How now, which of your hips has the most profound sciatica?
---William Shakespeare
Measure for Measure

Image: Library of Congress LC-USZ62-80147

While Shakespeare was not referring to a back injury when he wrote these lines for the First Gentleman in Measure for Measure, he certainly was not too far off the beam, as most of the time sciatica shows up in one hip only.

Sciatic pain is generally most noticeable as pain that radiates from the buttock area down the leg. Pain is usually on one side of the body, not both. Initially, sciatic pain is mild and grows in intensity - sometimes to unbearable levels - over time. There is usually little or no pain in the low back (although sciatica originates in the low back). Learn more about sciatica, including who is at risk for it, and what piriformis syndrome is.