Can sciatica cause the knee pain I’m feeling?

As many as 40% of people will experience sciatica at least once in their lifetime. Your sciatic nerve starts in the lower spine and then branches off to travel down each leg. It is responsible for all the feeling in your legs. When you injure your legs or lower back, or develop other spinal conditions, you can irritate the sciatic nerve. This usually results in nerve pain. This is known as sciatica. 

Do you experience lower back pain that feels like it’s traveling down the buttocks and even into your legs or knees? Then sciatica may be the cause of your knee pain.

How to know if sciatica can cause your knee pain 

If you’re wondering if sciatica can cause knee pain, then ask yourself if your knee pain can be traced back to a knee injury or condition. If you’re experiencing pain in one knee with no obvious causes, then sciatica may be the cause. If you injured your lower back, then the compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve can be felt as knee pain. This is known as referred pain. 

Some signs that may indicate sciatica is causing your knee pain: 

• Sciatica usually only produces pain in one leg at a time. If you have pain in both knees, then this may indicate you’re suffering from a different condition. This knee pain can be felt as a dull, aching sensation, a warm feeling or even sharp pain. Sciatica can also result in weakness in the legs or knees.

• Pain in the lower back, buttocks, thigh, calf or feet. Sciatica pain is often grouped together since these areas of the body are linked together by the same nerve. You may have sciatica if you experience pain in some or all of these regions at the same time. 

If you’re suffering from sciatica, physical therapy can help relieve your symptoms. Lying in bed or refraining from activity can actually worsen your sciatica pain. 

Armor Physical Therapy is prepared to help relieve your sciatica symptoms

Depending on the underlying condition that’s causing your sciatica, your symptoms can range from mild discomfort to extreme pain. No matter what kind of sciatica pain you’re feeling, the physical therapists at Armor Physical Therapy can help you reduce the pain and discomfort in your knees. Our team is prepared to build you a personalized treatment plan to help manage your sciatica pain and help restore function in your knees.

Contact our team today for more information about how we can treat your sciatica or to schedule an initial appointment.