Sciatica

[soda]

Any pearls of wisdom?

Just suffered my 2nd attack or however you want to describe it and I’m feeling miserable. Pain has pretty much eased off quickly but lower left leg and foot are numb. I can’t lift my foot or curl my toes so actually can’t walk. Doctors have given Naproxen and Diazepam along with a few extra stretches and a referral for further investigations.

So, any other sufferers out there? What helps you?

[Dave]

Try to get to a physio asap. A good one will give you exercises to do to help now and to help to avoid the problem in the future.

[gregg]

The things that helped me were:

A decent chiro
Heat and ice, alternated
Voltarol
Pilates
Keeping moving

You’ll get lots of different advice on whether you need a physio / chiro / osteo, but it will all be based on personal experiences- so if one doesn’t work, try another, or try another from the same discipline. Physio was no good at all for mine because I needed the manipulation to relieve the pressure, then the Pilates built strength to keep it stable. Others find physio effective. I would strongly suggest you DO NOT start trying any specific exercises that other sufferers recommend until you have been assessed. The wrong exercise for your specific situation can make things go very wrong, very quickly!

[dom]

I suffer from sciatica too. I went to yoga class today after a long break hoping it might help and it did. The lovely teacher is a nurse and today we did lots of stretches in all directions specifically aimed at helping sciatica sufferers. I’m feeling much more comfortable this evening and can climb stairs normally. The teacher said the stretches were to release the muscle which is trapping the sciatic nerve. We only stretched as far as was comfortable but it was quite comprehensive. Hope you get some relief soon.

[zach]

I found a chiropractor really helped with my sciatica. Especially if they are happy to properly treat you and not mess around – I had one who couldn’t even get my neck to crack and insisted on giving me a massage on my shoulder, my shoulder was fine!

Try and keep moving if you can and take the tablets – did they give you any painkillers? Cocodamol worked for me, but Tramadol gave me hallucinations and made me quite sick and dizzy.

Hope the investigations find the cause and you can get it sorted – it’s no fun!

[ToughGuy]

DO NOT do other peoples exercises.

Sciatica is simply a term meaning pain in the leg that comes from the back, it is not a diagnosis. It can come from several places in your back and you could badly aggravate one injury by doing exercises for another.

Find a good practitioner – some physios will manipulate, some won’t, you get good and bad practitioners in all fields but go and see one.

[soda]

Thanks all. The doc has given me Naproxen and Diazepam to take. Naproxen certainly seems to help. I also got a sheet of stretches to do. I’m off to see my chiro this afternoon so hopefully I will feel better. Oddly enough though now I have pretty much no pain anywhere, just a numb tingly food and the muscles and tendons down the front of my leg don’t appear to be working.

Fingers crossed my chiro can help.

[woomen]

My sciatica improved noticeably when I lost weight.

I wasn’t particularly big but losing about 2st through diet and exercise seemed to end the sciatica. I have no idea what you look like so this might be a stupid thing to say if you’re a size 12 or smaller.

Unfortunately I tend to ‘tether’ (not trapped) a nerve in my neck which is incredibly uncomfortable through my right arm. It’s like I banged my funny bone, but it will not ease. I’m currently treating it with cocodomol and a hot water bottle (and a lot of swearing).

I hope you feel better soon. An electric blanket might help you sleep well and I believe sleep helps any healing process.

[soda]

Thank you. Yes I most definitely could do with losing a few pounds. One thing I keep meaning to get on top of but never quite do. Not being able to walk currently has given me a bit of a different aspect on things. I’m determined to get my foot moving again and then I’m determined to get myself moving more.

I hope your neck and arm improve. The pain from nerve damage is kind of indescribable. Swearing helps a lot.

I’d honestly not even considered an electric blanket so Thank you. Might have to check that out.

[oldguy]

Yes due to back injury I have it all the time, and sometimes my thigh goes numb so I have to bend over to open my spine to let tingling go. Ibuprofen is what I use, as well as osteopath and time.

[ermmm]

There are different cause of sciatica so please follow advice from your professionals for your specific situation, as others have said!

Mine was from a muscle spasm in my buttock. So physio fixed me. But stretches and a physio’s elbow in your butt-cheek won’t help if yours is coming from a bulging disc in your back for example!!

[englander]

I have changed our mattress having gone to Bensons for Beds (Im from the UK not USA) and gone on their sleep station machine or whatever its called. They said I needed a 4 or 5 rating (5 being the hardest mattress and 1 being the softest). People make the mistake with sciatica of lying on too soft a mattress or put those quilted mattress toppers on top of their mattress to make them feel better.

I have been on a nerve pain tablet called Neurontin aka Gabapentin. I take this three times per day. I wake up in the morning and feel pretty naff but its only down the one side of my buttock and leg so its not as bad as it could be. This started after I somersaulted in the air and landed on my back from about 6ft in the air.

Its horrible suffering from sciatica but I feel like my symptoms are being managed at the moment to a degree. I hate the tablets I take, but really know about it when I try to extend the time between taking them.

Also echo what others have said about pilates. Also about weight loss too.

[soda]

Yes never fear. I am listening to only my doctor and chiro for what will work for me. We don’t know what is causing it until I go for a scan so for now proceeding with minor manipulations and stretches as precaution. It’s just refreshing to hear that there are others out there who suffer similar and there is always something you don’t think of that might help like an electric blanket. I’ve had physio previously which didn’t help in the slightest. They appeared uninterested as I was a footballer and made it clear I had only brought the problem on myself.

It’s safe to say I’m probably coping as well as my horse is on box rest!

[Author]

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