Mechanical and degenerative back pain
Persistent or recurrent back pain, including assessment of whether a specific structural or pain-generating problem may alter treatment.
Consultant-led pain care in London
Clear thinking for complex pain.
Specialist assessment and non-surgical treatment of sciatica, lumbar radicular pain, spinal pain and neuropathic pain.
Principal clinical focus
Sciatica
Pain travelling from the lower back into the leg often begins when a spinal nerve becomes irritated or compressed. The important question is not simply whether pain is called sciatica, but why it is happening and what may help.
A specialist assessment brings together the pattern of symptoms, examination findings and any relevant imaging before treatment is considered.
Other areas of practice
Related pain conditions.
These remain important parts of the practice, supported by the same careful assessment and proportionate approach to treatment.
Neuropathic pain / nerve pain
Pain arising from damage or disease affecting the nerves, often described as burning, shooting, electric or associated with altered sensation.
Hoffa’s fat pad pain
Pain at the front of the knee arising from the sensitive fat pad beneath the kneecap, often requiring patient rehabilitation and specialist physiotherapy.
Other persistent and complex pain
Consultant assessment of longer-term or complex pain, bringing together physical, neurological and wider health factors to guide proportionate treatment.
London NHS Consultant
GMC Credential in Specialist Pain Medicine
Peer-reviewed author on back pain
Fee approved by all major UK private medical insurers
bupaAXA HealthAvivaVitalityWPACigna
Recognition does not guarantee cover. Please confirm benefits and obtain any required authorisation from your insurer before treatment.A measured approach
Diagnosis before intervention.
Pain can be influenced by the nervous system, the spine, general health, sleep, movement and the wider pressures of daily life. Good treatment begins by understanding how those factors fit together.
Dr Seyfried’s practice is comprehensive, non-surgical and biopsychosocial. The aim is to explain the likely source of pain clearly, identify appropriate options and avoid procedures that are unlikely to help.
Careful assessmentPlain-language explanationProportionate treatment
Best evidence
Useful answers, without the noise.
Short, clinically reviewed explanations of the questions patients most often ask about sciatica and spinal pain.
Verified patient reviewsWhat is sciatica?
Sciatica describes pain felt along the course of the sciatic nerve, usually travelling from the lower back or buttock into the leg. It often reflects irritation of a lumbar nerve root, but a consultation is needed to establish the likely cause.
Do I need an MRI scan?
Not everyone with sciatica needs immediate imaging. A scan is most useful when its result could change treatment, when symptoms are persistent or severe, or when the examination raises concern about a more serious cause.
Read the full guide to MRI for sciaticaWhen might an injection help?
An image-guided nerve-root or epidural injection may be considered for selected patients when symptoms and imaging are consistent. It is not right for every type of back or leg pain and should follow a careful assessment.
Which symptoms need urgent attention?
New bladder or bowel disturbance, numbness around the saddle area, or rapidly worsening leg weakness require urgent medical assessment because they may indicate cauda equina syndrome or another serious neurological problem.
Sciatica knowledge hub
Who should I see for sciatica?Choosing the right help.How I assess and treat sciaticaWhat to expect from a consultation.What are the chances my sciatica will get better?Recovery and treatment in perspective.Do I need an MRI for sciatica?When imaging changes management.Nerve-root injections for sciaticaBenefits, limitations and risks.When does sciatica need surgery?When a surgical opinion may help.How long does sciatica last?Recovery, persistence and reassessment.Sciatica from a slipped discDisc prolapse, inflammation and recovery.Lumbar dermatomes: L1 to S1Patterns, overlap and diagnosis.
About
Dr Oliver Seyfried
Consultant in Pain Medicine and Anaesthesia
Dr Oliver Seyfried specialises in the diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of acute and persistent pain, with particular expertise in sciatica, spinal pain and neuropathic pain affecting the arm or leg.
He qualified from St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical School in 1999 and trained in anaesthesia and pain medicine at leading London teaching hospitals, including St Thomas’, King’s College and St George’s. He was appointed as a consultant at St George’s Hospital in 2013 and is Departmental Lead for Anaesthesia.
His clinical approach combines a detailed medical assessment with an understanding of the physical, psychological and social factors that can sustain pain. Where an intervention may be helpful, it is considered as one part of a broader treatment plan.
Dr Seyfried is a Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists and of the Faculty of Pain Medicine. He has published in peer-reviewed journals on back pain and pharmacotherapy and received the Faculty of Pain Medicine’s Trainee Publication Prize in 2013.
Dr Seyfried has been awarded the GMC Credential in Specialist Pain Medicine. The credential is recorded on his public GMC register entry. Verify on the GMC register using number 4642648
Consultations
Central London appointments.
Locations
Consultation fees
New consultation£275
Follow-up consultation£175
Insurance
Fee approved by all major UK private medical insurers.
Please check cover and obtain any required authorisation before your appointment.
Appointments
Begin with a specialist assessment.
For appointments, referral queries or further information, contact Dr Seyfried’s private secretary.