Sciatic Nerve Experience?

[waterninja]

If it's not one thing it's another. Just wondering if any other members have had to deal with a sciatic nerve problem? I plan on seeing a doctor of course, but since yesterday all I have done is lie on my back in bed.
What sort of treatment did you need, and did the problem persist for long. Thanks


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[troutbug]

Originally Posted by waterninja

If it's not one thing it's another. Just wondering if any other members have had to deal with a sciatic nerve problem? I plan on seeing a doctor of course, but since yesterday all I have done is lie on my back in bed.
What sort of treatment did you need, and did the problem persist for long. Thanks


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Stretching is THE biggest thing. I had 2 herniated discs which were pressing on my sciatic nerve. Literally crippled me. If you want, pm me your address, I have a book I bought when I had the issue and its full of very very helpful stretches that will help you big time.

[Eastgoeswest]

Yeah it wasn't fun. My legs would buckle without notice. Couldn't use by back up to lift which made licking up my baby an incredible task. About 4 months of chricpractor appointments, always sitting on a pillow and anti inflammatories and it went right away.
And streching did help a lot!

[robfraser]

Go to u tube and look up best sciatic nerve stretch. This really works if you do it a lot. Do it in bed, watching t.v. etc , just do it a lot to get the nerve stretched out and keep doing it forever.

[Jack Hardin]

I had this problem and I went to a Chiropractor weekly for 10 years and it was only a temporary fix. I couldn't lift anything over 10 lbs and at times I felt that my back would just collapse. My wife said go to a real doctor. I did and he sent me to Physio, that was 4 years ago and I haven't looked back since. I can now lift my Honda 2000 generator, cut grass, dig holes, cut down trees, etc etc etc.

I have to do a set of exercises 3 times a week that only take 6 or 7 minutes.

[skidderman]

I've had the same problem for more years than I can count. Worst experience I had was with a GP. Best luck I had was with a chiropractor in Leduc. Don't recall his name. Last summer I went to a Dr. Deutscher on Athabasca. I went twice & he helped me a lot. Google types of chiropractic. There are two types. I have not used the unknown type but will in the future.

[cooper]

hot yoga and an inversion table.

[Spidey]

Originally Posted by troutbug

Stretching is THE biggest thing. I had 2 herniated discs which were pressing on my sciatic nerve. Literally crippled me. If you want, pm me your address, I have a book I bought when I had the issue and its full of very very helpful stretches that will help you big time.

This is very good advice. However, you will probably start to notice whether this issue abates or hangs around. A friend of mine would get sciatic pressure approx once/year (usually when he backed off his exercise regime), but with stretching, chiro, etc. the disc pressure on the nerve would usually go away.

I had the kind that never really went away despite all the interventions I tried, which resulted in going under the knife approx. 2 years after my initial pain began. I didn't have a complete discectomy - they just shaved the bulge back. It's been over 20 years since the surgery and my back has been fine ever since. The surgeon just made me promise not to develop a beer belly - he said that was the #1 risk factor for it happening again.

[cranky]

Struggled with it for years. Stretching is the way to go. Pick the ones you find help or you can do with little pain and do them religiously. I do them every morning and every nite and have done for many years. The stronger you can make your stomach muscles the easier it is on the back a Doc once told me. Gentle situps with out pushing it after inflammation is gone down is good. A hot water bottle or one of those heatable been bag things really helps me if i catch it soon enough when its starting up. Its now affected my hip after all these years but i keep walking best i can anyhow.

They used to say bed rest but now they say staying active. Doc can give you something to knock the inflammation down. Once the inflammation part is gone get to walking or swimming or something like that.

Chiropractor it seems like one time it helps next time its worse after visits so gave up on them years ago. But it may vary with different folks.

[Sashi]

Had a similar problem, found it was related to my diabetes 2.

[Zip]

Originally Posted by cooper

hot yoga and an inversion table.

this is what is working for me...long process but it does get better, inversion table is a must have!

[silverdoctor]

First thing you need is diagnosis. Does it feel like your leg(s) are in fire? Phantom pain that travels around? Or sore arse cheeks?

I have spondy in L4/L5, worst slippage was 11 mm and caused all kinds of hurt. Dealt with sciatica over the last 25 years - one type is where slippage puts pressure on the nerves. The other is inflammation of the sciatic nerves in the buttocks.

Find a good chiro, get some x-rays. I found doctors useless overall. Went 10 years undiagnosed.

[waterninja]

Thanks for all the replies and pm,s guys. I am a fellow that is active and in great shape and being confined to bed for over 30 hours straight now was really worried about the future. I was planning on some ice fishing now that I have a little time


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[murphy]

I go to a chiropractor/sports therapist who practices Active Release Therapy and also Graston. Those two things helped me go from barely being able to move to normal in just a few weeks.

[Ranets]

Find a good chiropractor, preferably someone who deals regularly with athletic injuries and strains and also a good massage/sport therapist with similar background. I would also agree with stretching but after the injury is on its way back both your chiropractor and your therapist should be able to show you some effective and helpful stretches. I was a competitive athlete for almost 20 years so I am familiar with your pain and although it seems debilitating it can be fixed and you will be back out enjoying the outdoors again soon. If you want more info and perhaps some contacts just P.M. me.

[runnin'wild]

Originally Posted by Spidey

This is very good advice. However, you will probably start to notice whether this issue abates or hangs around. A friend of mine would get sciatic pressure approx once/year (usually when he backed off his exercise regime), but with stretching, chiro, etc. the disc pressure on the nerve would usually go away.

I had the kind that never really went away despite all the interventions I tried, which resulted in going under the knife approx. 2 years after my initial pain began. I didn't have a complete discectomy - they just shaved the bulge back. It's been over 20 years since the surgery and my back has been fine ever since. The surgeon just made me promise not to develop a beer belly - he said that was the #1 risk factor for it happening again.

Sounds familiar.

Some good advice throughout the thread.

I went through unimaginable pain with mine,wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

I had back surgery after 2 years of constant pain. Mine was my L5 S1. They removed half the disc and let heal with scar tissue. Apparently scar tissue will out last anything that they can install. Was around 6 weeks rehab.

That was over 12 yrs ago. I would say that I am 90 plus % better. I can still do everything I did before but u still have to watch out with your back. I get a bit of pain once in awhile but short lived.

Best of luck on the recovery.

[340 wby]

I have suffered with this for years also.

I have visited a chiropractor with limited results.

The latest treatment I had was acupuncture. It took about 4 days for the effects of the treatment to fully relieve all my pain and discomfort. I will not go back to a chiropractor again.

[benamen]

That's a very large nerve and covers a large area.
For myself, it was pain in the buttocks whenever I sat for two or three hours at a time. For my wife, she had leg pains.
We had a reflexologist/massage therapist in the building where I worked, so I headed over there and asked if they could do anything for either my wife or myself. The reflexologist suggested getting her foot treatments to fix our problem. I was a little hesistant but what the heck. Worth a try. So both my wife and I went in for 3 treatments and each treatment was about a week apart. That was ten years ago and neither of us has had an issue since.

[IceDemeter]

Originally Posted by waterninja

Thanks for all the replies and pm,s guys. I am a fellow that is active and in great shape and being confined to bed for over 30 hours straight now was really worried about the future. I was planning on some ice fishing now that I have a little time


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If you have no past history of sciatic pain or diagnosis of spine / disc damage or sciatic nerve damage, then it really is important that you get in to a medical doctor for an accurate diagnosis, preferably with MRI or CT scan for confirmation. There are so many possible causes for this type of pain that any suggestions or recommendations can only be pure speculation (and could possibly cause more harm than good), so please get in to a doc as soon as you can!

With that said, if this is more of a sudden-onset type thing, where you've been dealing with some minor flares through the past few months and have just been nailed with it suddenly as excruciating and debilitating, then it MIGHT have something to do with you not being able to be as active as normal while you were dealing with the illnesses and losses of your parents. Suddenly spending an unusual amount of time in horrible hospital chairs, lack of activity, stress, and increasing muscle tension can contribute to extreme tightening of the piriformis muscle, which then squishes the sciatic nerve. According to the physical therapist who treated me after the death of my Dad, it isn't really an uncommon thing to happen to family members after dealing with prolonged illnesses.

As others here have said, if that appears to be the cause, then your best treatments will likely involve anti-inflammatory medications, stretches, massage, and myofascial release (such as foam roller massage for the piriformis muscles). A good physical / sports therapist will be your best referral for determining the best treatment specifically for you.

Please accept my condolences for your losses, and my sympathies for the frustration and pain that your back is giving you right now. Hopefully it will turn out to be easily treatable and you'll be out fishing very, very soon... just remember to not sit still for too long out there, and keep those muscles warm and stretched.

Strong thoughts!

PS - you might find some videos from these guys helpful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3r29g7k2Hk

[schmedlap]

Originally Posted by IceDemeter

If you have no past history of sciatic pain or diagnosis of spine / disc damage or sciatic nerve damage, then it really is important that you get in to a medical doctor for an accurate diagnosis, preferably with MRI or CT scan for confirmation. There are so many possible causes for this type of pain that any suggestions or recommendations can only be pure speculation (and could possibly cause more harm than good), so please get in to a doc as soon as you can!

With that said, if this is more of a sudden-onset type thing, where you've been dealing with some minor flares through the past few months and have just been nailed with it suddenly as excruciating and debilitating, then it MIGHT have something to do with you not being able to be as active as normal while you were dealing with the illnesses and losses of your parents. Suddenly spending an unusual amount of time in horrible hospital chairs, lack of activity, stress, and increasing muscle tension can contribute to extreme tightening of the piriformis muscle, which then squishes the sciatic nerve. According to the physical therapist who treated me after the death of my Dad, it isn't really an uncommon thing to happen to family members after dealing with prolonged illnesses.

As others here have said, if that appears to be the cause, then your best treatments will likely involve anti-inflammatory medications, stretches, massage, and myofascial release (such as foam roller massage for the piriformis muscles). A good physical / sports therapist will be your best referral for determining the best treatment specifically for you.

Please accept my condolences for your losses, and my sympathies for the frustration and pain that your back is giving you right now. Hopefully it will turn out to be easily treatable and you'll be out fishing very, very soon... just remember to not sit still for too long out there, and keep those muscles warm and stretched.

Strong thoughts!

PS - you might find some videos from these guys helpful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3r29g7k2Hk

There is a range of very different causes that demand different approaches. I have been the victim of 2 very serious bouts of such in the last 15 years. No one knows just how agonizing and frustrating this condition is until they have been through it.

My first bout did not respond to any non-surgical approaches at all, other than the steroids the surgeon prescribed in the short waiting time from seeing him, getting the MRI, and getting surgery (after many futile months of waiting, suffering, and trying other treatments). Ruptured disc, severely displaced, no amount of stretching or muscle rehab did anything. The surgery completely fixed things.

My second bout (9 or so years later) I was very lucky to have the opportunity to be quickly put in the hands of a real expert physician (one who treats many top athletes) early on, get a quick (private) MRI and accurate diagnosis, and be referred to a top sports physiotherapist (Sather Clinic, Edmonton). It was a completely different issue involving, as it turned out, hip and related joints and muscles, and was quickly resolved with appropriate aggressive manipulation and exercises and subsequent easy maintenance, and a relative minimum of drugs.

So, the key, as I see it, is accurate diagnosis of the source problem as soon as possible. The appropriate treatment depends on the actual cause. If you do some research you will quickly realize that there are a range of possiblitiies, and the key is agressively finding the correct diagnosis.

I feel for you and wish you the best.

[KegRiver]

I've lived with a herniated disk since I was 16. A 30 year old bully didn't like the color of my skin.

For most of my life it mean lower back pain, crippling at times but not repairable so I learned to live with it.

Then about six years ago it started putting pressure on my sciatic nerve. That added a whole new level of misery.

For a couple of weeks I tried to tough it out as I had always done with the lower back pain but it was getting worse and I was close to totally incapacitated so I went to the doctor.

He prescribed stretching exercises and acupuncture treatments.

The acupuncture got me back on my feet and the stretching finished the job. I've had no trouble since.

The primary stretching exercise I was taught to do was to stand on my toes on a step of some sort, then lift myself as high as I could with my toes and then lower as far as I could as many times as I could.

The only other exercise I was taught was to pull my legs, one at a time, as high as I could, while laying on my back.

I still do the toe lift a few times a week and like I said, I've had no further bouts of nerve pain.

[silverdoctor]

Biggest thing, get off your butt and start moving around, stretch. Laying around likely isn't helping.

Try to figure out where the pain is, like I say, sciatica can create pain that's like a phantom - hard to pinpoinnt. Moves around. Sometimes my whole leg would feel like it's in a fire, pain raced up and down the legs, while other times - might be a toe or ankle or knee. This is usually a sign of pressure on the sciatic nerve - and is the worst pain.

If your arse cheeks are hurting or it feels like it's in the buttock, find a golf ball or a baseball or something else hard and round, sit on it and roll around on it - the idea is deep massage. I had inflammation in the sciatic nerve a few times, the chiro really worked it over and that was his advice.

If you're having back issues... Squat down and ball up as tight as you can, then rock yourself. Move your butt side to side, and up and down while in a tight fetal position.

[Newview01]

Switching from full time manual labor to a desk job caused some pretty bad sciatica issues for me, but a good physiotherapist taught me some stretches that keep it at bay.

Stretching and exercise is what I would recommend.

[hayseed]

Inversion table will help alot. Trust me...

[MBL]

If you are looking for a little relief from the pain try Advil cold and sinus.

[troutbug]

Naproxin (aleve) worked best and my doctor even prescribed me a stronger does of it that you get from the pharmacy. Not as rough on the guts and does not plug a guy up like Ibuprofen. Works great

[TimeOff]

I had torn muscles in my lower back, from a twisting jerking motion, stupid I know! Afterwards the sore lower back turned into Sciatic pain down my left leg to behind my knee. Muscle knot on left side of lower spine size of a golf ball. Nerve fused to torn tissue when healing. Chiro helps relieve pressure but only temporary.
Find a good Acupuncturist, and after 4 or 5 treatments, it loosened the knot in my back. I was able to stretch out and free the nerve with the excersizes and stretching after that.

Sciatic pain is one of the worst! I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Here's hoping for a speedy recovery…

[6mm rem]

I'm going through the same thing right now. It's the second time in ten years . I have felt some relief stretching and keeping active. I got a foam roller and watched a couple YouTube videos , seems to help. I hope your year only gets better!!

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by hayseed

Inversion table will help alot. Trust me...

X100!!
I even bring mine down south on our bird hunts .
After a day of tripping in badger holes and walking over uneven ground it is a life saver!
Cat

[waterninja]

Originally Posted by 6mm rem

I'm going through the same thing right now. It's the second time in ten years . I have felt some relief stretching and keeping active. I got a foam roller and watched a couple YouTube videos , seems to help. I hope your year only gets better!!

What do you mean by a foam roller? I have plenty of foam mattress in storage and can cut one to any size I want
Once again thanks to all of you for tips and suggestions. I am a healthy active man a this is killing me.


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