Sciatica · Gig Harbor

Pain that runs down the leg.

Sciatica is pain that runs from the low back or buttock down the leg along the sciatic nerve. It’s a symptom, not a diagnosis, and finding what is irritating the nerve is the first job.

Sound familiar?

Tick the ones that fit.

Not a diagnosis. Just a quick way to see whether your pain has the pattern we treat every day.

It shoots, burns or zaps down the back of one leg.
Sitting makes it worse; walking can make it better.
Coughing, sneezing or bending forward lights it up.
My calf or foot tingles or feels numb.
It’s one side, not both.
My back can feel fine while the leg is the problem.

The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body. When a disc, a joint or a tight muscle presses on it or its roots, the leg reports the problem: shooting pain, numbness, tingling, sometimes weakness. Most sciatica improves with conservative care over several weeks.

What it can feel like

Shooting, burning or electric pain down the back of the leg
Numbness or tingling in the calf or foot
Worse sitting, coughing, sneezing or bending forward
Usually one side only
Low back pain that may come and go while the leg pain stays

Common causes

Lumbar disc bulge or herniation
Irritated spinal joints
Piriformis syndrome (a buttock muscle pressing on the nerve)
Spinal stenosis, more common after 60
Prolonged sitting and heavy lifting

How we treat it

After an exam that locates the source, treatment typically uses flexion-distraction and other gentle decompression-style adjustments that take pressure off the disc and nerve, soft-tissue work for the piriformis and hip, nerve-gliding exercises, and physiotherapy to stabilize the low back. We give clear advice on what to do and what to avoid while the nerve calms down.

Progress is tracked at each visit. If leg symptoms don’t improve as expected, we refer for imaging.

When to seek urgent care. Numbness in the groin or inner thighs, loss of bladder or bowel control, or rapidly worsening leg weakness is an emergency. Go to the ER.

How getting better usually goes

Four stops.

First visit

Answers.

You leave knowing what it is, what the plan is, how long it should take, and what it costs with your insurance.

Weeks 1–2

Relief.

Pain down, motion up. Visits are closer together while the joints learn to move again and the muscles stop guarding.

Weeks 3–6

Rebuild.

Physiotherapy makes it hold: the muscles that let you down get strong enough to carry you. The part most people skip, and the part that keeps it from coming back.

After

Your life back.

A short home routine, a check-in now and then, and the door open if it ever flares.