Sciatica vs. Knee Pain: Are They Linked?
Sciatica is characterized by sharp, burning pain down the leg. But can it actually cause knee pain? Not exactly. According to Dr. Prefer, “Sciatica will start after the crease in the butt… it goes into the back of the thigh.” Knee pain, on the other hand, usually comes from an entirely different source—the L3 disc, not the L4 disc that triggers sciatica.
It’s easy to see why some people confuse the two. The lower back controls different parts of the leg, and when something goes wrong, pain doesn’t always show up where you expect it. Sciatica affects the back of the leg and sometimes the big toe.
Knee pain? That’s usually traced back to the L3 nerve, which travels down the inner thigh and stops at the kneecap. If the pain is isolated to the front of the knee, sciatica probably isn’t to blame.
A Different Condition That Blurs the Line
There is, however, a condition that makes things less clear: piriformis syndrome. The sciatic nerve runs through the piriformis muscle, deep in the buttock. If this muscle tightens up, it can create sciatica-like symptoms—pain, tingling, or numbness. But here’s the main difference: true sciatica moves past the crease of the buttock and into the thigh, while piriformis syndrome keeps the pain higher up.
How Chiropractic Care Can Help
Whether your pain is coming from an L3 disc issue, true sciatica, or piriformis syndrome, chiropractic care can help. Adjustments to the lower back and pelvis can relieve pressure on the nerves, while SOT blocking—a technique that uses a patient’s own body weight to restore alignment—helps open up space in the spine.
“Those blocks allow the patient’s body weight to open the disc space up to where it should be, over 12 treatments,” says Dr. Prefer. That’s why adjustments are often combined with cold laser therapy, ultrasound, and electric stimulation to reduce inflammation and speed up healing. In more persistent cases, microcurrent therapy may be introduced once most of the inflammation is under control.
Is Your Knee Pain Really Coming From Your Back?
If you’re dealing with knee pain that doesn’t seem to stem from an injury, the problem might not be your knee at all. Dr. Prefer can help determine whether your lower back alignment is the real culprit. The longer a nerve stays irritated, the greater the risk of inflammation, scar tissue, and long-term damage.
Contact Preferred Chiropractic today to book an appointment!
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