Sciatica is pain that travels along the sciatic nerve — usually down the back of one leg — and it is a symptom rather than a diagnosis in itself. Most often it comes from a disc pressing on or irritating a nerve root, which is what people mean by a slip disc. Most cases settle with the right rehabilitation and do not need surgery, but the assessment has to establish what is actually driving the pain before treatment starts.
When to seek urgent medical help instead
Go to hospital the same day, rather than booking physiotherapy, if you develop any of the following: loss of bladder or bowel control, numbness around the groin, inner thighs or buttocks, or weakness in both legs that is getting worse. These are rare, but they need emergency assessment. Please also see a doctor first if leg weakness is progressing quickly, or if the pain follows a significant fall or accident.
What assessment establishes
Your physiotherapist examines how your spine moves, which positions provoke and which relieve the pain, and tests nerve involvement — sensation, reflexes and muscle strength in the leg. That distinguishes genuine nerve-root pain from referred pain arising from the joints or muscles of the back, which behaves differently and needs different treatment.
What treatment involves
We treat herniated disc and sciatica with movement-based rehabilitation, manual therapy and education, coordinating with medical specialists when required. In practice that means finding positions and movements that reduce the nerve irritation, hands-on treatment to restore movement in the stiff segments, and a graded exercise programme that rebuilds the strength and control to keep it settled. Understanding what is happening — and what is safe to do — is a substantial part of recovery.
Why rest is usually not the answer
Prolonged bed rest tends to make disc-related pain worse rather than better. Staying as active as the pain allows, with guidance about which movements to favour and which to avoid for now, generally leads to a better recovery. Your physiotherapist will tell you specifically what that means for your presentation.
Booking an assessment
Available across APARC’s centres in Delhi NCR, Gurugram and Pune, and through home physiotherapy if sitting or travelling is difficult. See also back pain physiotherapy and manual therapy. Call +91 98189 11195 to book an assessment.