What Are Sciatica & Leg Pain?
Sciatica refers to pain travelling into the leg due to irritation of nerve roots in the lower back. It may feel sharp, burning or shooting and can occur with tingling, numbness or weakness.
Sciatica refers to pain travelling into the leg due to irritation of nerve roots in the lower back. It may feel sharp, burning or shooting and can occur with tingling, numbness or weakness.
Not all leg pain is sciatica. Pain may also come from joints, muscles, tendons, peripheral nerves or circulation problems. Assessment helps distinguish between these possibilities.
Where You Feel Sciatica Pain — and What It May Be Linked To
Buttock
Buttock pain may be referred from the lower back or associated with local hip and soft-tissue structures. Pain in this area alone does not confirm sciatica.
Back or Side of the Thigh
Pain travelling through the thigh may involve lumbar nerve irritation, referred pain or local muscle and tendon problems. The symptom pattern and examination findings help guide assessment.
Calf or Lower Leg
Pain extending below the knee can occur with nerve-root irritation, but calf pain also has other causes. New swelling, warmth or redness needs urgent medical assessment.
Foot or Toes
Tingling, numbness or pain in the foot may involve a lumbar nerve root or a peripheral nerve further down the leg. Changes in strength or sensation are important to assess.
What Can Contribute to Sciatica & Leg Pain?
Sciatica and other forms of leg pain have different causes. We assess nerve function alongside spinal, hip and lower-limb movement to identify relevant findings.
Lumbar Nerve-Root Irritation
Disc & Spinal Changes
Referred Pain & Local Structures
Movement & Activity Tolerance
Irritation or compression of a nerve root in the lower back can produce pain travelling into the leg, sometimes with tingling, numbness or weakness.
A disc herniation or narrowing around the nerves can contribute to sciatica. These changes need to be considered alongside your symptoms and examination findings.
Pain from the lower back can be felt in the buttock or thigh without nerve-root involvement. Hip conditions and local muscle or tendon problems may also cause leg pain.
Sitting, bending, standing or walking may aggravate symptoms in different ways. Assessing your response helps guide activity changes and exercises without assuming one movement pattern explains every case.
NERVE & MOVEMENT ASSESSMENT
Looking Beyond the Painful Area
We begin with your symptom history and screen for signs that require medical attention. We then assess nerve function and relevant movement to understand whether symptoms involve the lower back, hip or other structures.
01
Symptom History & Screening
Review where symptoms travel, when they started, what aggravates or eases them, and any changes in sensation, strength or bladder and bowel function.
02
Nerve Function
Assess strength, sensation and reflexes, with nerve-related movement tests where appropriate, to check for signs of nerve involvement.
03
Lower Back & Hip Movement
Assess how spinal and hip movements affect your symptoms and identify relevant restrictions or limitations.
04
Walking & Weight Transfer
Assess walking and how you load each leg when relevant, including changes caused by pain or weakness.
The aim is to identify the likely source of your symptoms, determine whether conservative care is appropriate and recognise when medical referral is needed.
TREATMENT OPTIONS
Treatment Based on What We Find
Chiropractic Care
Where appropriate, care may include joint mobilisation, manipulation or soft-tissue treatment as part of a plan that includes exercise and activity advice. Treatment is selected according to your symptoms, neurological findings and response to care. Progressive weakness or other concerning findings require medical assessment.
Movement Restoration
Tailored exercises may focus on comfortable spinal and hip movement, strength, walking and gradual return to everyday activities. The programme is adjusted to your symptoms and tolerance. The aim is to build activity gradually without repeatedly aggravating leg pain or neurological symptoms.
WHEN TO GET ASSESSED
Common Sciatica & Leg Pain Symptoms
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Pain travelling from the lower back or buttock into the leg
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Sharp, burning or shooting leg pain
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Tingling or pins and needles in the leg or foot
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Reduced sensation or numbness
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Leg symptoms aggravated by prolonged sitting
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Pain or heaviness during standing or walking
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Leg symptoms aggravated by bending, coughing or sneezing
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Recurring leg pain affecting sleep or daily activities
Persistent, recurring or worsening symptoms should be assessed. New weakness or increasing numbness needs prompt medical review.
When to Seek Medical Attention
Seek emergency medical care if back or leg pain is accompanied by new difficulty passing urine, loss of bladder or bowel control, numbness around the genitals or anus, or severe or worsening weakness in both legs. Seek urgent medical assessment for new or progressive leg weakness, foot drop, or a painful calf with swelling, warmth or redness. Call 000 if leg swelling is accompanied by chest pain or shortness of breath. Symptoms following significant trauma, or occurring with fever, unexplained weight loss or a history of cancer, also require prompt medical assessment.
