506.546.6286
Just imagine how easy life would be to enjoy if you weren't
living with all that pain
Choose Which One Works Best For You...

If you're in pain and want to feel better, we'd love to talk to you. We work with folks that are looking for a solution to their problem and who are committed to improving their health and quality of life.

If you want to take control of your life and be happy again, then click on any of the three FREE options above and let's start the conversation!

Ebook
Call us crazy.. but YES, we are
Giving away FREE ADVICE so You
Can treat your injury and feel
Better about work
Yes! I want My FREE report

Tell us where it hurts and
we’ll help you feel better:

Ebook
Back Pain
Learn easy ways how to get a stronger back so you can work and play worry-free. Ebook
Ebook
Elbow Pain
Learn the quickest ways to regain your grip strength. Ebook
Ebook
Knee Pain
Learn tips to walk or run further for longer with less knee pain. Ebook
Ebook
Shoulder Pain
Ease shoulder pain and use it with confidence again. Ebook

Is lumbago with sciatica the same as piriformis syndrome with sciatica?

Q: Can you explain why my doctor and my physiotherapist call my back problem two different things? At the doctor's office, they tell me I have lumbago with sciatica. My physiotherapist calls it piriformis syndrome with sciatica. Are they both talking about the same thing?

A: Medical doctors make diagnoses based on patient symptoms and clinical presentation (e.g., low back pain, lumbago with sciatica). When there is an underlying problem such as infection, tumor, or fracture, then the diagnosis reflects the pathologic process present.

Physiotherapists confine their diagnoses to the musculoskeletal system in what they call human movement impairments. The way we move in everyday life during our daily activities may not be caused by a specific pathologic process. Instead, over time with sustained postures and repeated movements, we may eventually develop problems and pathologic abnormalities.

So both the viewpoint and the approach of these two health care professionals (physicians and physiotherapists) is very different and thus requires different names of diagnoses. There are also diagnostic categories set up for billing purposes that may direct and guide the naming of a diagnosis. For example, there are ICD and ICF codes used to bill for services.

ICD stands for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Health Related Problems. ICF refers to the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health codes. There are both ICD and ICF codes used to name/describe low back pain.

There is a move now in health care for all organizations to use the ICF codes so that no matter where a patient is treated (anywhere in the world), the same codes will be used for everyone. This will also help facilitate consistency in research efforts.

Your physician is using the ICD code of lumbago with sciatica to best describe your problem with that system. Your physiotherapist is giving a name to your condition that best describes it using the human movement system descriptors. Both are correct when coming from the two different perspectives, billing codes, and way the problem will be treated.

Reference: Anthony Delitto, PT, PhD, et al. Low Back Pain. Clinical Practice Guidelines Linked to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health from the Orthopaedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association. April 2012. Vol. 42. No. 4. Pp. A1-A57.

Physio Max provides services for physiotherapy in Bathurst.

Share this page
Printer