That shooting pain down your leg.
Sciatica is pain that travels from your lower back or buttock down one leg — often with burning, tingling, or numbness. It can be debilitating, but for most people it gets dramatically better with the right diagnosis and a plan built around the actual cause.
Your doctor may call this lumbar radiculopathy or a pinched sciatic nerve.
Often seen within a few days — sometimes as soon as tomorrowRequest your first visit
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No referral needed. We verify your insurance before you arrive.
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What sciatica really is.
Sciatica isn't a diagnosis on its own — it's the name for a set of symptoms caused by irritation or compression of the sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in your body. It runs from your lower spine, through your hips and buttocks, and down each leg. When something presses on it, you feel it along that path.
The most common culprit is a herniated disc in the lower spine pushing on a nerve root. Other causes include spinal stenosis, bone spurs, or, less often, a muscle in the buttock pressing on the nerve. Because the same leg pain can come from several sources, getting the cause right is what makes treatment work.
The good news
Most sciatica improves within weeks, and the large majority of people never need surgery. The goal is to confirm exactly what's irritating the nerve, calm it down with the least-invasive approach that works, and get you back to normal.
Radicular vs. referred pain
True sciatica is radicular pain — it follows a specific nerve-root distribution (most often L5 or S1) and often tracks below the knee. We distinguish it from referred pain from the lower back or sacroiliac joint, because that distinction changes both the workup and the treatment pathway.
Common signs we treat.
Shooting or electric pain
A sharp pain that starts in your lower back or buttock and travels down one leg — sometimes all the way to the foot.
Numbness & tingling
Pins and needles, tingling, or numbness in the leg or foot — a sign the nerve itself is irritated, not just the muscle.
Burning that worsens when sitting
A deep burning ache that flares when you sit, stand up, cough, or sneeze — classic for nerve-root irritation.
From hurting to healed.
We work from the least-invasive options upward, escalating only if you need it. Most patients improve well before surgery is ever discussed.
Diagnose the cause
A physician examines you and, if needed, reviews imaging to pinpoint exactly what's driving the pain.
Calm it down
Targeted physical therapy, activity guidance, and medication to settle the irritation and reduce inflammation.
Image-guided injections
If pain persists, a precisely targeted injection delivered to the source under imaging.
Advanced options
For the few who need more, minimally invasive interventional procedures — with surgery as a last resort.
Treatment is matched to your specific diagnosis at your visit. The options shown reflect NASPAC's general approach and should be confirmed against the practice's verified procedure list.
Still have questions?
Many cases improve within a few weeks with the right care. When pain persists beyond six weeks, keeps coming back, or is severe, it's worth being evaluated so the underlying cause can be treated directly rather than waiting it out.
Most people with sciatica never need surgery. Treatment usually begins with the least-invasive options that work — physical therapy, medication, and image-guided injections — and only escalates toward surgical options if those don't bring relief.
See a physician if leg pain is severe, lasts more than a week or two, returns repeatedly, or comes with weakness or numbness. Seek emergency care for loss of bladder or bowel control or sudden severe leg weakness.
Image-guided injections can substantially reduce nerve inflammation and pain, often enough to let physical therapy do its work. They're one tool in a larger plan rather than a standalone cure, and whether they're right for you depends on your diagnosis.
Stop living with the leg pain.
Book with a board-certified pain physician near you — most patients are seen within days.
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