Sciatica is nerve pain that travels from the lower back through the buttock and down the leg, and for most people it improves with physiotherapy rather than surgery or long-term rest. It is usually caused by irritation or compression of the sciatic nerve, and a physiotherapist can identify the source, ease the pain, and rebuild the movement and strength that keep it from coming back. In Edmonton, no referral is needed to start.

What is sciatica, and what causes it?

Sciatica is a symptom, not a diagnosis. It describes pain, tingling, numbness or weakness that follows the path of the sciatic nerve down the leg. The common sources include:

Disc irritation or a bulging disc. The most frequent cause, where disc material presses on or inflames the nerve root in the lower back.
Tight or overloaded muscles. The piriformis and deep hip muscles can irritate the nerve as it passes through the buttock.
Joint stiffness or arthritis. Age-related narrowing in the spine can crowd the nerve, which is more common after age 50.
Postural and loading habits. Prolonged sitting, heavy lifting with poor mechanics, or a sudden increase in activity.

Plain lower back pain without leg symptoms is even more common, and the same assessment-led approach applies.

Does physiotherapy help sciatica?

Yes. Clinical guidelines around the world recommend staying active and using physiotherapy-led exercise as a first-line treatment for sciatica and non-specific lower back pain, ahead of imaging, injections or surgery for most people. The goal is to settle the nerve, restore movement, and address why it happened.

Find the source

Your physiotherapist tests your movement, strength, reflexes and nerve signs to work out where the problem is coming from and to rule out anything that needs a physician. This shapes a plan that targets your specific pattern.

Reduce the pain

Specific movements that centralise the pain, bringing it out of the leg and back toward the spine, along with manual therapy and treatments such as dry needling, can reduce nerve irritation early. Gentle, guided activity beats bed rest, which tends to prolong recovery.

Rebuild and prevent

Progressive core, hip and back strengthening restores control and load tolerance, and you learn how to sit, lift and move in ways that protect the back. This stage is what lowers the chance of another episode.

How long does sciatica take to settle?

Most acute sciatica improves substantially within 6 to 12 weeks with active treatment, and many people feel meaningful relief much sooner once the nerve settles. Recovery is rarely a straight line, and staying consistent with your programme matters more than any single treatment. Cases involving significant weakness or a longer history may take longer and are managed step by step.

When should you get lower back pain checked urgently?

Most back pain is not dangerous, but seek prompt medical care if you have numbness around the groin or inner thighs, loss of bladder or bowel control, progressive weakness in a leg, or back pain with fever or unexplained weight loss. These are uncommon but need same-day assessment. For everything else, a physiotherapy assessment is the sensible starting point.

Not sure whether your pain is coming from a nerve at all? Our guide on telling sciatica apart from back muscle pain walks through the differences.

Booking sciatica physiotherapy in Edmonton

No referral is needed in Alberta. If the pain is travelling down your leg, or the back pain has outstayed a couple of weeks, an assessment will tell you what is driving it.