Hello, Welcome, and thanks for sharing your concern I went through your query, and I feel, the first thing you need is assurance and not an MRI. The usual indication of an MRI is shooting pain in the leg, and that is also what occurs in sciatica. Look for yourself 1 Is the pain only in back or radiates to one of the limbs. 2 Is there any numbness in the leg, or any numbness arising after walking, and what is the distance at which numbness occurs 3 Do you have any back stiffness when you get up in the morning. 4 Besides painkillers, what affects your pain the most, is there any position in which you feel more relief than other 5 Do you have mild grade fever, or weight loss in recent days. If your answer to more than 2 questions is yes than you need an investigation and a proper assessment. I hope my advice would have been useful, in decision making regarding your treatment, still if you have any clarifications or doubts feel free to contact back. Thanks.