Sciatica is the most common condition my clients come to me with - everything from a mild, recurring niggle to severe immobility.

If you’re dealing with it right now, I want you to know this first:

you’re not broken, and there is a way out.

So why is sciatica so prevalent?

Sciatica occurs when the sciatic nerve becomes compressed or irritated. That part is actually quite simple.

What’s far less simple - and often deeply frustrating - is how poorly sciatica is treated in conventional medicine. The focus is often on numbing the pain or dampening the sensation, rather than addressing why the nerve is being compressed in the first place.

Understanding that “why” is where real change begins.

What’s actually going on inside the body

The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body. It’s formed from five nerve roots (L4–S3) that branch off the spinal cord in the lower back. These roots come together, travel behind the hip joint, and then run all the way down the back of the leg.

Because the nerve originates in the lower spine, sciatica is very often treated purely as a lower back issue - with attention on disc degeneration, disc bulges, or spinal compression.

And to be clear: yes, that absolutely can be part of the picture.

But there’s another very common source of compression that’s much less talked about - where the nerve passes behind the hip joint.

The missing piece: the hips

In my work, virtually all clients who present with sciatica share a similar pattern:
their hips are held in excessive external rotation.

This “turned-out” leg posture shortens and tightens the muscles at the back of the hip -  the gluteals and the piriformis. When these tissues become chronically contracted, they can place direct pressure on the sciatic nerve as it passes underneath or through them.

If you’re struggling with sciatica, here’s a gentle check you can try:

Stand up and look at your feet.
Is the foot on the side of the sciatica more turned out than the other?

Relief comes from decompression

If the root issue is compression, then relief has to come from decompression.

That means creating space for the sciatic nerve at both:

• the lower back

• and the back of the hip joint

By anchoring the legs through a gentle internal spiral, and breathing the ribcage up and away from the pelvis, we can:

• lift space into the lumbar spine

• soften and widen the back of the hips

• and reduce pressure on the nerve itself

This isn’t rocket science, it’s simple, logical biomechanics, working with the body’s natural design.

A personal note

I know the debilitating pain of sciatica - I’ve been there - and I’ve helped hundreds of clients free themselves from its grip.

If this is something you’re living with, please know your body is not broken - it just needs space.