You know the moment it changes. One day it’s just a sore lower back. Stiff after sitting too long. Nothing new.
Then the pain moves.
It drops into the buttock. Down the back of the thigh. Past the knee. Into the calf. Sometimes all the way into the foot. And it doesn’t feel like a pulled muscle anymore. This is sharper. Electric. Burning. Some patients describe it like a hot wire running down the leg.
Sitting becomes the enemy. You dread getting into the car. Sleep turns into two hours at a time, max, and you’re flipping positions all night trying to find one that doesn’t make things worse.
If that’s where you are right now, you’re almost certainly dealing with sciatica. It’s the single most common reason people walk into our Burlington clinic. And the first thing most of them say is the same: “I thought it was my leg.”
It’s not. The problem is in the spine. And that’s actually good news, because once you understand where the pain is coming from, you can do something about it.
So What Is Sciatica, Exactly?
Sciatica isn’t a condition. It’s a symptom. A pattern of pain caused by something pressing on the sciatic nerve.
Quick anatomy lesson. Your sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in your body. Runs from the lower back, through the buttock, down the entire back of the leg. It’s thick. About the width of your little finger. And it’s responsible for sensation and movement in a huge chunk of your lower body.
When something compresses that nerve near the spine (usually a disc problem, which we’ll get into), the brain reads it as pain in the leg. The leg screams, but the source is the lower back.
That disconnect is what makes sciatica so frustrating for people. They stretch the leg. Ice the hip. Massage the glute. And nothing sticks. Because the actual problem is 18 inches higher up.
What Sciatica Actually Feels Like
Everyone’s version is a little different. But after 20 years of treating sciatica patients in Burlington, Dr. Brad Deakin hears the same descriptions over and over:
- Sharp, shooting pain from the lower back or buttock running down one leg
- A deep ache in the hip that won’t let up, no matter how much you rest
- Tingling or “pins and needles” in the thigh, calf, or foot
- The leg feels heavy or weak. Like it’s dragging. Like it doesn’t belong to you.
- Pain that gets significantly worse when you sit, bend, or cough
- Trouble standing up from a chair. Getting out of the car feels like a project.
- Walking actually helps for a few minutes. Then the pain comes right back once you stop.
Usually it’s one side. If you’re getting it in both legs at the same time, or you suddenly lose bladder or bowel control alongside back pain, that’s a medical emergency. Go to a hospital.
What’s Actually Causing Your Sciatica?
The nerve doesn’t just decide to hurt. Something is compressing it. The question is what.
Herniated or Bulging Disc
This is the big one. Sciatic nerve pain is the main reason people visit our clinic, according to our statistics, by far.
Your intervertebral discs consist of a strong outer ring and a delicate gel-like core. In such cases, the core pushes through an outer wall tear and contacts the nerve root directly. The most common locations for this are L4/L5 and L5/S1. Surprisingly, even a relatively small herniation can cause such severe symptoms. Here’s how it works: only a couple of millimeters of misplaced disc material can trigger the entire sciatic nerve pathway to react.
Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD)
Discs lose water content and height as we age. The space around the nerve root gets tighter. That gradual narrowing builds pressure over months and years, and eventually the nerve has nowhere to go. We see this constantly in patients in their 40s and 50s who have sat at desks for 20 years and never thought twice about their spine until the leg pain started.
Spinal Stenosis
This one is more common after 50. The spinal canal may decrease in size, or the tiny holes through which the nerves leave the spine get smaller. A typical symptom is that your legs feel laden with weight or hurt while walking, but the discomfort disappears when you sit down or lean your body forward. Patients suffering from stenosis frequently share with us their experience of being able to push a cart across the supermarket for a full hour but finding it impossible to walk for a long block.
Other Contributing Factors
Less common but still important:
- Bone spurs pressing on a nerve root
- Piriformis syndrome, where a tight muscle deep in the hip clamps down on the nerve
- Spondylolisthesis, one vertebra slipping forward over another
- Direct trauma or inflammation around the lumbar spine
Two patients can walk in with identical sciatica pain. One has a herniated disc at L5/S1. The other has stenosis at L3/L4. Identical symptoms, completely different problems, completely different care plans. This is why imaging and proper assessment aren’t optional.
Why the Pain Travels Down the Leg (This Part Matters)
This is the part people get wrong. And honestly, a lot of healthcare providers don’t explain it well enough.
Your nerves are wiring. They carry electrical signals from the brain to the rest of the body and back. The sciatic nerve specifically runs signals for sensation and movement to the buttock, thigh, calf, and foot.
When something pinches that nerve near the spine, the brain doesn’t say “the problem is at L5.” The brain says “the leg hurts.” Because the signal travels the whole length of the nerve. Your brain is reading the address wrong.
Doctors call this radiculopathy. You’ll sometimes hear it called referred pain. Same idea. Think of it like a garden hose. Step on it near the faucet, and the water pressure drops at the sprinkler 50 feet away. The problem isn’t at the sprinkler. It’s where the hose is getting squeezed.
That’s your spine and your leg.
And that’s why rubbing your calf, stretching your hamstring, or icing the buttock gives you relief for 20 minutes and then the pain comes right back. You’re treating the sprinkler. The hose is still being stepped on.
Who Gets Sciatica?
Anyone can. If you are able to mark a few of these boxes, the probabilities go up significantly:
You are sedentary for long hours. Driving along the QEW, stationed at a work desk in a Burlington or Oakville office, driving for work in Hamilton. The pressure on the intervertebral disc is about 40% more when you sit than when you stand.
- Your job involves repetitive bending or lifting.
- You’re in your 30s, 40s, or 50s. Disc degeneration picks up speed in this window for most people.
- You’re carrying extra weight. Every extra pound adds load to the lumbar spine with every step.
- You don’t move enough. Weak core muscles leave the spine unsupported.
- You’ve had back problems before that were never fully resolved. Old injuries have a way of coming back.
- You smoke. Smoking reduces blood flow to the discs and accelerates degeneration. Most people don’t know this.
If three of those apply to you and pain has been running down your leg for more than a couple of weeks, your spine is trying to tell you something.
When to Stop Googling and Get Your Spine Checked
Some mild sciatica flare-ups resolve on their own. A few days of discomfort, then it fades. But, the underlying issue is still there, even though the pain may have gone away.
But here’s when it’s time:
- The pain has lasted more than one week and isn’t improving
- You can’t sit, sleep, walk, or work without significant pain
- Numbness or tingling is getting worse or spreading further down your leg
- Your leg feels weaker. Your foot drops. Your ankle gives out.
- The pain keeps leaving and coming back in cycles
- You already know you have a disc problem or stenosis
- A surgeon recommended an operation and you want to understand all your options first
Many individuals are unaware of this fact: waiting is not just a matter of enduring pain for a longer period. Prolonged nerve compression could leave the person with permanent numbness, irreversible muscle weakness, and changes in the body that the person finds really hard to return to a normal state. The nerve is not the kind of thing that people think will always return to its original state.
What Happens When You Come In
We don’t guess. We don’t hand you a pamphlet and send you to an adjustment room. We figure out exactly what’s causing the nerve compression.
Your initial exam:
Starts with a real conversation. What’s the pain like? How long have you had it? What makes it worse? What have you tried already? We need the full picture, not a 30-second intake.
Then a physical and neurological exam. We test reflexes, muscle strength, sensation, and movement patterns. This tells us a lot about where the nerve is being affected.
We take digital X-rays onsite. These show us spinal alignment, disc spacing, and structural changes that don’t show up on a physical exam alone.
Nerve scans (EMG and infrared thermography) give us objective data on how much stress the nerve is under and how it’s functioning.
If you’ve got an MRI, bring it. Dr. Deakin will review it with you during the exam.
Then the report of findings. This is the part patients remember most. Dr. Deakin pulls up your X-rays, shows you exactly what he’s seeing, and explains what it means for your pain, your body, and your options. No jargon. No rushing. You leave understanding your own spine.
Everything after that is built around your specific findings. Not a template. Not the same 20-visit plan everyone gets.
How Spinal Decompression Addresses Sciatica
If the sciatica is coming from a disc problem (herniation, bulge, degeneration pressing on the nerve), non-surgical spinal decompression goes directly after the source. It’s not a stretch. Not a manipulation. Not a temporary pain blocker. It’s designed to change the mechanical environment around the disc and nerve so the body can heal.
The process:
- Controlled traction gently opens space between the compressed vertebrae. The disc and nerve root get room to function properly.
- That shift in pressure encourages herniated or bulging disc material to retract back toward its normal position. The body does this naturally when the mechanical load is taken off.
- With the disc material pulling back, the nerve gets relief from compression. This is when the leg pain, numbness, and tingling start to decrease.
- Better circulation around the disc means more hydration, more nutrient flow, and a real environment for long-term recovery. Not just symptom management. The disc can actually repair if it is done properly through the decompression treatments.
We use 4-dimensional decompression technology. It means the table adjusts by angle, rotation, and lateral flexion to target the exact disc level involved in your sciatica. Old-school traction pulls in a straight line no matter where the problem is. Our system reaches disc positions and spinal curvatures that flat tables physically cannot.
Sessions are gentle. Patients lie down, the table does the work, and most people relax completely. We’ve had patients fall asleep mid-session more times than we can count.
“My Doctor Said I Need Surgery”
We hear this weekly. Sometimes from patients who have been dealing with sciatica for six months. Sometimes from people who just got the news yesterday and aren’t ready to accept it.
Look, sometimes surgery is the right move. If there’s a severe neurological deficit, if the disc is compressing the spinal cord itself, if conservative care has been given a real shot and the body isn’t responding. Surgery exists for a reason.
But a lot of the time, the disc compression causing sciatica can be addressed without cutting. The disc material retracts. The nerve heals. The symptoms resolve. That’s not optimism. That’s what we see happen with patients who commit to their care plan and show up consistently.
The initial exam tells us which scenario you’re in. And if decompression isn’t the right path for your situation, Dr. Deakin will tell you that directly. He has zero interest in starting a care plan that won’t serve you.
Sciatica Questions We Get Every Week
Related, but not the same. Back pain stays in the back. Sciatica specifically involves pain, numbness, or tingling that radiates down the leg. It’s nerve pain, not muscle pain. Plenty of people have both at the same time and don’t realize the leg symptoms are connected to a disc problem in the spine.
If it’s a mild flare, sometimes a few days to a few weeks. But when the cause is structural, like a herniated disc or stenosis, the pain tends to become chronic or keep cycling because the thing compressing the nerve hasn’t changed. If yours has lasted more than two weeks or keeps returning, your spine needs to be assessed. Waiting it out is not a treatment plan.
Yes and No. A mild irritation can settle with rest and careful movement. But structural problems don’t fix themselves. A herniated disc doesn’t un-herniate because you gave it time. And the longer the nerve stays compressed, the harder full recovery becomes.
Sitting is the number one aggravator. Long drives, desk work, bending forward, lifting, coughing, sneezing. Anything that increases pressure on the lumbar discs flares the nerve.
Yes, It reduces the mechanical load on the nerve, supports disc retraction, and creates the right conditions for healing. Published research in spine rehabilitation journals supports traction-based therapies for lumbar radiculopathy. And we see it work in our clinic every single week.
Not at all. Gentle, comfortable, relaxing. The table applies slow, controlled traction. Some mild soreness after the first session is normal, similar to starting a new workout, and it fades fast. Most people are surprised by how comfortable it is.
It helps, but you don’t need one to get started. Bring it if you have one. Dr. Deakin will review it with you. If you don’t have imaging, we take digital X-rays and nerve scans onsite during your first visit. If your findings suggest an MRI is needed, we’ll tell you.
Depends on the severity of the disc problem, how long it’s been going on, and how your body responds. Dr. Deakin lays out a personalized plan with a clear timeline after your initial exam and report of findings. Most patients start noticing real change within the first two to four weeks of consistent care.
If sciatic pain is running down your leg, the first step is finding what’s causing pressure on the nerve.
At Burlington Spinal Decompression, your initial exam includes a consultation, nerve scans, digital X-rays, imaging review, and a full report of findings with Dr. Deakin.
Get clarity on your sciatica and find out if spinal decompression therapy is right for you.
