Navin Furtado is a Consultant Neurosurgeon and Spinal Surgeon at HCA UK The Harborne Hospital in Birmingham. We caught up with him to discuss his expert advice on sciatica, from diagnosis to treatment

Mr Furtado specialises in conditions affecting the spine, spinal cord, and nerves. He offers treatments for sciatica, back and leg pain from stenosis, arm pain related to nerve compression, spinal tumours, spinal reconstruction from a deformity related to degenerative conditions, trauma or spinal infections. Mr Furtado takes a personalised approach to care, tailoring treatment to your individual needs and can offer minimally invasive treatments as well as more standard spinal surgical interventions.

What is sciatica?

Sciatica is when the sciatic nerve is compressed or irritated and refers to pain that runs down the route of the sciatic nerve, the longest nerve in your body. The sciatic nerve runs from the back of your pelvis to the bottom of your feet. The sciatic nerve being compressed or irritated can be caused by a number of things, but is often caused by a slipped or herniated disc in your back. A disc can ‘bulge’ or ‘prolapse/herniate’ and put pressure on the nerves in your spine, causing inflammation, pain, numbness and sometimes weakness. It is important to note that not all changes to the discs in your back will cause sciatica. Very large disc prolapses can damage nerves controlling bladder or bowel function.

What are the main symptoms to look for?

The main symptom of sciatica is pain that is often felt in the lower back and can radiate down one or both legs, and the buttocks, which can be quite uncomfortable. You may feel anything from a dull ache to a sharp pain, and even a tingling sensation leading to numbness and weakness in your leg in severe cases. The pain from sciatica can vary from day to day and can be difficult to manage.

How is sciatica diagnosed?

Sciatica can be diagnosed by your GP or healthcare professional from your history and distribution of pain and by a physical examination, looking at your sensation, strength and range of movement. A scan is not usually necessary for most people during the early stages of sciatica, as many cases will settle with time. If your symptoms persist you may be referred to a specialist and an MRI scan may be recommended if treatment is going to be required. A scan may also be recommended if sciatica is being caused by another serious medical condition, however this is rare.

What treatment options are available?

Sciatica will often go away naturally in a few weeks for most people, but for other people it can last a lot longer, and there are a range of treatment options available. Pain relieving medication can be prescribed to help you manage the pain of sciatica, and there are other options including painkilling injections or surgery that may be recommended.

During recovery I would recommend slowly introducing activity, such as light exercise like walking, but it is important to build this up slowly as the sciatic nerve can be very sensitive.