First Assessment
Free
45 minutes, at home
- Full clinical examination at the patient's home
- The likely cause explained in plain language
- A realistic recovery plan and what it will cost
- No obligation to book any further sessions
Sciatica gets its name from the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back through the buttock and down the leg. When it is irritated, the pain follows that path, and the position that provokes it is usually bending or sitting. For people in Narayan Peth, those positions are everywhere in the day: the low seat at mealtimes, the stool at the shop, the floor mattress, the scooter.
The sciatica treatment guide explains the causes and treatment in general. This page is about the old-city routines that tend to provoke it and what the physiotherapist does at home.
Everyday positions that wake the nerve
- Rising from the floor. The trunk folds forward, then stands up under load. For a sensitive nerve this is a sharp provocation, especially first thing in the morning.
- Long sitting. Reading, accounts work and desk jobs in the lanes around Laxmi Road keep the back flexed and press on the sitting nerve for hours at a time.
- Low stools. A seat below knee height tilts the pelvis backwards and rounds the lower back.
- Scooter vibration. Kerbs, ruts and speed bumps in the lanes pass shocks directly up through a seated rider's spine.
- Bending to lift. A cooking vessel, a bag of rice or a child lifted without bending the knees can bring on a flare.
How sciatica is assessed and treated at home
The physiotherapist asks where the pain goes, whether there is numbness or tingling, and what makes it better or worse. Then comes a nerve examination: muscle strength in the legs and feet, reflexes, sensation and tests that stretch the nerve. These findings show whether the nerve is irritated, how much, and whether it is improving or worsening. Leg weakness that is progressing, or any change in bladder or bowel control, changes the plan completely and means a doctor first.
When the findings are those of an irritated nerve root, treatment usually starts with positions and movements that ease the pain, followed by gentle mobility, nerve-gliding exercises where suitable and gradual strengthening for the back, hips and legs. Hands-on techniques may relieve muscle spasm in the back and buttock. The pain from a disc is a separate subject, and our page on slip disc physiotherapy in Narayan Peth explains what differs. If the main complaint is the back itself, see back pain physiotherapy in Narayan Peth.
At home we also test the real movement. You may be asked to get up from your own mattress or sit on your own stool, which shows what is provoking the pain and lets us rehearse a gentler way.
Between visits
- Roll to the side and use your arms to rise from the floor, and keep your back straight rather than folding forward.
- Walk a short distance several times a day. Stiffening up in one position makes the nerve more irritable.
- Raise your seat so that the hips are slightly above the knees, and stand for a minute every half hour.
- Avoid stretching hard into the leg pain. A stretch that sends the pain further down the leg is the wrong one.
- On the scooter, shorten rides while the leg is sore, and slow down for the bumps.
When leg pain needs urgent review
Leg pain with new loss of control of urine or stools, numbness around the groin or inner thighs, or a leg that is quickly becoming weak is an emergency. A foot that drags or a toe that will not lift also needs a doctor promptly. These signs are not for physiotherapy to manage first.
If none of these apply, you can book a visit, and the page on home physiotherapy in Narayan Peth describes how visits are arranged.