Sciatic Pain
Sciatic Pain
Also referred to as sciatica, closely linked to piriformis syndrome.
Sciatic pain is caused by an irritation, inflammation, pinching or compression of the sciatic nerve. This can happen anywhere along the sciatic nerves pathway and can often causes a radiating pain. The sciatic nerve pathway and area it can cause symptoms can be observed in the picture below.
Clients with sciatic pain might complain of:
- A sharp, shooting, stabbing type pain down the back of the leg (note the nerve pathway in the image above)
- A burning or electric shock feeling
- Tingling or pins/needles/numbness (more commonly in the foot)
- Pain that comes and goes & residual ache in the leg
In pregnancy sciatic pain is more commonly caused by:
- Increased load through the lumbar spine
- Altered lumbar spine curvature (often increased lordosis)
- Increased muscular tightness in any of the muscles along the nerve pathway (often gluteal muscle bulk, can also be hamstring or calf)
Safety note: In a general population sciatic pain can be caused by conditions such as: disc pathologies (disc protrusion or herniation), spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis (narrowing), osteoarthritis, spinal tumours, and cauda equina issues. Although these are less likely to be the cause in a pregnant population if your client presents with sciatic pain it is beneficial to suggest they speak to their GP or physiotherapist to screen for any of these conditions.
Pilates Considerations
A healthy sciatic nerve is supposed to glide or ‘floss’ up and down its pathway from the spinal column to the foot so focus areas for pilates include spinal mobility, sciatic nerve gliding, and muscle lengthening to facilitate this to occur.
