“How do I know if I have sciatica or hip pain?”

First most people when they say hip problems and then point to their body they point to the Sacroiliac. However the simple answer is Doctor's of Chiropractic are daily helping individuals with hip and or sacroiliac problems. Sciatica is a term used for pain going down the leg in a certain pattern. The issue is what is causing the leg pain. However the process of evaluating any condition begins with the consultation. When did the problem start? What was the initiating incident that caused the problem? Was there in prior problems with the area of complaint including adjacent areas? In most cases there are additional questions. Then begins the examination which includes palpation, range of motion, orthopedic tests and possible imaging tests. All of these go into determining the diagnosis, need for additional evaluations, need for treatment and establishing a treatment plan. Finally evaluating effects of the treatments. This is a simplified statement of what needs to be done for any condition and then now long it takes to receive results will become apparent.

Hip pain will cause difficulty getting in/out of a seated or hip flexed position. Sciatica is latin for leg pain. If you have shooting pain that stays above the knee it may be joint related. If it travels below the knee it may stem from lumbar disc or nerve. At your age, I would think its probably the lumbar spine or SI joint. True hip pain is not common at your age.

Best way is to be examined by a good chiropractor or neurologist

You will need to be examined for an exact answer, but hip pain does not radiate anywhere and feels deep achy in the hip joint, unlike sciatica which is more of a radiating pain and shooting pain feeling.

Without an x-ray, history, and complete examination it can be dubious to be absolutely sure. Sciatica is typically a pain that radiates from the lower back down the thigh to a leg. Hip pain typically is isolated to a butt.

Usually, true hip pain is more in the groin in the crease of the front of your leg. Most 31-year-olds, it'll be sciatica and not hip pain. Go to a good chiropractor.

Dr. Jonathan Donath, DC, MS

Sciatica is a term loosely used to describe buttock and leg pain but is describing a nerve bundle that incorporates nerves from the spinal levels Lumbar (L) 4 through Sacral (S) 3. Meaning the nerves that exit the spine at the 4th, 5th lumbar vertebra and the first 3 foramen in the sacrum at bundle together to make up the sciatic nerve which goes all the way down to the foot. The distribution of where the pain goes determines what nerve levels are involved. Hip pain rarely has pain radiate down the leg passed the knee. Low back, buttock and leg pain can all be caused by the same thing, that is why it is important that in depth orthopedic and functional examinations are done to determine the origin of the pain. Sciatic nerve tension is worse with a straight leg and eased by bending the knee, if pain is from the hip joint, bending the knee will not change pain. If it is muscular, bending the knee may increase anterior hip pain due to pull on the quadriceps muscle.

Sciatica pain classically travels down the glutes (butt), back of thigh and lower leg. Go to the chiropractor if you’re able. Otherwise search ‘lower back workout with Dr. Eric Goodman’ on YouTube for a great back exercise to help heal the sciatica. This will take you doing the exercise daily, likely for a few weeks.

Sciatic pain is burning pain that goes down the buttock and back of the thigh, calf, and sometimes in the foot too. Hip pain is more at the outside of the thigh or in the groin region.

Typically, it may start as pain or ache in the lower back on one or both sides. It becomes sciatica when it radiates down either leg as a deep “tooth ache” pain. Some cases can even have numbness or tingling in the leg. Other cases may be described as a deep burning pain that makes it difficult to remain still. It’s sad to see cases that started as mild and could have been handled easily, turn in to surgical cases that may be avoided.