Troy B. and Shelley P. each reported a sore hamstring (the muscles in the back of the thigh) for several months, one from horseback riding, the other from road racing. Their pains often go down into the calf. Should they just keep taking ibuprofen?

As surely as “you can’t get there if you don’t know where you’re going,” your treatment won’t work unless you have the correct diagnosis. In this case, several conditions can mimic hamstring strains. The most prominent is sciatica, the severe ache that “shoots” from the buttock through the leg and even into the foot.