Sciatica vs. Back Pain: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment in Manasquan, NJ
Updated: Oct 11
Pain shooting from your lower back or buttock into your leg? Burning, tingling, numbness, or weakness in your leg or foot? You may be dealing with sciatica.
Sciatica can make simple things surprisingly difficult. Sitting in the car, getting out of bed, putting on your shoes, working at a desk, or taking a walk can all become uncomfortable.
And here's something many people don't realize: with sciatica, your leg may hurt much more than your back.
Sciatica vs Back Pain
I've treated many patients with these symptoms over the years, and one of the first things I explain is that sciatica isn't a disease by itself. It describes a pattern of symptoms caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve or the nerve roots that form it. The important question is: what is irritating the nerve?
Since starting my career in 2000, I've learned that two patients can describe very similar leg pain yet have different underlying problems. That's why identifying the likely source of the symptoms is an important first step in deciding how to treat sciatica.
What Is Sciatica?
The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body. It begins from nerve roots in the lower spine, travels through the buttock, and continues down the leg.
When one of these nerves becomes irritated, symptoms can travel away from the lower back and into the buttock, thigh, calf, or foot.
Sciatica may cause:
Sharp or shooting pain
Burning or aching pain
Tingling or "pins and needles"
Numbness
Leg or foot weakness
Pain that becomes worse with sitting, bending, coughing, or sneezing
Usually, sciatica affects one side.
One patient may say, "My back doesn't really hurt. It's my leg that's killing me." Another may have significant lower-back pain along with symptoms extending down the leg.
Both patterns can occur with sciatica.
What Causes Sciatica?
The most common causes include:
A herniated or bulging disc (disk) pressing on or irritating a nerve root
Spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the space around the nerves
Spondylolisthesis, where one vertebra slips forward on another
Bone spurs from degenerative changes
Piriformis or deep gluteal muscle tension irritating the nerve in the buttock
Want to find out if chiropractic care is right for your leg pain?
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Sciatica or Just Back Pain?
Sciatica vs back pain: Not every pain in the lower back or buttock is sciatica.
Typical low-back pain is often localized around the lower back and may feel achy, stiff, or sore.
Sciatica is more likely when pain travels down the leg and is accompanied by burning, shooting pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness. The distinction matters because the treatment needs to address the underlying problem, not simply where you feel the pain.
How I Evaluate Sciatica
When a patient comes to my Manasquan office with suspected sciatica, I don't simply treat the spot that hurts. I want to understand where the symptoms are coming from and whether a nerve is actually being affected.
Depending on the situation, my examination may include:
Spinal range of motion
Orthopedic testing
In office X-ray
Neurological testing
Muscle strength
Sensation
Reflexes
Gait and movement
Evaluation of the lower back, pelvis, and surrounding muscles
Imaging such as an MRI isn't necessary for every case. When imaging is appropriate, however, it can provide important information about discs, spinal stenosis, and other structural changes.
How Can Chiropractic Care Help Sciatica?
This is where chiropractic care can be particularly valuable, but the treatment has to match the problem. The spine and nervous system are closely connected. The nerves that eventually form the sciatic nerve originate in the lower spine.
When spinal joints become restricted, surrounding muscles become tight, or other mechanical problems contribute to irritation, chiropractic treatment may help improve movement and reduce pain in appropriately selected patients.
What Does a Chiropractic Adjustment Do?
A chiropractic adjustment uses a controlled force applied to a specific joint to improve its movement and function.
It isn't about simply "putting a bone back in place." And an adjustment does not physically push a herniated disc back into its original position. Instead, chiropractic care is aimed at addressing the musculoskeletal factors that may be contributing to a patient's symptoms and helping the patient move more comfortably.
Depending on what I find during the examination, treatment may also include:
Therapeutic exercise
Cold Laser Therapy
Soft-tissue work
Electrical muscle stimulation
Not every patient needs all of these treatments. The goal is to determine what makes sense for the individual patient. And if I find something that requires medical or surgical evaluation, I'll recommend that as well.
When Should Sciatica Be Evaluated Immediately?
Most cases of sciatica are not emergencies. However, seek immediate medical attention if you develop:
New loss of bladder or bowel control
Numbness around the groin or inner thighs
Rapidly worsening leg weakness
Significant or sudden foot drop
These symptoms can indicate serious nerve compression and should not be treated as routine back pain.
Can Sciatica Get Better Without Surgery?
Yes.
Many people with sciatica improve with conservative treatment. Some herniated disks also decrease in size naturally over time as the body reabsorbs disc material.
That doesn't mean every case will resolve without surgery. Severe or persistent symptoms, significant weakness, or certain structural problems may require additional medical treatment. The important thing is to determine what is causing your sciatica and how your body is responding to treatment.
When Sciatic Pain is Too Severe for Chiropractic Treatment
Sometimes sciatica pain is so severe that a patient cannot comfortably lie on the treatment table or tolerate even gentle chiropractic care. In these situations, treatment may need to be approached in stages.
When appropriate, I may work alongside the patient's pain management physician or other medical provider. Depending on the patient's condition, an allopathic physician may recommend medications to temporarily control severe pain or an epidural steroid injection to reduce inflammation around an irritated nerve.
These treatments are generally intended to provide short-term symptom relief rather than address the underlying mechanical or functional factors contributing to the problem. The goal is to reduce the intensity of the pain enough that the patient can begin tolerating movement and hands-on treatment.
Once the patient can tolerate care, chiropractic treatment can focus on improving mobility, reducing muscle tension and irritation, and addressing contributing mechanical factors. Ideally, as the underlying condition improves, the patient's pain remains less intense even after the temporary effects of medication or an injection wear off.
Sciatica Treatment in Manasquan, NJ
If you're dealing with pain that starts in your lower back or buttock and travels into your leg, don't assume you simply have to live with it.
When looking for Sciatica treatment Manasquan NJ, experience matters. The Stiso Family of Chiropractic Physicians has been serving New Jersey since 1965. At our Manasquan / Wall Twp, I evaluate patients with sciatica to determine what may be causing their symptoms and whether chiropractic care is appropriate.
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Call (732) 528-7746 or
Stiso Chiropractic, Acupuncture & Massage Therapy
1903 Atlantic Avenue, Manasquan, NJ 08736
(across from Genesis, formerly The Atlantic Club)
This article is for general information and is not a substitute for a medical evaluation. If you have any of the warning signs above, seek care immediately.