5 Signs You Might Have Sciatica
How to tell sciatic pain apart from ordinary low back soreness.
Low back pain is common enough that it's easy to write off, but sciatica has a few distinct signs that separate it from ordinary soreness.
- 01
Pain that radiates down one leg.
Sciatica typically follows the path of the sciatic nerve, from the low back through the hip and down the back of one leg.
- 02
A burning or sharp sensation, not just dull ache.
Nerve-related pain tends to feel different from muscular soreness.
- 03
Numbness or tingling.
Pins-and-needles sensations in the leg or foot often point to nerve compression.
- 04
Pain that worsens with sitting.
Prolonged sitting frequently aggravates sciatic nerve compression.
- 05
Weakness in the leg or foot.
In more pronounced cases, the affected leg may feel noticeably weaker.
If a few of these sound familiar, it's worth getting evaluated rather than waiting it out. Sciatic pain usually points to compression somewhere along the spine, and that's not something that reliably resolves on its own.
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See how we approach it on our Low Back & Sciatic Pain page.