Sciatica - what causes it and how you can eliminate it with posture alignment therapy

Sciatica is literally a pain in the butt (and down the leg). If you've had sciatica you know how painful it can be, and I've had it and it hurts. 

The great thing about sciatica is that it's pretty easy to figure out the cause and to fix it. Most sciatica is only on one side of the body, which means it is caused by a hip disparity.

(If you have sciatica, you are often diagnosed with a bulging or herniated disc, ruptured disc, degenerative disc disease, stenosis, scoliosis, or piriformis syndrome. These are all symptoms of your body not moving correctly, and if you are experiencing sciatica from any of these problems, the underlying cause is still a hip disparity.)

A hip disparity basically means one hip is in a different position than your other hip, or one hip is moving differently than your other hip. This can show up in several ways: 

• elevation - one hip or side of your pelvis is higher than the other
• rotation - one hip or side of your pelvis is rotated forward compared to the other
• tilt difference - one side of your pelvis is tilted forward or backward more than the other side
• range of motion difference - one hip has more or less range of motion in flexion, extension, or rotation than your other hip
• stability - one hip is more or less stable than your other hip

Image showing the sciatic nerve running down the back of the left leg (shown in light yellow).

If you have sciatica, you might have one or more of the above imbalances that are causing your sciatica. It's important to also remember that the human body is a unit and if there is an imbalance in your hips/pelvis, that is going to create compensation and imbalance up and down the rest of your body. To cure your sciatica, we have to fix the hip/pelvic imbalance, but also the compensation it has created in the rest of your body. 

An example is: your right hip is less stable and weaker than your left hip which causes your right hip to elevate and rotate forward. This imbalance is what is causing your sciatic nerve to be impinged. Posture alignment therapy can be personalized to this imbalance and help reduce your pelvic rotation and elevation to eliminate your sciatica. 

But we also need to address the compensation that the hip imbalance created. A common compensation pattern might be your right shoulder drops down lower than your left and your torso rotates left to right.  We also need to eliminate the shoulder imbalance and torso rotation in order for your body to stay balanced and keep the sciatica from returning. Posture alignment therapy can be personalized to these imbalances also, allowing you to return to an active and pain free lifestyle. 

If you have sciatica and would like to learn what is causing it and how you can become pain free, contact me today for a free 30-minute posture evaluation on Zoom.