Hey, do you think you might have sciatica? I’m here to tell you the Top 4 Signs that you’ve got sciatica. My name is Dr. David Middaugh, Physical Therapist and I’m the owner of El Paso Manual Physical Therapy.

Let me go into the Top 4 Signs that you likely have sciatica:

1. Low Back Pain & stiffness:

Most people that have sciatica also have an active case of or a history of low back pain. It could also be stiffness. Low back pain – the pain in the lumbar region that stops you in your tracks and doesn’t let you sleep at night. You may already be taking pain medication or seeing a doctor for it or have been told you have a herniated disc.

Stiffness is different from pain. It usually doesn’t hurt, but the muscles feel tight and you don’t feel very mobile. People usually deal with stiffness and can get through their day. They don’t feel the need for pain medication, but the stiffness usually worsens with chores around the house, especially vacuuming, sweeping, gardening, or yard work.

If you’ve got a history of back pain, even if it’s not acting up right now, or you’re wondering IF you have sciatica, but your back doesn’t really bother you, yet it has in the past – that is a high indication that you likely have a sciatica issue today!

2. Classic Sciatica Presentation is Pain into the Buttock and the Thigh:

Usually, people get pain right in the meat of the butt, the thickest part of the butt muscle. That’s where the sciatic nerve passes through an important area. It runs down into the back of the thigh, so people get pain in the top of the thigh, the middle of the thigh, or all the way down into the back of the knee. That’s the classic presentation for sciatica. Some of the not-so-common presentations for sciatica that people tend to miss is pain on the outside of the thigh and the front of the thigh as well.

We often get people that come in to see us for a sciatica problem, but they may not have known it was sciatica. They may have been told by somebody that it wasn’t sciatica because they’re pointing to pain on the front or the side of the thigh. In most sciatica cases, other things happen with the joints and muscles that set off pain in the side and the front of the thigh. Even though the sciatic nerve does not pass through there, it can cause some pain and discomfort for those experiencing active sciatica.

3. You Can’t Get Comfortable in Any One Position:

9 out of 10 people that come and see us for sciatica say, “I can take sitting for a while and then have to stand up. After a while of doing that, I have to go sit down again and the only place I can get comfortable is the recliner.” People that are working at a desk job, say they’re miserable when sitting. They can’t sit through a movie. Driving is terrible because they’re stuck in the car until they get to their destination and they just can’t … it’s annoying! An extreme case is when they just can’t sit still or be comfortable.

When people come into see us, they’re sitting on a comfortable cushiony couch in the office and they’re writhing around, they can’t get comfortable because of the sciatica issue, now that’s an extreme case! A less severe case would be people that can tolerate an hour or more of sitting before they have to stand up, or they can tolerate standing and doing stuff around the house before they have to take a break

Now that type of sciatica issue is tricky because it’s not severe and it’s not really limiting them from doing anything. When we talk to those people and we ask them, “What is it stopping you from doing?” They’ll say, “Nothing. I could do whatever I want, but after an hour I have to take a break. After an hour I have to stop the movie. I have to walk around.” They’ll say stuff like that. If that’s your situation, then I would count this as one of the signs factoring in towards your likely sciatica situation.

4. Pain When Sleeping at Night:

Now this shows up in two different ways. Some people have trouble falling asleep at night, they’re just tossing and turning. No pillow ever makes them comfortable. They can’t find the right place to put a pillow. They start thinking that they need a new pillow or a new mattress. They try sleeping on the floor sometimes. We get those people in all the time and they just can’t get comfortable. If that’s you, you’re missing out on an hour or two of sleep. You need to get a solution to this problem so that you can fall asleep when it’s time to go to bed.

The other presentation for having trouble sleeping at night due to a sciatica issue is, waking in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to bed. That’s a tough situation because you’re missing out on a bunch of sleep. Now, in severe cases, people are taking pain medication or sleep medication to get through a full night’s sleep, but in less severe cases, the ones that I am more concerned about truthfully, is when people say, “I don’t hurt a lot during the day. My sciatica problem doesn’t bother me a whole lot. I can sit and stand and do nearly whatever I want, but I’m missing two to three hours of sleep at night or more.”

These people come in looking tired due to lack of sleep. Their health’s going down the tubes because their immune system is down. They’re just not getting the full amount of sleep that their body should be getting because of this sciatica issue. They’re waking up with cramps or pain at night in their leg or in their back because of this sciatica issue. If that’s you, you need to get a natural resolution to this problem so that you can get a full night’s rest. It is vital for your health!

There you go. The Top 4 Signs that you’ve got a sciatica problem!

Please explore our website to learn more about sciatica and other ways that we help people stay healthy, active, and mobile, while avoiding unnecessary surgeries, medications, and injections.

If you’re interested in hiring us to help you solve your sciatica problem, please call us at (915) 503-1314 and ask about our free discovery visit option for our Facebook followers.

If you’re skeptical, uncertain, or worried that we might not be able to help you with your sciatica problem and nobody ever will, it’s okay and it’s normal. We hear it all the time. I’ve got something for you though, if you’d like, you can request a FREE GUIDE. It’s called The Top 10 Tips to End Annoying Sciatica Pain Using Natural Solutions to Avoid Unnecessary Surgery, Injections, and Pain Killers, written by me. I wish you the best of luck. Have a wonderful day.

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