I've been noticing the commercials for the sciatic nerve-pressure point knee brace. I hope non of you have purchased it, it's a waste of money, it has bad reviews with two stars, and it only may perform one pressure point. The body has many pressure points for pain let alone for sciatic nerve pain. When you do acupressure or pressure point therapy on yourself or if I the therapist did it, it would only refer pain with in or around the area of that spot, it won't reach further up or down the body, etc. The sciatic nerve supplies the hamstrings including the posterior head of the adductor magnus, plus the calves and peroneals. The hamstrings and the back of the calves are supplied by the "tibial branch" of the sciatic, the peroneals (side of the calves) are supplied by the "superficial peroneal nerve," while the Doriflexors are supplied by the "deep peroneal" branch nerves. This is both thighs/legs. The sciatic nerve originates from the sacrum and curls down the thigh/leg. That brace can't relief pain up to the back. Here's a link that talks about people's reviews and how it caused someone's pain worse. I'll also provide images to demonstrate. Highya.com/beactive-reviews (beactivebrace.com)
Now it can either be the piriformis muscle entrapping the nerve, which picture 1 shows, or could very well be a bulged disc in the lumbar pinching it. Although the nerve originates out from the sacrum, so these accusations never makes sense from doctors. Quite the opposite is the femoral nerve branching off the lumbar nerves. Stretching besides deep tissue massage can relieve sciatic nerve pain unless it's damaged, etc. Look up stretches such crossing the bad leg over the other, the good leg assists the bad leg up towards you, pull the ankle toward you (don't yank on the foot) with the knee away, or sit cross-legged, and lean forward. Chiropractors may show you this or the assistants.
