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I think there is a technical name, but I can't remember what my chiropractor said.
I had bad sciatic pain on my left side since September 23rd. It got so bad one month later I had to start seeing a chiropractor. I was short-term disability from November 1 to February 1.
Happy to say my sciatica is pretty much healed. But I am having some slight pain on the OPPOSITE SIDE. The good side, which would be the right. In lower back region. It's not sciatica again. No pain shooting down the leg. Chiropractor laid me on my stomach and bent both legs at the knees, pushing my feet toward my back. That's how he confirmed what is going on now.
He confirmed that it is normal for the opposite side to start hurting once a long-time injury is healing up. Basically it was the "strong side" for so long, probably taking on "work" that the injured side would have normally done.... and now it's "tired"... basically. It is achy in the mornings. Takes a while for it to "warm up" and then it's fine. It's not a chronic thing that bothers me all day.
But I've had it about a week. Anyone know what it is? What it is called exactly? Any remedies for it besides icing?
Going to ask chiropractor again at next appointment. He had a technical name for it.
A medical term for opposite side pain is contralateral pain.
A pain spreading to anatomically non-related part of the body is called "refered pain."
If your sciatic pain arises from a pinched nerve on one side, you could possibly have a pinched nerve on the other side also - this can occur and is rarely completely symetrical (a CT or MRI image would be needed to confirm that). A pinched sciatic nerve can initially cause the pain only in the lower back or in a left or right buttock. But the explanation you've provided also sounds reasonable.
I'm prone to get minor sciatic-like pain occasionally, mostly from carrying a bacpack or heavy bags - it can take few weeks for pain to go away. Avoiding prolonged sitting, finding a good sleeping position (a hard matress is better than a soft one), walking - this can help.
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