Sciatica problems
 

Started having Sciatica problems last meet while on a two week motorcycle trip in the alps. I was OK while sitting on the bike, but standing for any lenght of time or walking was/is horrible. I'm home now and the pain is still persistent. I was hoping that a few days of rest would take care of it. Anybody else ever have this and what did you do.

BTW, my back feels fine, no pain at all, starts in my left buttock and runs down to the back of my knee.....TIA

Classic sciatica-had it a few times -comes on suddenly when bending over. Rest is really the only effective non-invasive treatment which always relieved it for me.

Yes, rest and a good stock of first class pain killers.

I have it almost constantly. The pain isn't usually severe, but when it is bad I lose control of my left leg if I cough or sneeze. It just goes limp. If I feel a cough coming on I have to kneel or find something to lean on or I'll fall over.

Been dealing with it for over a decade. Vicodin will take the edge off but nothing is going to make it go away very quickly. You most likely have some discs in your lower spine causing pressure on the nerves. One theory is to stretch the spine to cause the discs to retract and release pressure from the nerves.

A chiropractor with a stretching table may help. I love the following piece of equipment my gym has - helps me tremendously (after a few months of use).

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1318085415.jpg


Good luck.

I've had episodes for many years and was told after a CT that some surgery was in order. Being who I am, I elected to not have it done. The episodes are extremely infrequent now (every couple of years) and last much less time. Strong abdominal muscles are important and I find laying on my stomach while propping myself up on my elbows for a while really helps. During really difficult times, it may be very difficult to get right up on your elbows but persevere and increase height a little every day. Hope everything works out.

Hey Michael, I think you're in the area. I know people who have gone to this guy and can't say enough good things about him. He also has a DRX machine, although pricey it has been shown to help. Massages are a big help also. Good luck!
Jeff D Bowne, DC Chiropractor in VALENCIA, CA 91355

I can't sit in my car with a wallet in my back pocket or the sciatica will start up. I carry the wallet in the center console and try to not ever put anything in my rear pocket that will press on the nerve. Seems to work for me...

I had sciatica caused by spinal stenosis in the lumbar region. It got to be incapacitating but a laminectomy in 2005 did the job. Pain free since.

Check your PM box, Michael...been there, done that, and it's not fun. Pain so bad I'd just fall to the floor. Hope something works for you...I want to send you a sheet of gentle stretching exercises that may help...

My wife has it as well, came on when she was pregnant with our second child, pretty bad a couple times a month. We worked with a physical therapist that showed me a massage technique that really helps her, almost instantaneously. I use my thumb and find the nerve in the center of her right buttock cheek. Some gentle, then hard pushing pressing and rolling on the nerve for 10 min or so. She screams like crazy, but it works. She's better and can walk with no pain a few minutes later.

Try to find a local PT, may help. Not a cure but definitely a method to relieve the pain.

My back is blown out. Old Skiing injury.

Core strength, keep your weight down, stretch, ibuprofen as needed, and stay hydrated. It works.

the pain might be caused by a pinched nerve at the spine.

another possibility is that the sciatic nerve is being pinched somewhere else by a muscle in spasm. for example the sciatic nerve passes thru the piriformis muscle in the butt. i just figured out my piriformis muscle has been in spasm/knotted for years (due to an earlier injury) which has been pinching the sciatic nerve.

http://www.dontbeasalmon.net/images/...20nerve-tm.jpg

i read about 'trigger point' therapy on the internet about 2 weeks ago and saw a massage therapist last week, and it looks promising. they try to relax the muscle so it doesn't pinch the nerve anymore. heres a related video:

How Does Massage Therapy Help Eliminate Muscle Knots? - YouTube

it sounds similar to mark's comments above.

maybe you got a charley horse/muscle spasm from the motorcycle trip, and its pressing on the nerve.

Dude, I feel your pain. really I do. I have spinal stenosis to the point where I have constant pain from my ass down the back of both legs. I can't really play basketball anymore, run soccer or even train the dogs for more than a half hour. Only relief is sitting. Pain killers don't help, booze doesn't do the trick, not even the Quinlan combo seems to help. I should get the surgery but I'm a bit leary.

Thank everyone for the info and PMs. This guy is right down the street from where I work. I will be giving him a call first thing monday. Thank you.

Man, I hoping this is a passing phase. I really would hate to have to get surgery. This really makes you feel like an old man. Can barely walk upright and have to lean on things when I can't sit down. Sucks.....

I ride a motorcycle everyday for 8 hours, I'm thinking that is probably a contributing factor. Ironically, the only time I'm comfortable is while sitting on the bike.

I had sciatica and I have three bad lumbar vertebrae. I started having problems after a long road trip about 8 years ago. The pain would grow when I stood around or milled around for a while. Thankfully, I got out of shopping with my wife. :D This problem went on for years. I found shots for pain management wouldn't do much or last very long. I don't suffer much from the sciatica lately, and I think maybe my stretching exercises helped. I do a lot of touching my toes, and bending side-to-side, etc.. Good luck with your pain, Mike. It's no fun.

I've had this on going for over thirty years. I agree that it is a spasm in the butt and the nerve runs thru the muscle, hence the pain. Trigger point injections and massage worked for me.

I did the injections, adjustments and decompression - worked great but only lasted for a few months then I had to go back and get them again - did that 4 times. You can only have so many epi's.

Back pain.....first time went to 3 months of back therapy, stretches and machines to help core strength.
Felt great after that.
A year later when the pain came back I was sent to a back specialist.
He did 5 minutes of tests and said I had some inflamed discs in my lower 5 vertebra.
He gave me an anti inflammatory to take twice a day, took those for a couple months.
He also gave me 3 back stretches to do twice a day.
The back stretches I still do, so far seems to have kept the pain away.
Hope you can find a quick relief from the pain.

So what kind of core/exercises/stretches does everyone do that works?

After a dirt biking accident 8 years ago (I hit a tree going all out on a narrow trail on my Yamaha 250 :( ), I've had lower back and neck problems.

I know back pain is different for everyone.
This was for lower back pain.
When I was in pain all the stretching was done laying down.

My Dr gave me 3 to do in this order, all on your back.

Lie flat and pull your right knee to your chest
Lie flat and pull your left knee to your chest
Lie flat and pull both your knees to your chest
Lie flat and push your lower back into the floor.

So far its been very helpful to my back problem.
When stretching with back problems they told me best to isolate the back, safer to stretch laying down than standing up.

Thanks. I'll give them a try.

Oh - I suppose I should contribute. I've had mild Sciatic discomfort too (not pain, but numbness).

At least one orthopedic doc I spoke with said be careful about back/core exercises. They are great for general back pain, but can irritate the sciatic nerve.

I don't know if there is any harm in trying, but if you do some of the exercises, and it hurts more, you should stop and see a doctor.

I was told that in many cases, anti-inflammatory meds are your best bet.

Disclaimer: I am not a Dr, nor play one on TV. Just passing along advice I received, which was specific to my situation.

this is the exercise i was given for the piriformis muscle.

Back Exercises & Stretches : Piriformis Muscle Stretch - YouTube

if you want to stretch the right side piriformis, place your right ankle on your left knee, and lean forward.

in my case, another symptom of a spasm/contracted piriformis muscle is that the foot turns out. so, if i'm lying in bed on my back, my (good) left foot naturally points to the ceiling, without effort. but since my right side piriformis is in spasm/ contracted, my right foot naturally points to 2 or 3 oclock. after the stretching exercises, my right foot will again point at the ceiling.

I have had many patients get relief from, don't laugh, accupuncture.

Piriformis syndrome sufferer here. Certain activities cause my piriformis muscle (right or left side) to spasm. It usually lasts for a few days, but sometimes a couple weeks. One orthopod said I had a blown disc and needed surgery. Another doc diagnosed ankylosing spondylitis. WRONG.

I'm in this club, sadly.

I work out all the time, I'm pretty active. My job is very sedentary, though. But I do about 1200 situps a week and run, bench press 225, etc...

I can only imagine being a male and working at UPS for 8 years did this. I followed all the safe work methods, too.

The pain is pretty bad. Too bad all the local dispensaries have been shut down by Obama.

Inversion table and the big exercise ball work for a lot of people too. I saw Paul's post, thought he was back then saw it was an old thread.

sorry to get your hopes up.

Is it considered poor internet etiquette to bump old threads? My thinking is that it's better to gather similar/identical stuff in the same place and to not be redundant even if it means bumping an old thread. I'm just trying to reduce the effort of future searchers.

Anyhoo, my left hip/ass muscle hurt so much. Hate it. Sitting sucks. Laying down drinking vodka feels good, though.

Mine has been good for a while, but can go south anytime. I have a sports chiro that can hook me up if I can't do it myself. I had a chiro pop my lower back years ago & I was able to figure out how to get the same relief by doing it myself. when it starts, I do stretches every morning. My doctor suggested " Salutation to the Sun" & "Downward Dog", I found a 4 minute video I watch on my tablet in the mornings. When I can do it, it's well worth the 4 minutes. If I don't keep up on my fitness, things get painful quick.
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I don't have the luxury of narcotics or vodka. At least Obama didn't close our dispenseries yet. ;)

I get it occasionally, runs down the outside of my right leg. Started planking (someone mentioned this earlier) to increase my core strength, lost 5 lbs and will lose 5 lbs more, stretching every morning, it's helped a lot. Look up planking, start slow. I'm up to 2 minutes 30 seconds every morning.

I went through 5 different Chiros before I found one that knew what he was doing. Find a good one and he will be able to fix your problem, I bet. 80% of people in any given profession are not as competent as they should be. Doctors are no different.

You're right Art. I discovered this on several long drives. Take the wallet out and no pain.

I tried the Phys Therapy with some initial disbelief - but it worked. This is with several years of pain coming and going. I lay down and do leg lifts (on back then on stomach) as well as the planks and other mentioned above. I was taking way to many tylenols or ibuprofens. This from a guy who has thrown his back out while putting on socks.

Acupuncture, hydration, eating less intestinal glue, exercise ball, and watching t.v. laying on the floor with the knees bent(pushing the lower back flat) were all beneficial for me.

Something to consider:
If you have a bad foot/ankle/knee/hip..muscles on one side of the leg will tighten to compensate, which throws off normal posture, gait, and balance.
The upper body will lean to counter-balance which results in completely bad form.

Original problem was something else.
End result is a bad back.

Recognize when things aren't right before the pain starts:
Pain and sensation mean that the nerves are working right and are reminding you to be responsible.
Dullness is the danger.