Sciatica: Causes, Symptoms, and When Physiotherapy Makes the Difference
A patient described her sciatica as feeling like someone had run an electric fence down the back of her leg every time she stood up from a chair. That’s a fairly typical description, and it’s specific enough that once you hear it, sciatica is usually the first thing that comes to mind.
What Sciatica Actually Is
Sciatica isn’t a diagnosis by itself, it’s a symptom. It describes pain following the sciatic nerve, the longest nerve in the body, starting in the lower back, running through the hips and buttocks, and branching down each leg. When that nerve gets irritated or compressed, you feel it directly, anywhere from a dull ache to a sharp, burning jolt, sometimes with numbness, tingling, or weakness along the leg.
What’s Usually Causing It
A herniated or bulging disc is the most common culprit, the cushioning discs between vertebrae can press directly on the nerve when they bulge. Spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal canal, shows up more in adults over 50 and puts pressure on nerves passing through. Piriformis syndrome comes from a small muscle deep in the buttock tightening or spasming against the nerve, and it can mimic classic sciatica closely enough to confuse the picture. Degenerative disc disease, discs naturally losing height and hydration with age, increases the odds of nerve compression over time as well.
Recognizing It
Symptoms usually show up on one side: pain radiating from lower back through the buttock and down the leg, burning or tingling in the leg or foot, numbness or weakness on that side, pain that worsens with prolonged sitting, and difficulty changing positions or standing up. Our sciatica condition page has more on how this shows up day to day.
Why Physiotherapy Is the First Call
Rather than just managing the pain, a physiotherapist identifies what’s actually causing it and treats that directly, through exercise, manual therapy, and education on what’s making things worse.
Exercise Is Central
Nerve mobilization, core strengthening, and gentle stretching through the hip and lumbar region form the backbone of most sciatica treatment plans. A randomized controlled trial in SPINE found exercise therapy produced meaningful improvements in pain and disability for patients with lumbar radiculopathy, the clinical name for sciatica from nerve root compression.
Manual Therapy
Joint mobilization and soft tissue work reduce muscle tension and spinal mobility restrictions, easing some of the mechanical pressure feeding the nerve irritation.
Posture and Daily Movement
How you sit, stand, and move throughout your day genuinely affects recovery speed. Your physiotherapist will point out which habits are working against you and how to adjust them.
A Plan Built for Your Specific Case
No two sciatica cases look identical, so a thorough assessment matters before treatment starts. A PMC study on conservative management of lumbar disc herniation found structured physiotherapy significantly reduced pain and improved function compared to minimal intervention.
When to Actually Book
If symptoms have lasted more than a week or two, are getting worse, or are meaningfully disrupting daily life, it’s time to get assessed. Earlier treatment tends to mean faster recovery and a lower chance of the problem becoming chronic. Our physiotherapy team at Wellness Place in Newmarket has worked with sciatica cases at every stage, whether it started last week or has been dragging on for months. More on our approach is on our physiotherapy services page, or reach out directly to book an assessment.