exercise to open the nerve up again.

Bridges are also really useful - even if it’s just a partial range.

Hip flexor stretching is another good idea.

To make sure you are doing the right things for the right diagnosis, contact Tom Heeley to make sure your recovery is going in the right direction.

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