{"id":7509,"date":"2026-10-02T09:37:37","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T09:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/integrativa.pt\/?p=7509"},"modified":"2026-10-02T09:37:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T09:37:37","slug":"cervical-dystonia-not-all-the-pain-in-the-leg-and-sciatica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/integrativa.pt\/en\/dor-ciatica-nem-toda-a-dor-na-perna-e-ciatica\/","title":{"rendered":"Sciatica pain: not all leg pain is sciatica"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cI have sciatica\u201d is a phrase that is heard frequently. The term is used in everyday life to describe almost any pain that travels from the lower back or hips to the leg. The problem is that \u201csciatic pain\u201d is not a diagnosis: it is a description of a symptom. And many of the pains that people call sciatica actually have another origin.<\/p>\n

Understanding the difference is essential because the treatment depends on the cause, and not just the location where the pain is felt.<\/p>\n

What is the sciatic nerve?<\/h4>\n

The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body. It is formed by the junction of nerve roots that exit from the lumbar spine and the sacrum (from L4 to S3), passes through the groin region, descends along the back of the thigh and splits, usually above the knee, into two branches that continue to the leg and foot.<\/p>\n

What is sciatica pain?<\/h4>\n

Sciatic pain is pain that extends along the path of the sciatic nerve or one of the nerve roots that form it. In clinical terms, the most rigorous designation is lumbosacral radicular pain, because in the vast majority of cases the problem lies in the nerve root near the spine, and not in the nerve along the leg.<\/p>\n

Typically, sciatic pain:<\/p>\n