Sciatica vs. Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: How to Tell the Difference

Your low back is a load-bearing part of your body. Unfortunately, that means that plenty can go wrong. You might run into strained muscles, compressed nerves, or even a problem with your spinal cord itself.

When you’re dealing with pain in your low back, finding out what’s causing it allows you to get more effective treatment. So if you’re not sure if you have sciatica or lumbar spinal stenosis, see Ike Malik, MD, and our team at Texas Pain & Orthopedics.

Here at our office in Pflugerville, Texas, Dr. Malik specializes in treating back pain. That starts with accurately diagnosing the root cause of your discomfort. 

Similarities and differences between stenosis and sciatica

Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the space around your spinal column. When this narrowing happens in your low (lumbar) back, it’s called lumbar spinal stenosis. 

Sciatica, on the other hand, develops when something presses on one of your sciatic nerves. 

Shared symptoms

Both sciatica and lumbar spinal stenosis can cause low back pain. You might also have new sensations in your legs, like shooting pain or numbness. Certain activities can make your discomfort worse. In short, unless you’re looking closely, it can be difficult to distinguish between stenosis and sciatica. 

To make everything more complicated here, the spinal narrowing caused by stenosis can put pressure on your sciatic nerves, contributing to sciatica.  

Distinguishing factors

While both conditions can cause symptoms in your leg, sciatica has a telltale sign. If you only feel sensations down one of your legs, rather than both, it’s more likely to be sciatica. You have two sciatic nerves, each running down one leg. So if your symptoms are confined to one side of your body, it could be an individual sciatic nerve that’s bothered. 

Also, notice how you feel when you’re moving around. Does walking make your pain noticeably worse? If so, spinal stenosis becomes the more likely culprit. 

Finally, you can try a lean test. Does leaning forward help your pain or increase it? If it helps, you might have stenosis. Leaning forward helps to add more space in your spine, temporarily alleviating the narrowing. But if you have sciatica, that motion can put more pressure on your sciatic nerve, heightening your symptoms. 

Getting to the root of your low back pain

If you’re living with low back pain, see Dr. Malik. He starts by talking with you. If the above helped to point you in a direction, share what you think with him. 

Then, Dr. Malik uses a physical exam and any diagnostic tests needed to figure out what’s going on. He might order magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or a computed tomography (CT) scan, for example. 

Once he knows the cause of your back pain, Dr. Malik can personalize a treatment plan to help. He offers a broad range of treatments, including physical therapy, steroid injections, and platelet-rich plasma (PRP). 

To learn the root issue of your back pain and to get the relief you need, call our office or book your appointment online today.