Many people refer to any pain or discomfort they may have in the low back as sciatica. Sciatica is quite different to low back pain, but they have some similarities that tend to cause confusion.

Low back pain is an umbrella term used to describe any pain or discomfort that affect the lower back, often caused by things like muscle strains, traumatic injuries, repetitive strain, overloading, etc. The term low back pain can encompass sciatica but not the other way around. Commonly low back pain is usually felt within the region of the low back and can refer into the legs or up the back.

Sciatic, on the other hand, is a specific type of pain that involves the sciatic nerve. This nerve runs from the lower back all the way down through the hips, legs and feet. True sciatic pain can be felt as a tingling, burning, numbness, or electric shooting pain and it will usually be more painful than any concurrent pain felt in the low back. Often sciatica is very painful and can have muscle weakness as well as the pain, which usually affects overall function with the simplest of tasks.

Weakness in the legs and/or the type of pain is usually a key differentiation between sciatica and general low back pain but there are a couple other things to consider as well. Sciatic nerve pain will be in a distribution associated with the sciatic nerve; this is something your practitioner will be able to discern. The other key difference is the location of pain. Low back pain can refer into the legs; however, the referral pain will never cross the knee. With sciatica more often than not the pain will shoot past the knee into the lower leg or the foot. While there are some exceptions, the vast majority of the time your sciatic nerve will give pain past the knee and lower back pain will give off referral pain that does not pass the knee. This referral pattern of low back pain is most likely where the confusion comes from and why the term sciatica is used for any type of low back pain.

Sciatica and low back pain are two completely different conditions that refer to pain in similar areas. While some similarities do sometimes cause confusion between the two, I do hope this article helps you to differentiate any pain you may experience in the future. The vast majority of low back pain can be very scary but does tend to resolve on its own. So, the next time you have any back pain don’t immediately think of sciatica and scare yourself into more pain. Be positive, seek help when needed, and above all keep moving!