The Fastest Way to Relieve Sciatica Pain at Home

Have you ever experienced pain on one side of your butt or hip that radiates down your leg? Describe this pattern of pain to your primary care clinician and I bet you’ll be told that you have sciatica, a relatively common condition that up to 40% of people will suffer from at some point in life. 

Your clinician will likely explain that sciatica is caused by irritation, inflammation, pinching, or compression of a nerve in the lower back from a herniated or slipped disc. They may ask you to avoid certain activities, prescribe you meds, and refer you to a physical therapist or a spine specialist. 

Like any well-informed patient in the digital age, you do your own homework by Googling “sciatica” and all the top search results, each from highly reputable sources, confirm that the pain you’re experiencing is coming from your spine. At this point, most people would feel anxious, worried, or scared because sciatica sounds pretty serious. I know I would be! 

But what if I told you that sciatica may not be a result of a herniated disc or even have anything to do with your spine? What if I also told you that 3 simple exercises may quickly and effectively reduce or eliminate sciatica symptoms in a few short weeks? 

Understanding sciatica 

As a physical therapist, sciatica is one of the most common conditions that I see and I get several new cases every week from clients young and old.

The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in your body. It begins at the lower part of your spinal cord, travels through your hips and buttocks, runs along the back of each thigh and leg, and terminates in your foot. Sciatica refers to pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve when the nerve is irritated.

Sciatica is commonly attributed to prolonged sitting, heavy lifting, increased stress on the spine from obesity, damage to the nerves from diabetes, and age-related changes to the spine. Up until relatively recently, the spine was considered to be the main source of sciatica caused when a herniated disk or some other structure in the spine presses on the nerve. 

However, one study that looked at the spine of 215...

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