What is Sciatica?
Many of us who have busy lifestyles sitting at a desk job for hours at an end and then being active at home with our kids for the rest of our day, suffer from sharp shooting pain or heaviness in the legs and/or back pain. This pain in the legs is commonly described as Sciatica. In this blog we will discuss what is sciatica and how and why does it occur? It is very important to understand these to get a better understanding of your sciatica. This will help you to make better and informed treatment choices when you discuss your symptoms and treatment plan with your doctor or healthcare professional. 
 
Sciatica is usually defined as pain due to irritation or compression of the sciatic nerve any where along its path from the lower back down into the legs. Lets break this sentence down into simpler terms that are easy to understand. In our spine the vertebra are stacked on top of each other all the way from our neck to the tail bone. Every two vertebrae have a disc in between them and there are nerves exiting from both sides of the spine. When these nerves are irritated or compressed this can lead to a nerve pain. The area of nerve pain will depend on the location of the nerve irritation. If the nerves are compressed in the cervical spine or neck it can lead to nerve pain in the arms and hands and if the nerves are compressed in the lumbar spine or lower back it can lead to nerve pain in the bottom or legs. Sciatic nerve is one of the nerves that originate in the lower back. Sciatica occurs when the sciatic nerve is irritated or compressed anywhere along this path of the nerve. The cause of sciatica can arthritis or an inflammation in the nerve or spinal stenosis or foraminal stenosis or disc bulge or anything that can potentially irritate or pinch on the sciatic nerve. It can start suddenly if the cause is an injury to the nerve or a disc bulge. Or it can develop gradually if the cause is degeneration or arthritis of the spine. It can get aggravated by activities such as walking, running or simply sitting for long hours. 
There is a wide variation in symptoms of sciatica. You may feel only heaviness in the leg with sciatica while another person might feel a tingling numbness in the leg. This reason is that all nerves in our body are made of up a bundle of nerve fibres that carry different sensations to and from the brain to the body, such as heat, cold, tingling numbness, burning, sharp shooting pain, dull achy pain, etc. Depending on which fibre within the sciatic nerve is irritated or compressed that is the kind of a nerve pain felt by the person. 
 
Sciatic pain can be felt anywhere from the lower back to the bottom to the hamstrings (back of your thighs) or your calves (back of the legs) or all the way down to your toes, as the sciatic nerve originates in the lower back and runs down all the way to the toes along the back of the thigh and leg. Another interesting variation in sciatica is that it can be one sided or can affect both the legs or it can switch between the two legs (alternating sciatica).
 
If you have been suffering from leg pain and are not sure if it is sciatica watch this video on How Can You Tell if You Have Sciatica - 5 Signs about the Pain in Your Bottom:

 
 
 If you want to learn more about easy ways to manage your back pain and sciatica, join my free community where we discuss this in the free trainings on "Simple solutions to manage your Nerve Pain" and "Simple solutions to manage your Back Pain". Click HERE to join.
 
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MEET SWATI

 
Hi there! 
I am Swati, an Executive Mum Power Coach and a Certified Posture Expert. I use my proven system to help mums of younger kids working in high-stress executive jobs manage their back, neck, and nerve pains, despite low energy levels and brain fog. I do all this without taking away a big chunk of their time out of their already busy day. This enables them to be more productive and capable professionals at work and guilt-free mums who can focus on their kids instead of always being distracted by pain. 



My passion for helping executive mums stems from my own experiences. I have been in the same boat and understand the frustration and helplessness of being in constant pain or being afraid to engage in activities due to the fear of pain. After two pregnancies in the span of three years and juggling my two kids, housework, and a demanding job, I was constantly in pain. The weight gain from motherhood added extra stress to my already overburdened spine and joints. I was stuck in a vicious cycle of weight loss and spinal/nerve pain that I just couldn’t break free from.

On top of the physical pain, I also suffered from adrenal fatigue. I often felt exhausted, waking up groggy even after a full night’s (10 to 12 plus hours!) sleep, and struggled with low energy levels and brain fog. Simple tasks became challenging, and I found myself forgetting things and unable to think clearly. It was incredibly frustrating and made it even harder to balance my professional responsibilities and family life.

My work involved long hours of standing during the day, prolonged hours on the laptop in the evening, and lots of running around and rocking my kids to sleep in between. Despite my knowledge and expertise in pain relief, I still found myself unable to escape the constant daily pain and fatigue.

Sitting at a desk job from 9 to 5, or longer, plus endless meetings that seem to go on forever. The frequent traveling, the uncomfortable hotel pillows that make it impossible to get a good night’s sleep—I’ve experienced it all. I remember not being able to share my discomfort at work because I felt like an imposter, talking about pain relief strategies and focusing on work while I was not able to achieve it myself. I didn’t disclose the extent of my pain and forgetfulness to my colleagues for years. Even though I loved my kids and my job, I couldn’t give 100% to either. The discomfort held me back from reaching my full potential, making me feel guilty as a mum and less productive at work. I felt like I was constantly running on empty, unable to catch a break from the pain and exhaustion.

finally got fed up after years of trying and decided to make a New Year’s resolution to get ‘healthy’ instead of focusing solely on my pain, fatigue, forgetfulness, and weight loss. When I shifted my focus to getting healthier by reducing the inflammation in my body and addressing my adrenal fatigue, the pain started to decrease, my energy levels and focus improved, and the pounds started shedding off too! That, of course, meant a happier spine, nerves, joints, and a happier me! Today, my neck, back, and nerve pain are down to zero, my knee pain has reduced by 75%, my brain fog has reduced drastically and my energy levels are higher than ever. I realized that I had been focusing on the wrong solutions for over a decade!

Now, my mission is to share my knowledge of pain relief and managing adrenal fatigue along with my personal experience with other mums, especially those with younger kids who work in high-stress executive jobs. My goal is to help you find lasting relief, boost your energy, and reclaim your life, just as I did. 

If you can relate to all this, you are not alone. As a mum, I have been there and done that—momma, I got you! I’ve helped hundreds of mums in this situation over the years find their solution to manage spinal and joint pains, low energy levels, and brain fog that hold them back. This enables them to feel confidently in control and empowers them to cultivate that confidence and productivity at work and enjoy being with their kids, to be able to run around with them without the fear of injury or pain.

Are you ready for this journey? Ask me how if you are curious.

Let's DO THIS!
xx Swati
** Executive Mum Power Coach **

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