Sciatica
Free Symptom Checker
with Physician-supervised AI
Worried about your symptoms?
Start the Sciatica test with our free AI Symptom Checker.
This will help us personalize your assessment.
By starting the symptom checker, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Try one of these related symptoms.
Sciatica
Nerve pain in the leg
Pain along the buttock and calf
Pain from the buttocks till the leg
Back pain that shoots to the legs
Pain radiates down the leg
Pain from buttock to thigh
Recurring sciatica pain
About the Symptom
Sciatica describes a painful sensation that starts from lower back and travels or shoots down the leg. This pain may travel down the back or outside of the leg and is often described as shooting. It refers to pain in the distribution of the sciatic nerve
When to See a Doctor
Seek professional care if you experience any of the following symptoms
- Abnormal sensation (tingling, prickling)
- Urinary frequency
- Muscle weakness in the limbs
- Numbness / sensory disorder
Possible Causes
Generally, Sciatica can be related to:
- Piriformis Syndrome
The sciatic nerve is responsible for muscle control and sensation of the leg. Sometimes, it can be compressed by the piriformis muscle in the buttocks. This can result in symptoms that are often similar to a slipped disc or nerve compression in the spine.
- Lumbar Vertebrae Disk Herniation
Also known as a slipped disc, this condition is characterized by injury to the cushioning discs between the spinal bones in the lower back (lumbar vertabrae) that causes the disc to bulge outward or rupture. The disc bulge puts pressure on adjacent nerves, which causes pain, leg weakness, or numbness. Poor posture, exercising with incorrect form, or occasionally benign non-lifting movement are some possible causes of this disorder.
- Transverse Myelitis
Transverse myelitis is an inflammation of both sides of one section of the spinal cord. There is often damage to the covering of nerve cell fibers (myelin), which interrupts the messages from the spinal cord nerves to the rest of the body. Causes include infections and immune system disorders that attack the body's tissues.
- Ankylosing Spondylitis
- Spinal Cord Tumor
- Neuropathic Pain
- Spinal Canal Stenosis
- MELAS Syndrome
- Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
Related Serious Diseases
Sometimes, Sciatica may be related to these serious diseases:
- Acute Phase of Spinal Cord Injury
The acute phase starts right after a spinal cord injury, which is caused by trauma to the spinal cord. This phase includes blood vessel damage, ionic imbalance, neurotransmitter buildup (excitotoxicity), inflammation, swelling, and cell death.
Doctor's Diagnostic Questions
Your doctor may ask these questions to check for this symptom:
- Are you experiencing numbness in your buttocks or lower back?
- How often do you experience numbness in your buttocks or lower back?
- When did you first notice the numbness in your buttocks or lower back?
- Which of the following best describes how your numbness in the buttocks or lower back appeared?
Reviewed By:
Kent C Doan, MD (Orthopedics)
Dr Doan Graduated from the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine and completed residency training in Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Colorado. He completed additional fellowship training in Orthopedic Sports Medicine at the prestigious Steadman Clinic and Steadman Philippon Research Institute in Vail, Colorado. He is a practicing Orthopedic Surgeon who specializes in complex and revision knee and shoulder surgery at the Kansas City Orthopedic Institute. He also holds an assistant professorship at the University of Kansas City.
Tomohiro Hamahata, MD (Orthopedics)
Dr. Hamahata graduated from the Jikei University of Medical Science. After working at Asanokawa General Hospital and Kosei Chuo Hospital, he joined the Department of Orthopedics at Asakusa Hospital in April 2021, specializing in general orthopedics and joint replacement surgery.
Content updated on Feb 6, 2025
Following the Medical Content Editorial Policy
Was this page helpful?
Tell your friends about us.
We would love to help them too.
Just 3 minutes.
Developed by doctors.
Try Free Symptom QuizHow Ubie Can Help You
With a free 3-min Sciatica quiz, powered by Ubie's AI and doctors, find possible causes of your symptoms.
This questionnaire is customized to your situation and symptoms, including the following personal information:
Biological Sex - helps us provide relevant suggestions for male vs. female conditions.
Age - adjusts our guidance based on any age-related health factors.
History - considers past illnesses, surgeries, family history, and lifestyle choices.
Your symptoms
Our AI
Your report
Your personal report will tell you
✔ When to see a doctor
✔︎ What causes your symptoms
✔︎ Treatment information etc.
People with similar symptoms also use Ubie's symptom checker to find possible causes
- Pain from back to legs
- Sciatic nerve pain
Find Similar Symptoms
Symptoms from similar body parts
Symptoms treated by the same specialty
Ubie is supervised by 50+ medical experts worldwide
Our symptom checker AI is continuously refined with input from experienced physicians, empowering them to make more accurate diagnoses.
Ubie is recognized by healthcare and tech leaders
“World’s Best Digital
Health Companies”
Newsweek 2024
“Best With AI”
Google Play Best of 2023
“Best in Class”
Digital Health Awards 2023 (Quarterfinalist)
Which is the best Symptom Checker?
Ubie’s symptom checker demonstrated a Top-10 hit accuracy of 71.6%, surpassing the performance of several leading symptom checkers in the market, which averaged around 60% accuracy in similar assessments.
Link to full study:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.08.29.24312810v1References
NHS
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sciatica/Maslak, Joseph P. MD; Jenkins, Tyler J. MD; Weiner, Joseph A. MD; Kannan, Abhishek S. MD; Patoli, Daneel M. MD; McCarthy, Michael H. MD, MPH; Hsu, Wellington K. MD; Patel, Alpesh A. MD, FACS. Burden of Sciatica on US Medicare Recipients. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 28(10):p e433-e439, May 15, 2020. | DOI: 10.5435/JAAOS-D-19-00174