Sciatica

The pain can manifest in various intensities, ranging from tingling to sharp, shooting, or burning sensations that gradually subside into a dull ache. You may also experience weakness or numbness down the leg.

The location of the pain can also vary, radiating from your lower back through your glutes and/or hamstrings, possibly extending as far as your calf or foot. However, if your pain is limited to your back, it’s likely to be a sign of a different condition, not sciatica.

Duration of Sciatica

Sciatica can take several weeks or months to resolve, and unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for individuals to experience multiple episodes throughout the year.

However, there’s a consensus that manual therapy combined with regular, gentle exercise can provide you with significant relief.

Accurate diagnosis is the first important step. A careful, clinical examination is often sufficient, but your clinician might refer you for imaging, such as an MRI, if required. Once diagnosed, our osteopaths, physiotherapists, or chiropractors will create a personalised treatment plan, including exercise and rehabilitation advice, to help you recover as quickly as possible.

Unsurprisingly, sciatica can make sitting down extremely uncomfortable and other tasks, such as bending, twisting, coughing, or sneezing are often painful too.

During the most painful stage of the condition, our doctor may either need to prescribe you with medication to ease the pain or refer you for specialist injection therapies.

If you have sciatica with urinary retention, and your bowels have become loose, this is likely to be an emergency, and you should seek immediate medical attention.