Lower Back Pain & Sciatica Physical Therapy

Understanding Sciatica

If you've ever felt pain start around your lower back or buttock and then work its way down your leg, you already have a pretty good idea of what sciatica can feel like. The sciatic nerve runs from the lower back into the leg, and irritation around that nerve can cause pain, tingling, numbness, or other symptoms along the way.

There isn't one reason this happens. A herniated or bulging disc may be involved, but changes in the spine, stiffness, muscle weakness, or problems with the way your back and hips are moving can also play a part.

That's one reason we want to know more than where it hurts. During your evaluation, we'll look at how you move and talk about when your symptoms tend to show up. What happens when you sit, stand, bend, walk, or change positions can give us useful clues about what may be irritating the nerve.

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Is Sciatica Changing the Way You Move?

Sciatica can start changing little things throughout your day. You may have trouble getting comfortable at your desk, notice pain when you stand up after sitting, or think twice before bending down because you know your leg might start hurting again.

You may recognize a few of these signs of sciatica:

• Pain travels from your lower back or buttock into your leg.
• Sitting through a meeting or car ride has become uncomfortable.
• You feel tingling or numbness farther down the leg.
• Bending or lifting brings the pain back.
• One leg doesn't feel as strong as it normally does.
• You keep changing positions trying to get comfortable.
• Walking or standing for very long has become difficult.
• Pain makes it harder to sleep or find a comfortable position.

If you're changing how you work, exercise, sleep, or get through your day because of the pain, it's worth finding out what's going on.

Seek prompt medical attention if you develop new bowel or bladder problems, numbness around the groin or saddle area, or significant or worsening weakness in the leg.

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Physical Therapy for Sciatica

Physical Therapy San Antonio

One of the first things we'll want to know is what makes your sciatic nerve pain better or worse. Does sitting bother you more than standing? Does the pain travel farther down your leg when you bend? Are there positions that make it settle down?

We'll use those answers along with your physical therapy evaluation to decide where treatment should begin. Your care may include hands-on treatment, exercise, movement strategies, and other therapies available at Texas Alliance Physical Therapy.

Therapeutic Exercise

The exercises you do for sciatica should make sense for what's actually causing your symptoms. We'll show you movements that fit where you are in recovery, then adjust them as sitting, walking, bending, or other activities start becoming easier.

We'll also make sure you know what to work on between visits, so you're not left guessing which movements you should be doing at home.

Mechanical Traction

For the right patient, mechanical traction gives your therapist another way to work with symptoms coming from the lower back. It's not something everyone with sciatica needs, so we'll first look at what's happening when you sit, stand, walk, and change positions before deciding whether traction belongs in your treatment.

Manual Therapy

Sometimes your back or hips feel so stiff that getting started with exercise is uncomfortable. Hands-on treatment can be used during your visits to work with those areas as you begin moving more freely.

Orthopedic Joint Mobilization & Manipulations

When stiffness in the lower back, hips, or nearby joints is affecting the way you move, your therapist may use joint mobilization or manipulation as part of your care. The technique we choose will depend on what we find during your evaluation and how your body responds.

Functional Dry Needling

If tight or overworked muscles are adding another layer of discomfort, functional dry needling may be considered. Your therapist will decide whether it makes sense for what you're experiencing rather than automatically including it in your care.

Kinesiology Taping

Kinesiology tape can provide some additional support or feedback while you're moving without keeping the area rigid. Your therapist may use it alongside exercise or other treatments when it makes sense for your symptoms.

Electrical Stimulation (E-Stim)

Electrical stimulation is another option your therapist may consider during treatment. Whether we use it will depend on what's bothering you and what we're working on during your visits.

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Moving with Less Pain

Getting through the day shouldn't require constantly thinking about your back. Maybe your goal is sitting through work without shifting every few minutes, taking a walk again, getting back to the gym, or simply sleeping without struggling to find a comfortable position.

Those are the things we'll keep in mind as your treatment progresses. As movement becomes easier, we'll continue adjusting what you're doing so you can work toward the activities that have been difficult since the pain started.

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