** #1 Sign Your Sciatica is Getting Better or Getting Worse and What to Look For**
An important point to note is generally the more the sciatica nerve is irritated, the further down the leg the symptoms of pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, and/or burning occur. The reverse is also true. As the nerve becomes less irritated, the symptoms generally improve in an ascending fashion. This translates to less pain, numbness, tingling, weakness and/or burning in the foot or lower leg. This can help you gauge whether your self-treatments are helping.
Watch the video accompanying this handout. In the video we use tape to indicate the normal patterns of sciatica and how it can improve. Watch this video before performing any sciatica exercises.
We have used tape in the photos to demonstrate the preferred progression of your pain. In photo A the pain/numbness/tingling is in full force travelling down the entire leg and possibly into the foot. In photo B the pain/numbness/tingling has begun to centralize- first leaving the foot and calf, then the back of the thigh. In photo C the pain has centralized to the low back. In photo D the pain is gone.
This video is a part of a series of videos on how to treat Sciatica/Back Pain on your own. Check out the full series of videos along with downloadable guide sheets for each video on our website here: http://bobandbrad.com/programs