Amari Method / Conditions / Sciatica / San Francisco

Sciatica · San Francisco

Sciatica relief in San Francisco.

Book your first session→ Take the free assessment→

Sciatica is what you feel. The compression is what causes it. Dr. Garrett finds where your sciatic nerve is being squeezed — usually upstream in your hip or pelvis — and changes the pattern that's compressing it.

25+ years of clinical practice First session guaranteed San Francisco + virtual

Dr. Garrett Hewstan guiding a client through an Amari Method session in San Francisco

Dr. Garrett Hewstan In session · San Francisco

Why sciatica keeps coming back

Sciatica is leg pain. The source is almost never the leg.

Your sciatic nerve is being compressed somewhere

Sciatica is the body's signal that the sciatic nerve is being squeezed. The compression usually happens at one of two places: between the disc and the bone in your lumbar spine, or in your hip where the piriformis crosses the nerve. In both cases, the cause is upstream — pelvic position and hip mechanics. The nerve is the messenger.

Why piriformis stretches and nerve glides don't last

Stretching the piriformis or doing nerve glides addresses the symptom. The piriformis is tight because the deep hip stabilizers underneath it have shut down. Stretch it directly and it tightens again the moment you stand up. The pattern reasserts because nothing has changed.

The lasting fix is upstream

Once Dr. Garrett identifies which part of your hip or pelvis has shut down and brings it back online, the structures compressing your sciatic nerve no longer have to work overtime. The compression releases. The leg symptoms reduce. The change holds because the pattern that caused it has been fixed.

This is exactly what your first session finds.

Book your first session — $225→

First session guaranteed · In person SF or virtual

The pattern

Where sciatica actually comes from.

Sciatica is a downstream effect of an upstream pattern. Two patterns drive most of it.

01 PELVIS → TIPPED

Your pelvis is loading the disc.

When the pelvis tips forward, the lumbar spine compresses with every step. That compression squeezes the disc, which can press on the nerve root that becomes the sciatic nerve. The disc isn't broken — it's being asked to handle more load than it should.

02 HIP → OFFLINE

Your deep hip stabilizers have shut down.

When the deep hip stabilizers go quiet, the piriformis takes over. The piriformis runs directly across the sciatic nerve. When it tightens to compensate for the missing work, it compresses the nerve from a different direction.

03 NERVE → COMPRESSED

The sciatic nerve is the messenger.

Whether the compression is in your spine or in your hip, the leg pain you feel is the same — and the fix is the same kind of fix. Identify what's overworking. Bring back online what's shut down. The compression releases. The leg quiets.

What happens in your first session.

Full assessment, guided protocols, and a take-home practice. 60 minutes.

Assessment

Dr. Garrett assesses how your body moves. Where it's overworking, where it's shut down. He's looking at your whole body, not just the part that hurts.

Guided protocols

Using simple props (yoga blocks, foam rollers, gymnastic rings), Dr. Garrett guides you through protocols adapted to your body in real time. You're not lying on a table. You're moving, finding positions where your body starts to rebalance itself.

What changes

Most clients feel a noticeable shift during the first session. The overworked areas release. The underworked areas start to re-engage. You feel the difference before you leave.

Take-home practice

You leave with a short practice for what was worked on that session. About five minutes. You do it on your living room floor. It maintains the changes and keeps your body moving in the right direction between sessions.

Virtual sessions work well for sciatica. The work is in finding the pattern compressing the nerve and changing the load — not in hands-on tissue work. Dr. Garrett assesses your posture and movement via live video and guides you through positions that take the pressure off the nerve. Most clients notice leg symptoms easing during the first virtual session.

People who came in with the same thing.

I always thought a herniated disc meant surgery. Everything's changed. Huge relief.

Julian Avoided Surgery

I thought the best I could hope for was less pain. I've never felt this at home in my body.

Sara Low Back Relief

I follow his protocol every day. 8 months no pain.

Marisol Teacher

The guarantee

Most clients feel a difference in their first session.

Book a session with Dr. Garrett. If you don't experience noticeable relief, we keep working with you until you do, at no additional charge.

Book your first session→ Take the free assessment→

$225 · First session · San Francisco + virtual

HSA / FSA accepted · Affirm available — series as low as $108/mo

Common questions.

If something isn't here, ask on a free discovery call. Dr. Garrett answers everything before you book a paid session.

I've been diagnosed with a herniated disc. Does that change things?

Not necessarily. Sciatic symptoms are often blamed on disc herniation, but many people with disc changes on imaging have no nerve pain at all. The actual driver is the load on the disc — pelvic position, hip mechanics, and how force moves through your spine. Reducing that load reduces the compression on the nerve. Dr. Garrett has worked with clients whose imaging showed disc issues and whose sciatica resolved without surgery.

Is this piriformis syndrome work?

Piriformis tightness is one of the patterns that can compress the sciatic nerve. But the piriformis tightens for a reason — usually because the deep hip stabilizers underneath it have shut down. Releasing the piriformis directly works for hours; changing what's loading the piriformis lasts. Same logic across the entire pattern.

What about nerve glides or sciatic mobility work?

Nerve glides can help with mobility once the compression is reduced. They're the wrong tool when the nerve is still being squeezed by an upstream pattern — you're moving an irritated nerve through tight tissue. Dr. Garrett addresses the compression first. Mobility work becomes more useful once the source is changed.

Does the leg numbness or tingling go away?

Usually, yes — though it depends on how long the nerve has been compressed and how much irritation has built up. Most clients notice leg symptoms reducing alongside the back pain in the first few sessions. Numbness and tingling tend to be the last symptoms to fully resolve, but they typically improve as the nerve gets more space.

Will I be lying on a table?

Mostly no. The work happens through movement and positioning, not passive bodywork. You'll be on a mat, using simple props like yoga blocks or a foam roller, finding positions where your body starts to rebalance itself. Dr. Garrett guides you through what to feel and where to soften.