Nerve
Sciatica
Radiating leg pain, numbness, or weakness from a pinched lumbar nerve.
If this sounds like you
You're not imagining it. You're not making too much of it.
You can't find a position. Sitting hurts. Standing too long hurts. Lying flat hurts in a different way. The pain runs down your leg in a stripe you could draw on the skin. You're losing sleep, losing patience, and Googling 'sciatica surgery success rates' at 2 a.m. You want a real answer before you let anyone cut on your spine.
The position you can't find
What sciatica is actually doing to your day, your sleep, and your patience.
- Sharp or burning pain down one leg
- Numbness or tingling in the calf, foot, or toes
- Weakness lifting the foot or pushing off the toes
- Pain that worsens with sitting, sneezing, or bending forward
- Trouble finding any position that works at night
The part nobody says out loud
Sciatica is the kind of pain that takes over the whole identity of a day. You stop planning your week and start planning around the pain. You're scared the numbness in your foot means something is getting worse — and scared that the people around you are starting to think you're exaggerating. You're not. The nerve is real, the compression is real, and there is almost always a non-surgical answer worth trying first.
You're not exaggerating. You're not being dramatic.
If any of the above made you nod, exhale, or feel a little seen — that's the point. Dr. Smith's exam starts from the assumption that what you're feeling is real, measurable, and worth taking seriously.
What your family has noticed
The people who love you have been watching this longer than you realize.
You think you've been hiding it. You haven't — not really. Here's what the people closest to you have quietly noticed, even if they've never said a word:
- You shift sides on the couch every three minutes
- You walk hunched to one side without realizing it
- You stand up halfway through dinner
- You skip events you used to look forward to
- You can't carry the grandkid on that hip anymore
What waiting actually costs
Why now matters more than most people think.
When a nerve root stays compressed and inflamed, the muscles it powers get weaker and the sensation it carries gets duller. Foot drop, lasting weakness, and progressive numbness are the cost of waiting it out — and they don't always come back even after surgery.
Causes & traditional approaches
Why sciatica happens — and why the usual fixes fall short.
Common underlying causes
- A bulging or herniated disc pressing on the sciatic nerve root
- Spinal stenosis — narrowing of the canal where the nerve travels
- Facet joint inflammation irritating the nerve as it exits
- Piriformis or deep hip muscles compressing the nerve below the spine
- Years of compression from sitting, lifting, or postural overload
What's usually offered — and where it falls short
Epidural steroid injections
Limit: Can calm inflammation for weeks to months but don't take pressure off the disc or nerve — and there's a real ceiling on how many you can safely receive.
Microdiscectomy and other back surgeries
Limit: Sometimes the right answer for a true structural emergency, but frequently offered before a real non-surgical trial — and revision rates aren't what most patients are told.
'Rest until it goes away'
Limit: Pure rest weakens the very muscles that protect the spine, and an irritated nerve that doesn't get decompressed often becomes a chronically sensitive one.
How Dr. Smith treats this differently
Our Sciatica Relief approach for Sciatica.
Computer-guided spinal decompression, nerve-glide rehab, and core stabilization targeted at the disc and nerve root driving your sciatica.
Explore the Sciatica Relief ProgramCommon Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Stop living around sciatica.
Start with a $47 new patient evaluation and we'll tell you honestly whether we can help.