Sciatica Treatment in Portsmouth, NH
Get real answers about what’s causing your sciatica, and a plan built to stop it from coming back.
- UNDERSTANDING YOUR SCIATICA
Sciatica Is a Symptom, Not a Diagnosis
“Sciatica” describes pain that radiates from your lower back into your glutes and down your leg, usually caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve or a nerve root in your spine. It isn’t a diagnosis on its own, and treating it like one is why so many people get stuck cycling through rest, stretching, and injections without lasting relief.
Where you feel the pain isn’t always where the actual problem is. That’s why we don’t stop at “you have sciatica.” We find out exactly what’s irritating the nerve in the first place, and build your plan around fixing that, using the same specialized, one-on-one approach we use across all of our physical therapy programs.
- WHAT SCIATICA FEELS LIKE
Common Symptoms We Treat
- Sharp or shooting pain traveling from the lower back into the buttock or leg
- Numbness, tingling, or a "pinched nerve" sensation down the leg or into the foot
- Pain that flares with sitting, standing too long, bending, or twisting
- Symptoms that move around or vary in intensity day to day
- Sciatica that has already been treated with rest, stretching, or injections, but keeps returning
If any of this sounds familiar, it usually means the true source of the nerve irritation hasn’t been identified yet, not that you haven’t tried hard enough.
- OUR APPROACH
Referred Symptoms vs. the Actual Source: Why It Matters for Sciatica
Sciatica is easy to misread because the pain often shows up far from where the real problem is. We start by figuring out what’s actually driving the irritation before we build your plan.
Nerve Irritation From Movement Patterns (Most Common)
Most sciatica is driven by how your spine and pelvis are moving, not by permanent nerve damage. If your symptoms shift with position, ease up with certain movements, or flare with others, that's a strong sign the irritation is mechanical and responsive to targeted movement correction. This is where we focus first, since it typically responds well and quickly. (It's also why generic core strengthening alone often falls short: the exercises need to match the specific pattern causing your symptoms, not just build strength in general.)
Structural Findings That Aren't the Whole Story
Many people are told their sciatica comes from a herniated disc, a bulging disc, or a "tight piriformis." These can be part of the picture, but plenty of people with no back pain at all show the same findings on an MRI. Chasing only what shows up on a scan often means chasing the wrong thing.
When Inflammation Is Part of the Picture
Sometimes irritation around the nerve root causes real inflammation that needs to calm down before movement based work can take full effect. Identifying this piece, and treating it appropriately, keeps your recovery from stalling out.
- HOW WE TREAT IT
Our Specific Methods for Sciatica
McKenzie Method (MDT) A movement based diagnostic and treatment system used to identify exactly which directions and positions relieve your nerve pain, then build your recovery plan around them. This is usually the fastest way to find out what’s actually driving your sciatica.
Regenerative Therapy (EMTT/Shockwave) For nerve related inflammation that needs extra help settling down, we use non-invasive regenerative technology as a natural alternative to cortisone injections, so movement based treatment can take hold sooner.
Dry Needling Used to release muscle tension and guarding around the spine and hip that often accompanies sciatic nerve irritation, reducing pain and improving mobility.
Pilates-Based Rehab Once acute symptoms settle down, we build pelvic and core stability to keep pressure off the nerve long term and lower the chance of your sciatica coming back.
Ready to Stop Sciatica From Coming Back?
Book a free discovery session and find out exactly what’s driving your nerve pain, and what it will take to fix it for good.
