What a scan can and can't tell you
Sciatica is pain that travels along the sciatic nerve, from the lower back through the buttock and down the leg. Most people with back pain or sciatica eventually get a scan, and many are told the cause is a bulging disc or "degeneration" in the spine.
But these findings are very common in people who have no pain at all. A 2015 review of 33 studies looked at the spine scans of more than 3,000 people without back pain. About 30% of 20-year-olds had a disc bulge. By age 80, it was 84%.
So a bulge on your scan can be real and still not be the reason you hurt. A scan shows what your spine looks like. It can't show what your nervous system is doing.
When should back pain be checked by a doctor?
Some back pain needs medical attention right away: pain after a fall or accident, weakness in your leg that keeps getting worse, numbness in your groin or inner thighs, or any change in bladder or bowel control. Please don't wait with these. I wrote more in Do I need to see a doctor first?
My back and my leg
After teaching a yoga class, I was suddenly struck with excruciating pain from my lower back down my right leg. What followed was nearly a year of barely being able to get out of bed. I couldn't walk for more than a few minutes. I went from one medical treatment to the next, and nothing held. Then I found Dr. John Sarno's work. For the first time, I let myself turn toward the pain instead of fighting it, and I listened for what it had to say. Within two weeks, the pain lifted completely.
What does healing look like?
In my five-week program, we move through four phases:
- Believing it's possible. Coming to trust that living free of pain is possible for you, too.
- Listening. Learning to hear what your nervous system is telling you, through breath and somatic awareness.
- Meeting pain with safety. Practicing meeting pain and emotion with curiosity instead of fear.
- Rebuilding trust. Slowly returning to the movement and rest your body has been missing.
With love,
Leyla
