This is actually a muscular problem, with symptoms that can mimic other more serious conditions.
Symptoms
Deep aching in the buttock and leg above the knee.
Sitting, squatting or walking makes the pain worse.
Affected leg is often externally rotated (toes point out) when relaxed, such as when lying face down on the bed with your feet over the end of the mattress.
Pain after driving a long distance; your foot on the accelerator pedal has been in one position for hours!
Low back pain
This can sound very like true sciatica, but instead of a serious problem like a ruptured disc pressing on your sciatic nerve, it's actually a muscle, deep in your buttock tweaking the nerve!
Cause
The sciatic nerve is the largest in the body, up to the width of your thumb! It runs from the lower back, through the buttock and handles pretty much all nervous functions in your leg.
Now under all the padding and glute muscles lies the piriformis muscle. It is attached to the sacrum and runs to the head of the femur and is used to help rotate the hip. If you lie on your back with your feet in the air and rotate your foor out to one side...well that's you working out the priformis muscle.
You need this muscle to hold your foot on the accelerator of a car, and driving for a long time can cause this muscle to shorten. When you get out of your car and stretch, the piriformis muscle will compress the sciatic nerve, triggering the above symptoms.
Other triggers can be faulty foot or spinal mechanics, gait disturbances, poor posture or sitting habits, exercise can do it as well, anything that affects the piriformis really...
Treatment
As with a lot of muscle problems, stretching can help a lot, as this muscle is so far in your bum it's a bit difficult to describe how to.
To stretch the right side piriformis, lie on your back, bend you knees and put your right ankle on your left knee, to make a figure '4'. Now by bending at the hip, bring your left knee towards your chest, grab your left thigh to help.
As it can also be caused by poor posture etc., treatment can involve correct faulty foot and pelvic mechanics, resting from exercise etc.
Disclaimer
The above is meant to be a description and not advice; if you're in pain, see a doctor. I accept no resposibility for any injuries caused due to reading the above. It's not my fault, you should have seen a doctor...It's not my fault....I never did no harm to no-one...He slipped on the stairs, I weren't nowhere near 'im honest....
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