Sciatica pain is caused by many things.
Why this matters:
If you can determine the cause of your pain, you can figure out how to fix your pain. If your pain is in your back, a certain set of spinal stretches will improve your pain. But it becomes even more granular than that, as in the spine you can deal with a bulging disc (benefits from extensions and bending toward the side of pain), arthritis (improves with flexion or leaning away from pain), or a combination of the two (core coordination and strength).
The sciatica nerve is the longest nerve in the body. It starts from our brain and travels all the way down our leg. Each muscle and joint this nerve crosses is an opportunity to get irritated. There is a way to figure out the source of pain.
Action steps:
Ask yourself these questions. Does moving your back cause any of your pain? It’s most likely caused by your back. Do you have pain in your butt? It is a good idea to look at your hips, specifically the piriformis. Do you have pain when sitting? We can determine if the pain is caused by the spinal position or sheer force on your buttocks.
These questions are really asking: How does your pain behave? Often times, the answers to these questions will provide the answers for relief.
