How to Relieve Sciatica Pain—and What Makes It Worse

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Sciatica is a symptom, not a diagnosis—a distinction that matters when you’re trying to find relief. “Everybody’s like, ‘This is what I have. I have this,’” says Dr. Allen Chen, a…

Sciatica can send pain shooting down your leg and make it hard to find a comfortable way to sit, stand, or sleep. Finding relief starts with figuring out what’s irritating the nerve. A herniated disc, a spinal canal that’s become too narrow and puts pressure on the nerves, and other problems can cause the pain—and what helps one person may make another feel worse.

Many people get better without surgery. Pain from a herniated disc often eases on its own within about six weeks, though recovery can take longer. Here’s what experts recommend trying, what to avoid, and when to see a doctor.

Sciatica is a symptom, not a diagnosis—a distinction that matters when you’re trying to find relief. “Everybody’s like, ‘This is what I have. I have this,’” says Dr. Allen Chen, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at UCLA Health. But the term describes pain traveling down your leg, without explaining what’s causing it.

Typically, irritation or pressure on a nerve root in the lower spine triggers the pain. It can feel burning, shooting, or electric, traveling through the buttock and down the leg, sometimes into the foot. It can also make finding a comfortable position difficult. “It bothers people at night, and it bothers people in the day,” Chen says. “It can be very, very disruptive.”

One common cause is a herniated disc. The discs that cushion the bones in your spine have a tough outer layer and a softer center—think of “a jelly donut,” Chen says. If some of that inner material pushes through the outer layer, it can press on a nerve and trigger inflammation. Sometimes people can pinpoint when things went wrong: “I was moving my kid into college,” or “I was moving a couch,” Chen says. Other times, there’s no memorable moment to blame.

Another common cause, particularly among older adults, is spinal stenosis, or a narrowing of the space where spinal nerves travel. Arthritis and other changes over time can put pressure on those nerves, Chen says.

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