The Manor Hospital - part of Circle Health Group

Sciatica is the sharp pain that emanates from the lower back and to the leg. It is caused by compression, inflammation or irritation of the sciatic nerve that travels from the buttocks and down each leg. It is most often caused when by a herniated disc or an overgrowth of bone puts pressure on the spine nerve roots. In this article, a consultant pain physician and intervention specialist explores treatment options and pain management methods for sciatica.

An aspect of surgery that patients can feel the most anxious about is not the procedure itself but what comes after. A surgery may only take three hours but require three months to recover from, and in that time, the patient must likely deal with some postoperative pain. Of course, to be expected when the body has been cut open and put back together again, even by the most skilled hands. In this guide, a consultant pain physician and intervention specialist shares tips and advice for preparing and managing postoperative pain, before the surgery.