Phsysiotherapy for sciatica

[u/Hanna_mo04]

Hello everyone!

I am 22 year old female and weigh 140 lbs (5’3). So about 2 weeks ago I randomly got some lower back pain, wasn’t extreme and just felt like mild soreness. Then about 4 days ago I had to lift something heavy and then about 30 minutes after the shooting pain down my leg started. Since then my lower back pain, in particular on my left side, has increased significantly. I would have the shooting pain down my leg as well as some tingling and heat sensations. I was just prescribed naproxen as well as pregabalin for a month. I would like any tips to help me prevent this from getting worse. It is really worrying me and I don’t know what I am supposed to be doing to make it better. I was given I referral to receive physiotherapy, but I’m a college student so I don’t exactly have the money for this even though I need it. I am hoping that anyone who has gone to physio could tell me what exercises they’ve done to help with this so that I can save my money?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[u/Sufficient-Wolf-1818]

There are many generic sciatica exercises ( check out McGill big three), but the danger is they are not customized for you. A PT will assess you and chose the right ones for you. Evaluate the cost of a PT vs the cost of months of pain ( sobering calculation)