Assess
Physical screening and performance testing to find what is limiting you. Carly takes a full history, examines how you move and load, and measures where it matters, so the plan starts from numbers rather than guesswork.
Condition
Lower Back Pain and Sciatica Treatment in Central London
Assessment, hands-on treatment and a graded return to load for lower back pain and sciatica, so you can sit, drive, train and sleep without the pain running the day.
Overview
Understanding lower back pain and sciatica
Lower back pain is felt between the bottom of the ribs and the buttocks. Sciatica is different: pain, pins and needles or numbness running down the leg, caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve or one of the nerve roots that form it. The two often travel together.
Most back pain has no single damaged structure to blame, which is reassuring. It usually means nothing is broken, and that staying as active as the pain allows helps it settle faster than rest. NICE guidance puts exercise at the centre of treatment, with hands-on therapy used alongside it.
Carly first checks whether a nerve is involved and screens for the rare signs that need a doctor. Treatment then runs through physiotherapy, and where the goal is lifting, sport or racing again, through sports injury rehab, rebuilding tolerance to the exact loads that set it off.
Physiotherapy for lower back pain and sciatica can help you to:
Understand why my back hurts
A clear explanation of what is driving your pain, whether a nerve is involved, and what that means for how long it is likely to take. Most people find this alone makes the pain less worrying.
Sit through a meeting or a long drive
Practical changes to how you sit and move, plus exercises that build tolerance, so long periods at a desk or behind the wheel stop being the worst part of the day.
Settle the pain running down my leg
Sciatica often improves with the right movement and time. Carly tracks how your leg symptoms change and adjusts the plan as they ease, referring on promptly if they do not.
Get back to lifting and training
Deadlifts, squats and running are often where it started and are usually part of the solution. Loading is rebuilt in measured steps rather than removed for good.
Stop it coming back
Recurrence is common when people stop at the point the pain goes. Building strength through the hips, trunk and back is the part that makes the next episode less likely.
Why it happens
What causes sciatica and lower back pain?
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A sudden heavy lift or awkward movement after a period of doing much less than usual
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A rapid increase in training load, particularly deadlifts, squats, rowing or running
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Long hours seated in one position, at a desk, in a car or in a cockpit
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Low strength and endurance in the hip, trunk and back muscles that share load with the spine
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A disc bulge or narrowing around a nerve root, which can cause sciatica down the leg
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Poor sleep, stress and a long spell of pain, all of which make the back more sensitive
What happens at your first assessment?
Your first session is a full hour with Carly. She takes your history, asks what you need to get back to, then screens how you move, how strong you are and what the problem area is doing under load.
You leave with a working diagnosis in plain English, the first steps of your plan, and a clear idea of how progress will be measured.
Fees and booking
Sessions are £150 per hour, by appointment at UNTIL Marylebone, Canary Wharf or Soho. You can refer yourself; no GP letter is needed.
- Assessment and treatment: £150 for 60 minutes
- Self-referral: no GP referral needed if you are paying yourself
- Sessions at UNTIL Marylebone, UNTIL Canary Wharf and UNTIL Soho
- Book by phone on 07719 662005 or by email
How it works,
from first assessment to full output
A clear path from first assessment to being back at full output, measured, not guessed. Every session is one hour with Carly, at UNTIL Marylebone, Canary Wharf or Soho.
Plan
A programme built around your goals, your sport and your calendar. You leave knowing what is driving the problem, what you are going to do about it, and how progress will be measured from one session to the next.
Build
Coached sessions and progressive loading, adjusted as you improve. Strength, control and conditioning are built in stages, with the load moved on only when the last stage has been earned.
Return
Back to sport and racing, with objective measures to prove it. The decision to return rests on retesting against your own baseline, so you go back with evidence rather than a feeling.
Treatment approach
How do we treat lower back pain and sciatica?
Physiotherapy
£150Establishes whether a nerve is involved, screens for the causes that need a medical opinion, and builds the graded movement and strength programme that NICE recommends as first-line care.
See treatment detail →Sports Injury Rehab
£150For getting back to lifting, running, contact sport or driving, rebuilds tolerance to the specific loads that provoked the problem, moved on by what you can do rather than by weeks passed.
See treatment detail →Performance Coaching
£150Once the pain has settled, longer-term trunk and hip strength work helps reduce the chance of another episode, especially if your sport or job keeps you seated for hours.
See treatment detail →FAQ
Sciatica and lower back pain
questions
Should I rest if my back hurts?
Usually not. Staying as active as the pain allows helps back pain and sciatica settle faster than rest, and long spells in bed tend to make things worse. Keep walking and doing normal daily tasks, and change rather than stop the activities that aggravate it.
When is back pain or sciatica an emergency?
Call 999 or go to A&E if you have numbness around your bottom or genitals, cannot pee, have lost control of your bladder or bowels, or have numbness or weakness in both legs. These can be signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs immediate hospital assessment.
How long does sciatica take to settle?
Many people with sciatica improve within about four to six weeks, although leg symptoms can last longer and recovery is often uneven. Carly reviews how your symptoms change at each Box Box session and will refer you for a medical opinion if progress stalls.
Can Carly treat back pain from driving or racing?
Yes. Long periods seated, vibration and the bracing involved in driving all load the lower back. Carly assesses how you sit and move, then builds the trunk and hip strength and the movement habits that help your back cope with long sessions behind the wheel.
Related Conditions
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Box Box Physiotherapy and Performance • UNTIL Soho, 111 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0DT
Book an assessmentBased in central London, by appointment. Sessions at UNTIL Marylebone, Canary Wharf and Soho.