Sciatica

Symptoms

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.

Causes

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

Treatment Options

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

Treatments from a GP

If you have sciatica, a GP may:

• suggest exercises and stretches
• prescribe painkillers

They might also refer you for:

• physiotherapy – including exercise advice and techniques like massage (manual therapy)
• psychological support – to help you cope with the pain

Other treatments for sciatica

If your pain is severe and treatments from a GP have not helped, they may refer you 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

Prevention Tips

If you have sciatica, or have had it in the past, there's a chance that you could get it again. But there are some things you can do to help the pain:

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

When To See A Doctor

See a GP if:

You have sciatica and the pain:

• has not improved after trying home treatments for a few weeks
• is getting worse
• is stopping you doing your normal activities

Go to emergency dapartment or call an ambulance if you:

• have sciatica on both sides
• have weakness or numbness in both legs that's severe or getting worse
• have numbness around or under your genitals, or around your bottom (anus)
• find it hard to start peeing, cannot pee or cannot control when you pee – and this is not normal for you
• do not notice when you need to poo or cannot control when you poo – and this is not normal for you

These could be symptoms of a serious back problem that needs to be treated in hospital as soon as possible.

​Do not drive to emergency department. Ask someone to drive you or call and ask for an ambulance. Bring any medicines you take with you.