The shooting pain down the back of your leg. The pins and needles in your foot. The deep ache in your buttock that makes sitting unbearable. If you have experienced any of these, you may have been told you have sciatica — and then told to rest and wait. For most people, that advice is incomplete. Here is what sciatica actually is, how it is properly assessed, and what the evidence says about getting it resolved. What Sciatica Actually Means Sciatica is not a diagnosis. It is