can you get sciatica down the front of your leg?

[piratecaaaaaaaaaghhht]

For about 8 months or so i have, occasionally on rising from the sofa, or going to put my foot on the stairs, had severe shooting pain down the front. From the front of my hip area down to my knee.

I thought sciatica was down the back/buttock?

I've a long history of hip and back pain/spd from pregnancy with dd nine yrs ago. It's never fully gone away.

No I don't think so. The sciatic nerve runs down through the buttock to the calf.

The femoral nerve runs down the front of the leg through the thigh muscle so it could be that nerve that is pinched or irritated?

thanks sidge, i forgot to check back.

ok, so it's a whole different nerve, to do with the femur then!

Sciatica is, strictly speaking, irritation of the sciatic nerve which runs down the back of the thigh. Per the reply above, any nerve may become irritated and it does sound as though it's the femoral nerve in this case. This could be due to irritation of the nerve as it leaves your lumbar spine (slightly above belt level on the same side as your painful leg). In this case, that part of your back would probably (though not necessarily) feel tender when prodded. Alternatively, it could be that the nerve is being impinged somewhere lower, as it passes through your pelvis and along the front of your thigh. People somethimes suffer from these symptoms if they wear tight, low slung jeans (don't know whether this applies to you !). This can press on the femoral nerve and irritate it. It can also be affected by childbirth and the consequent effect on the pelvis.

ooh hello osteodavid!

I had SPD in pregnancy, which lasted for about 3 yrs after dd was born. have had achey hips since then. my dd is now 9.

It always happens (but not every time) i get up from the sofa. Though it can be a week or so inbetween. The pain is very bad and makes me shout out, its' a sharp pain. The pain is on the right leg. The spd although affected both hips and pelvis, concentrated more to the right of the symphasis pubis. Deffo feels pinched.

Difficult to say without examination, but it sounds as though your pelvis could have rotated slightly causing an imbalance and consequently impingement of a nerve. The sharp and shooting (?) nature of the pain certainly suggests nerve involvement. There could also be some referred pain from the symphysis pubis if this has not fully resolved.

Don't want you to think I'm pushing my own profession here, but there are Osteopaths who specialise in mothers and babies who will be able to give you a full examination and assessment, especially with regard to the orientation of your pelvis, which can alter following childbirth (although I accept that this was some years ago ?). Obviously, the potential involvement of your symphysis pubis means that examination is fairly intimate, however most specialist practitioners in this area tend to be women.

Good luck.

thankyou osteodavid, you've been really really helpful here. i shall go seek an osteopath. i used to see one shortly after my pg, but i'm afriad it didn't really help. I had quite a severe bout of it. Time has helped, but i think i need to reassess.

thanks again.