In 1980 I had a baby. After going through all the labor, my doctor gave me a saddleblock. He hit my sciatic nerve and I almost came off of the table!! The pain was terrible!! He said "oops, did that hurt?" My leg was purple for a very long time and a neurologist told me if the pain didn't go away within a year, it would never go away. 42 years later I am still in constant pain. I have learned to deal with it as much as I can, but sometimes the pain is almost unbearable. So, most definitely you will know if you hit the sciatic nerve.