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Sciatica is a painful and debilitating condition, most often caused by a herniated disc that irritates or compresses the sciatic nerve.
Many treatments address the symptoms without focusing on the cause which can leave you suffering from this exasperating condition for months, sometimes even years. Some treatments may even make your pain worse.
To cure your sciatica permanently, you need to understand its causes, its risk factors, and how to treat it effectively. Successful treatment must include learning how to move in away that eliminates the postures, movements and loads that provoke your pain.
The most common cause of sciatica is a herniated disc at the L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels of the lumbar spine. This part of the spine is comparatively mobile and has to sustain greater loads than the joints further up the spine.
Repeated flexion, extension and twisting, of the lumbar spine, often using poor lifting techniques, place excessive stress on the lower lumbar discs making them more susceptible to herniation.
When a disc herniates, its inner, gel-like material can irritate or compress nearby nerve roots, such as the L4, L5, or S1 nerve roots, which are major contributors to the sciatic nerve.
This can cause shooting pains down the back and side of the leg, sometimes reaching the foot or toes. This usually occurs in one leg, but may affect both legs in rarer cases.
Disc herniation explained by Dr. Stuart McGill
Additional causes of sciatica can include spinal stenosis (a narrowing of the space through which the spinal nerves pass), piriformis syndrome (where the tonicity of the piriformis muscle can irritate the sciatic nerve in the hip) or trauma where structural damage to the vertebra can compress the sciatic nerve.
A detailed assessment is essential in order to pinpoint the precise cause of your sciatica.
Certain factors can increase your likelihood of developing sciatica:
1. Sedentary lifestyle
While sitting alone is unlikely to cause a disc herniation, it can contribute towards stress on your lower back once you already have the beginnings of a disc injury that has been caused by, for example, repeated flexion under load. Prolonged sitting with a flexed spine can cause stress on the passive tissues (the discs and ligaments) which can provoke pain and cause them to weaken further.
2. Poor movement patterns
As is clearly demonstrated in the video above, the way you move has a significant impact on how much stress you direct through the discs in your lumbar spine. If you want to reduce this stress you have to learn how to load your hips and spare your spine when you move.
3. Weak core muscles
If you don't have sufficient muscular endurance in the muscles that support and protect the spine you will end up placing unnecessary stress on your passive tissues. This can cause premature degenerative disc disease.
4. Obesity
Extra weight, combined with poor movement patterns increases stress on the spine.
5. Aging
It's normal that as you age your body experiences degenerative changes. When this occurs in the spine it can lead to damaged discs that provoke pain. However, you can learn to reduce the stress on your ageing spine by learning how to move in a way that redirects stress through your hips and your shoulders.
While mild cases may improve with time, chronic or severe sciatica often requires active intervention. The longer the condition persists, the greater the risk of worsening nerve damage and limited mobility.
As a McGill Method Certified Personal Trainer, I provide an evidence-based approach to sciatica treatment.
With science-backed techniques developed by Dr. Stuart McGill, one of the world’s leading experts on low back pathologies, I help my clients alleviate pain, restore function, and build resilience against future flare-ups.
Since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, I've been helping people all over the world (North America, Europe, UK, Asia and The Middle East) overcome their low back pain and sciatica, working with them 100% online.
'I call Andy a miracle worker.
Without even being in the same room or running any tests, he was able to diagnose the chronic lower back pain I’d been suffering from for four years.
I had tried every conventional method to relieve my pain—medication, physiotherapy, chiropractic care, acupuncture, deep tissue massages, yoga—you name it. Nothing worked.
As it turned out, I had undiagnosed herniated discs. Remarkably, just by stopping the stretches I’d been doing for years, I experienced immediate relief.
Andy’s thorough approach and easy-to-follow program have made a huge difference in my life. I now feel empowered, in control of my pain, and hopeful about my future.
Moreover, I understand my condition and trigger points better, so I am able to work around it. Although there’s still a long road ahead, I finally see a silver lining.
I fully recommend working with Coach Andy and following his program.'
—Najma Khan (Iraq)
1. A Comprehensive Assessment
After taking a detailed personal history I guide you through pain-provocation tests to identify the precise cause of your sciatica. This allows us to identify the movements, postures, and loads that provoke your pain and those that alleviate it.
2. The Elimination of Pain Triggers
Having identified the cause your sciatica, we can then remove your individual pain triggers from your daily routine. I teach you personalised 'spine hygiene' so that you can perform your daily activities without provoking your pain. This reduces stress on your damaged disc(s) which is vital for them to heal and put a stop to your sciatic symptoms.
3. Building a Resilient Spine
If you've suffered a herniated disc your spine loses some of its stability at the affected joint(s). It's essential to regain this stability by improving the control and endurance of your spine-stabilising muscles. Hip mobility may also need to be addressed in order to reduce stress on your spine. I design you a personalised program of exercises specific to the level you're at now. This is progressed at regular intervals as you improve.
4. Progressive Rehabilitation
As your pain improves, more challenging movements are introduced to restore function for your daily activities, including leisure and work demands.
Sciatica doesn't have to control your life. With a targeted approach that focuses on the root cause of your pain it's still possible to reclaim your health and live pain-free.
Wherever you are in the world I can guide you through each step of your recovery.
Book a free online consultation with me today to find out more about how I can help you.
'For several months , I suffered from back and leg pain that made it impossible to sit or lie down without constantly changing positions.
Skeptical at first, I decided to try the unique approach Andy suggested: targeted postural exercises and continuous reminders about maintaining proper movement hygiene.
Through patient and detailed sessions, Andy taught me how to move correctly, avoid harmful movements for my back, and incorporate these new habits into my daily life.
His dedication and attention to detail were crucial for my improvement. In just a few weeks my back pain completely vanished. Now, I can sit and lie down without any discomfort.
Andy's expertise and professionalism are unparalleled.
I highly recommend Andy’s approach to anyone suffering from similar issues: focusing on posture and movement can work wonders.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for freeing me up from pain!'
—Angela Grilenzoni (Italy)
'Andy was absolutely excellent. I've had back issues for years, and I've never been better than after the regiment he arranged.
Not only did Andy point me to what I should be doing, he helped me get rid of some of the exercises I thought were helping that were actually keeping my back injured.
Cannot recommend him enough, super professional, accommodating and personal approach!'
—Eugen Alpeza (USA)
'After more than a year of having a back injury that prevented me from doing the sports I wanted and after consulting several specialists, I discovered Stuart McGill and his method for rehabilitating people with back pain. I found Andy on the list of certified practitioners on McGill's website and got in touch with him.
After a very complete assessment and sound advice, I began a rehabilitation program with him. I quickly became able to do movements again that I hadn't been able to do previously and my pain gradually faded until it disappeared completely.
This was despite me having had some extremely painful episodes! I admit that I'd been beginning to lose hope about whether I would ever find a solution.
For those who are familiar with fitness training: I went from writhing in pain while sneezing to being able to swing a 32 kg kettlebell without pain! I built up to this in a progressive, safe and effective way.
If you want to put an end to your back problems or get back into fitness in a sustainable way, I recommend you contact Andy!'
—Laurent Feraudet (France)
'I contacted Andy for the Low Back Pain Rehab Program in January 2024. Two years before, I had injured my back (herniated disc), which led to chronic back pain. Besides the obvious discomfort, I was also fearful of resuming training and potentially reinjuring my back.
I came across Dr. Stuart McGill's book, "Back Mechanic," which provided great insights on back pain in general as well as practical advice so as to avoid common mistakes that can aggravate back pain and prevent recovery.
Yet, I felt the need for personalized coaching to ensure I was following the right approach. This prompted me to contact Andy, a McGill Method Certified Practitioner. Andy was always attentive to my well-being, listening and ensuring the training progressed according to my capabilities and specific back condition.
Having recently completed the program, I have been free of back pain ever since, and I couldn’t be happier. I've also noticed increased resistance and core muscle strength. Now, I feel prepared to take my training further, so I will continue with a personalized program 💪
Thank you Andy!'
—Mara Carloni (France)
'I have being struggling with my lower back (L4-L5) since almost three years, I had surgery and stopped feeling the pain through my leg but nothing seemed to really work to stop feeling pain in my back. I decided to contact Andy for help and I think that was the best idea.
I have being doing his back program for almost four months, and having online sessions every two weeks with him. I am happy to say that now I have days that I really don't notice my back and I started to do more of the ordinary things that I stopped doing because of my back.
He is an extraordinary professional, always kind and willing to help. If he managed to help me this much in these few months I can't wait to see whats next in the months to come.
Thank you, Andy 🙂'
—Mayte Medina (Spain)
'After months with pain in the lower back and trying massages, stretching and abdominal exercises, yoga, physiotherapy which worsened the symptoms, I decided to look for a solution that tackled exactly my problem and found Andy.
After a videocall to check expectations and modalities we started with a thorough 3 hrs analysis. I was surprised with which detail this is possible via Zoom and yes, Andy has an experienced eye in observing which type of movements are causing pain and how to modify them. After that, I received a written summary of the analysis and daily exercises. The program was updated every couple of weeks after checking in trying more and other types of exercises. I still receive my daily workout.
The pain improved quickly with the few adjustments in my daily behaviour and the exercises, and after a couple of weeks I was pain free almost always.
Thank you so much Andy for your patience and dedication.
The money here is well spent - for the sake of a pain free life.'
—Jannett Hucke (The Philippines)
