Sciatica is not a separate problem. It is your back, talking down your leg.
Back pain is common in adults and it runs the whole range, from a mild ache you work around to discomfort that stops you where you stand. Sciatica is what happens when the sciatic nerve gets compressed or irritated, so the pain leaves the back and travels into the hip, the thigh, or the foot. Same region, different presentation.
Both usually trace back to the same three things: muscle imbalances, posture, and mobility you have quietly lost. Treat only the spot that hurts and it comes back. Restore the movement patterns that take stress off the spine and it tends not to.
Back pain does not always stay in your back.
Where you feel it, and what makes it worse, tells your therapist which structures are involved and whether a nerve is part of the picture.
Lower Back Pain
Anything from a mild ache you can ignore to discomfort severe enough to stop the day.
Numbness or Weakness
Loss of sensation or strength in the leg or foot, a sign the sciatic nerve is involved.
Radiating Sciatic Pain
Sharp pain that travels from the lower back through the hip and down the thigh.
Tingling and Pins and Needles
That prickling, half-asleep feeling running down the back of the leg or into the foot.
Trouble Standing or Walking
Standing in a line, walking the dog, or getting up from a chair becomes something you plan around.
Worse With Sitting and Bending
Long stretches of sitting and repeated bending set it off, and how you sleep may be feeding it too.
Relief first. Then the reason it happened.
A temporary fix is easy to find. Your Doctor of Physical Therapy starts by taking the pain down: hands-on manual therapy to release muscle tension, joint mobilization to restore motion the spine has lost, and dry needling where muscle guarding is driving the symptoms.
Then the part most people never get to. Core strengthening to support the spine, glute and hip activation to fix the alignment underneath it, mobility work to take pressure off the nerve, and honest coaching on how you sit, lift, and move all day. That is what keeps it from coming back.
No referral needed. Utah has direct access to physical therapy, and we are in network with 11+ carriers plus Medicare.
What our patients say.
"This has been one of the most beneficial experiences for me with my back issues (herniated disc for 2 years). I've been doing dry needling for about 3 months and seen a drastic decrease in pain."Davis P. · Herniated Disc and Dry Needling
Schedule Your Appointment
No referral needed. Utah has direct access to physical therapy, and we are in network with 11+ carriers plus Medicare.
Your first visit runs about an hour, with your Doctor of Physical Therapy in the room the whole time. Tell us everything. Leave with a plan.
You’re all set.
We’ll reach out within one business day to confirm your appointment. If you need to speak with us sooner, call us directly.