Sciatica in Putney

Sciatica is one of those words that's escaped into general use. Plenty of people arrive having already diagnosed themselves online, and a decent share of them turn out to be right.

Here's the thing worth knowing first: sciatica isn't really a condition. It's a description of a symptom. Pain that runs along the path of the sciatic nerve, from the lower back through the buttock and down the back of the leg. Something is irritating that nerve. Our job is to find out what, because the answer changes the treatment.

What it Usually Feels Like

Sharper than ordinary backache. Often burning or electric rather than dull. Usually one leg rather than both. It can come with pins and needles, numbness, or a leg that feels weaker than it should.

Sitting tends to make it worse. So does coughing or sneezing, which is one of the more unpleasant surprises of the whole business.

What We Do About It

A first appointment starts with questions, because the pattern tells us a lot before we've touched anything. Where exactly the pain goes. What you were doing when it started. What makes it better at three in the morning.

Then a physical assessment, including neurological testing: reflexes, strength, sensation. That's how we work out whether the nerve is genuinely involved and how much. We have digital X-ray on site if we need a clearer picture, which saves you a referral and a wait.

Treatment is hands-on, and you'll leave with specific things to do between appointments. Those matter more with sciatica than with almost anything else we treat.

How Long it Takes

Most sciatica settles. A lot of it settles on its own given enough weeks, which is not a fashionable thing for a clinic to tell you.

What we're aiming to do is make that period shorter and considerably more bearable, and to work out whether there's something underneath it that needs different attention. We'll give you an honest view of what we expect and when, and we'll revise it if we're wrong.

When it Isn't Us

Some symptoms need a hospital the same day, not a chiropractor next week. Numbness around the saddle area, losing control of your bladder or bowels, or sudden weakness in both legs: go to A&E.

This is rare. It is also the reason we ask what look like odd questions during an assessment.

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