Sciatica

The symptoms of sciatica usually affect your bottom and the back of one leg, often including your foot and toes. You may feel: a sharp, burning pain down the back of the leg tingling – like pins and needles numbness weakness Your symptoms may come on suddenly but they can also start slowly. The pain may be worse when moving, sneezing or coughing. You may also have back pain, but it's not usually as bad as the pain in your leg. Information: You probably do not have sciatica if you only have back pain .

Sciatica usually gets better in a few weeks to a few months, but it can sometimes last longer. It can also return if you've had it before. To help relieve your pain and speed up recovery: Do carry on with your normal activities as much as possible try regular exercises for sciatica start gentle exercise as soon as you can – anything that gets you moving can help hold heat packs to the painful areas – you can buy these from pharmacies ask a pharmacist about painkillers (paracetamol is unlikely to help and it's not clear how much NSAIDs , such as ibuprofen, help with sciatica) Don’t do not sit or lie down for long periods – even if moving hurts, it's not harmful and can help you get better faster

Main treatments for sciatica If you have sciatica, treatments can include: exercises and stretches painkillers physiotherapy – including exercise advice and techniques like massage (manual therapy) Physiotherapy is free of charge on the NHS throughout the UK, but waiting times can be long. You can also get it privately. Other treatments for sciatica If your pain is severe and treatments have not helped, you may be referred to a hospital specialist for: a procedure to seal off some of the nerves in your back so they stop sending pain signals (radiofrequency denervation) a painkilling injection such as an epidural to stop you feeling pain surgery – an operation called decompression surgery can sometimes help relieve sciatica

If you have sciatica, or have had it in the past, there's a chance you could get it again. But there are some things you can do to reduce your chance of this happening. Do stay active – take regular exercise use a safe technique when lifting heavy objects make sure you have a good posture when sitting and standing sit correctly when using a computer lose weight if you're overweight Don’t do not smoke – smoking can increase your risk of getting sciatica

Sciatica happens when something presses or rubs on the sciatic nerve. Causes include: a slipped disc , when a soft cushion of tissue between the bones in your spine pushes out – this is the most common cause of sciatica and is more likely to happen as you get older spinal stenosis – narrowing of the part of your spine where nerves pass through spondylolisthesis – when one of the bones in your spine slips out of position a back injury