There are many interpretations of Sciatica and many times you will hear that you have sciatica if you have a pain in the butt or leg.
In fact sciatica is specifically the sciatic nerve being pinched and creating pain usually down the back of the leg to the feet.
The tests that we use to confirm sciatica are:
1. Nerve reflex test, where we use a reflex hammer to tap you knee or achilles tendon, looking for a quick response.
2. Straight leg test whilst laying down to determine a stretch on the sciatic nerve, that can cause a lot of pain down the back of the leg, we measure the angle to which you can raise the leg.
3. Specific muscle tests that the sciatic nerve supplies and if weak indicates nerve impingement.
4. If there is serious muscle weakness, we may refer you for an x-ray called an MRI (Magnetic Resonance imaging). this will determine what is causing the impingement and the severity of the pressure. Sometimes in severe cases you will need to be referred to neuro-surgeon.
If you have a referred pain in the leg from a low back irritation of the facet joints then the tests above wont be positive and therefore will not be sciatica. The management of this could be specific spinal adjustment , exercises and other home management.
A thorough examination is necessary as you can see.
