Sciatic Nerve Zone (Zone 62): Foot Reflexology for Sciatica

Where the Sciatic nerve Zone Sits

Most foot maps stay on the sole. This one does not. The sciatic nerve zone starts at the ankle and climbs the lower leg in two narrow bands, one on each side.

The inner band begins in the soft hollow behind the round bone on the inside of your ankle. From there it follows the back edge of the shin bone upward. You can feel that edge as a firm ridge with softer muscle behind it. The band runs along that border, on the soft side, and fades out about a hand's width below the knee.

The outer band is its mirror. It begins in the hollow behind the round bone on the outside of your ankle. It then follows the back edge of the thin outer leg bone upward, again stopping short of the knee. The outer bone is buried deeper in muscle than the shin bone, so this band feels softer and less defined.

Under your thumb on the inside are the long muscles that point your foot and curl your toes. Deeper still, behind the inner ankle, runs the tibial nerve, one of the two main branches of the sciatic nerve, with an artery beside it. A large surface vein (the great saphenous vein) also climbs the inner leg close to the back edge of the shin bone. That vein is the reason for the caution later on this page.

On the outside, the band lies over the two muscles that steady the outer edge of the foot (the fibular muscles). Their tendons wrap behind the outer ankle bone. A small skin nerve (the sural nerve) and a smaller surface vein run in the same groove behind the ankle.

Why This Area

In foot reflexology this area is mapped to the sciatic nerve, the long nerve that leaves the lower back, crosses the buttock and runs down the back of the thigh. It is a map, a set of correspondences between parts of the foot and parts of the body. It is not a claim that the leg is wired to the back in the way the map draws it.

Here, though, the map and the anatomy brush against each other. Above the knee, the sciatic nerve splits into two branches. One of them, the tibial nerve, runs down the back of the calf and passes behind the inner ankle, close to where the inner band begins. So this is one of the few zones where you are pressing near a real part of the nerve that gives it its name.

What we can honestly say is this. Practitioners commonly use this zone for sciatica, the ache or pull that runs from the buttock down the back or outer side of the leg. The Vietnamese manual we follow lists sciatica as its one use.

Where This Map Comes From

The idea that pressure on one part of the body relates to another part far away was put into print in 1917. William Fitzgerald, an American ear, nose and throat doctor, and Edwin Bowers published a book called Zone Therapy. They divided the body into ten long zones running from head to foot, five on each side, each ending in a finger and a toe. Their claim was that firm pressure in one part of a zone dulled sensation elsewhere in the same zone. The book is now in the public domain and still easy to find.

In the 1930s Eunice Ingham, an American therapist, narrowed the idea down to the feet and drew the first detailed foot maps. Almost every reflexology chart printed since descends from her work.

From the 1980s onward the method spread widely in Taiwan, mainland China and Vietnam. The Chinese manuals added many zones, some of them off the sole, on the ankle and the lower leg. This is one of those. The Vietnamese manual we follow was written by Nguyen Thanh Nhan in Hanoi in 2020, after a Chinese text by Gu Peide and Zhu Zuocai. It describes this zone as running from the ankle joint, along the back edges of both leg bones, to near the knee. That is the description on this page.

One thing needs saying plainly. Foot reflex zones are not in the classical Chinese medical texts. They are a modern system, less than a century old. Anyone who tells you this map is thousands of years old is mistaken.

Zones That Work With the Sciatic nerve Zone

The buttock zone, on the outer edge of the heel. Turn the sole toward you. Along the outer border of the heel pad, where the heel starts to curve up the side, lies a short strip. The manual's author notes that he gets more from this zone when he works it together with the sciatic bands. The buttock zone has its own page.

The thigh zone, along the outer edge of the sole. It continues forward from the buttock strip, along the outer border of the foot, to the small bump halfway along that edge. Work it straight after the buttock strip, in one pass. See the thigh zone.

The lower back zone, where the arch meets the heel. On the sole, a band runs across the foot where the arch gives way to the heel pad, starting at the inner edge. It is mapped to the lower back, where sciatica so often starts. See the lower back zone.

How to Press the Sciatic nerve Zone

Getting Into Position

Sit in a firm chair with your back supported. For the inner band, cross one ankle over the opposite knee so the inside of the lower leg faces the ceiling. For the outer band, uncross the leg and rest that foot on a low stool in front of you, then lean forward from the hips.

If bending forward is hard on your back, do not force it. Lie on your side on the bed, bend the top knee toward your chest and reach the outer band of that leg from there. A family member can also do the inner band for you while you sit.

How to Find It

Put your thumb on the round bone on the inside of your ankle. Slide it backward and slightly down into the soft hollow between the bone and the thick cord at the back of the heel. That hollow is the bottom of the inner band.

Now slide the thumb upward and forward until it meets the back edge of the shin bone. Keep the pad on the soft tissue right beside that edge, not on top of the bone. The band runs straight up from here.

For the outer band, do the same from the round bone on the outside of the ankle. The outer leg bone is harder to feel. Press gently and you will find a firmer line under the muscle. Stay close behind it.

You know you are on the zone when you feel a dull, tight ache in a line, and the tissue a centimetre to either side feels less tender.

How to Press It

Use the pad of your thumb, with your fingers wrapped around the front of the shin for support. Press in and slightly toward the bone, so the soft tissue is squeezed against its edge. Never press straight down onto the bone itself; the covering of the bone bruises easily.

Then walk. Bend the top joint of the thumb, press, ease off, and move up a thumb-width, the way a caterpillar moves. Go from the ankle to a little below the knee. Slide back down without pressure and walk up again.

How Much Pressure

Less than you would use on the sole. The skin here is thinner and the bone is close. Press until you feel a clear, dull ache, then hold back a little from that. Check your breathing: if you are holding it, ease off. If you take blood-thinning medicine or bruise easily, use half of that pressure.

How Long

Walk each band up three times, about a minute per band. That is two minutes per leg and four minutes for both. Start with the leg that hurts and give it one extra pass. Add the buttock, thigh and lower back zones and a full session is around ten minutes. Once or twice a day is plenty.

When to Do It

Many people with sciatica find the leg worst first thing in the morning and after sitting for a long time. Working the zone in the evening, sitting on the edge of the bed, is a good habit. Another good moment is after a long car journey, before you stand up. Do not do it within an hour after a meal. Drink a glass of warm water afterwards.

What This Won't Do

It will not move a disc, open a narrowed spinal canal, or release a nerve that is being squeezed. Those things happen, if at all, through time, movement, medicine and sometimes surgery. Pressing the lower leg does not reach any of them.

What people report is smaller. The pull down the back of the leg feels less sharp for a while. The calf feels looser. Getting up from a chair takes less bracing. Some feel nothing for the first week and something after that. Some feel nothing at all, and that is a real outcome too.

There are some warning signs where you should not wait. If you have numbness between your legs or around your back passage, lose control of your bladder or bowels, or your leg is getting weaker, go to an emergency department today. Do the same if your foot starts to slap or drag when you walk. Fever with back pain, pain after a fall, and pain that keeps you awake every night also need a doctor soon. Any new swelling, heat or redness in the calf needs a doctor the same day, because it can mean a clot. Pressure work sits alongside medical care. It does not replace any medicine or exercise you have been given.

Safety First

If you have varicose veins, or have ever had a blood clot in the leg, do not press the lower leg or ankle at all. Use the buttock and thigh zones on the outer edge of the sole instead. The source manual also says the method is not suitable during pregnancy or while menstruating.

With sciatica, the first few days of pressure work can leave the leg a little more sore than before. That is common and is not a reason to stop. Sharp pain, an electric jolt, tingling that spreads or new weakness are different. Stop, and have the leg examined.

If you have diabetes, keep a session under 10 minutes and check your feet and legs for marks afterwards. If the feeling in your feet or legs is reduced, ask your doctor before you start. If you have kidney disease, keep the glass of water to about 150 ml. Do not work on skin that is broken, bruised or infected; use the matching spot on the hand instead. Read the full safety guide before you carry on.

Questions People Ask

Where is the sciatic nerve reflex zone on the foot? Strictly it starts at the foot and climbs the leg. There are two bands. One runs up from the hollow behind the inner ankle bone, along the back edge of the shin bone. The other runs up from behind the outer ankle bone, along the back edge of the thin outer leg bone. Both stop a little below the knee.

Should I work one leg or both? Both. Sciatica usually sits on one side, so start with the leg that hurts and give it a little more time. Then do the other leg the same way, so the two sides are matched.

Why does it feel so tender when I press? You are pressing into muscle and tendon that hold you upright all day, close to the bone. That tissue is often tender in anyone over fifty. A dull ache that eases as you hold is normal. A sharp, electric or burning feeling is not, and means you should stop.

I have varicose veins. Can I still use this zone? No. Leave the lower leg and ankle alone completely if you have varicose veins or have ever had a blood clot in the leg. Work the buttock and thigh areas on the outer edge of the sole instead, and ask your doctor before any pressure work on the legs.

How soon will I notice anything? Some people feel the leg loosen a little during the first session. Others notice nothing for a week or two. With sciatica, the first few days of pressure work can leave the area more sore than before. That is common and settles. Pain that spreads, or new numbness, is a different matter.

Can I do this lying in bed? The outer band, yes, if you lie on your side and bend the top knee toward you. The inner band is easier sitting up. If bending is hard, rest the foot on a stool in front of your chair and lean forward only as far as is comfortable.

Other Zones on the Foot

These zones sit close by on the same foot and are often worked in the same sitting.

Read More

• The Foot Pressure Point for Sciatica and Tailbone Pain

This page shares general information about a traditional practice. It is not medical advice and does not replace what your doctor has given you. If you are pregnant, managing a health condition, or unsure whether this applies to you, check with your doctor first.

The whole inner edge of the foot, laid out on one page with photographs, is in The Foot Map — the free book. For every zone on the foot, see the full foot zone index.

Prefer to work on your hands? See the hand pressure point library — 15 points you can press with your thumb, sitting in a chair.

(Zone shown: 62 · Sciatic nerve zone · Khu phản xạ Thần kinh tọa.)