Sciatica treatment in Kew, Melbourne
Sciatica is pain that travels from your lower back or buttock down your leg, sometimes with pins and needles, numbness or weakness. It can be sharp, burning or a deep ache, and it often makes sitting, sleeping and walking hard work. It can feel alarming, but most sciatica settles with the right care. We see people from Kew, Kew East and Balwyn who want to understand what's going on and get back on their feet.
What Sciatica Feels Like
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Leg pain worse than back pain: Often the leg hurts more than the back does.
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Pain below the knee: Pain that travels into the calf or foot.
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Pins and needles or numbness: Usually along one part of the leg or foot.
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Pain with sitting or bending: Often worse sitting for long periods or bending forward.
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Pain with coughing or sneezing: A sudden jolt down the leg.
Not all leg pain is sciatica. Pain from the hip, the joints of the lower back or the buttock muscles can also travel down the leg. Working out which one you have changes the plan, which is why a proper assessment matters
What Causes Sciatica?
Sciatica happens when a nerve in the lower back gets irritated or squeezed where it leaves the spine. Common reasons include:
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A disc bulge: The most common cause, especially in people aged 30 to 50.
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Narrowing around the nerve: Age-related changes in the spine, more common in older adults.
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Inflammation around the nerve: The nerve becomes sensitive even without much pressure on it
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Load and lifestyle: Long hours sitting, heavy lifting, sudden increases in activity, poor sleep and stress can all make symptoms flare.
How Osteopathy Helps with Sciatica
The goal is to calm the irritated nerve down, keep you moving and gradually build back your strength and confidence.
Easing the Pain
Gentle hands-on treatment to the back, hips and legs, plus positions and movements that take pressure off the nerve. Treatment is always adjusted to how irritable your symptoms are on the day.
Staying Active, the Right Way
Complete rest usually makes sciatica slower to settle. We'll show you which movements help, which to ease off for now, and how to keep working and sleeping as comfortably as possible.
Building Back Up
As things settle, we add exercises to rebuild strength and control in your back, hips and legs, so you can get back to work, sport and everyday life.
Jye Adamson, Osteopath
Sciatica can be really scary when it first hits. Most people feel a lot better once they understand what's happening and have a plan they can follow.
What to expect at your appointment
Your first appointment is 45 minutes. We'll take a full history and do a careful check of how you move, plus nerve tests for sensation, strength and reflexes in your legs. You'll leave knowing what we think is going on, what to do at home and an honest idea of how long it should take to settle. If your symptoms need a scan or a GP review, we'll tell you.