Sciatica

nightshiftzoomer
nightshiftzoomer Posts: 38
in Fitness and Exercise
Anyone out there got any tips of getting rid or even getting a break from the pain of sciatica

Replies

  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    Just keep moving has always been the advice I have always had. Eventually it goes (well it does for me). If it doesn't a visit to a Chiropractor or Osteopath may help. I feel for you though it's a horrible pain
  • snsmyth
    snsmyth Posts: 35 Member
    Ice, Advil and stretching.
  • KarateMadMum
    KarateMadMum Posts: 32
    a TENS machine worked for me... Def something worth trying

    Hope you get some relief... I know how bloody horrid it is!

    xx
  • RM10003
    RM10003 Posts: 316 Member
    I've been back in physical therapy lately for mine--lots and lots of abs. And then more abs..... She's also got me doing a lot of stretches for my hip flexors as I tend to feel it pretty hard in my hip.
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
    Depends what the cause is. I think mine is caused by a tight pyriformis muscle, and stretching helps (also not sitting down for too long). It can also be caused by spinal nerve compression, in which case surgery is recommended.

    Mine comes and goes in my right leg and it's hard to tell what brings it on sometimes. Hope you can get some relief!
  • madaleingericke
    madaleingericke Posts: 49 Member
    Yoga?
  • amwoidyla
    amwoidyla Posts: 257 Member
    I used to think that i had sciatica, but it was actually my SI joint that was causing my pain. Like...in tears when I tried to put on pants or get up off the couch because I was in so much pain. I went to a chiropractor a few times a week for about a month for adjustments and kept working out. I'm mostly pain free (very infrequent, faint pain). My chiro told me to strengthen my posterior chain, so I focused on those exercises (core too) and it's helped me a lot.

    It's worth giving it a try!
  • bridgie101
    bridgie101 Posts: 817 Member
    Chiropractic. Sciatica is to do with nerve pinching in the spine. Chiropractic basically sorts out where the bones are, and shifts them if they are out of alignment. It's a mechanical process but if you're scared of it they do have a cute little gun that doesn't hurt or make any sounds.

    I get the gun on my lower back because it's more controlled and my lower back can get problems from being too loose. I get hand adjustments up higher because I feel like they're doing more. :D You get to personalise how it's done.

    I have very mild scoliosis which is what causes my sciatica, and a whiplash injury in my neck. I was in outrageous agony for years before an uncle introduced me to chiropractic and I've never had to suffer sciatic pain for more than 'as long as it takes to get an appointment' ever again. You go in in agony and you come out fine and as far as I'm concerned, that's results.
  • ostrichagain
    ostrichagain Posts: 271 Member
    I developed it when I was pregnant and yoga helped a lot. I went to a free class to support a friend who was undergoing cancer treatment. The poses were beginner and very gentle. I was surprised afterwards I could stand and walk without pain.

    The chiropractic treatments relieve pain, but they are temporary. Yoga prevented the pain for me and then having the baby solved the problem entirely.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    For me the cure was osteopath treatments on lumbar spine and SI joints plus loads of stretching.

    Most effective stretch was-
    Lie on your back, keep one leg straight and pull other knee to opposite shoulder. Repeat with other leg.

    You can also do a passive stretch-
    Lie on your side near edge of your bed with legs together and hips and knees bent at 90 degrees. Knees just off the side of the mattress so lower legs are unsupported. The weight of your lower legs puts a gentle stretch on your hips/SI joints. Key to this is relaxing...

    Losing weight also helped!
  • Doone33
    Doone33 Posts: 171 Member
    Wondering where is it bothering you? ... Mine causes different pains in different areas.. even up behind my neck!

    STRETCH, Stretch, Stretch.. that is the secret to relief... mine wakes me up out of sleep. and I have to get up and stretch, or work out... because the pain stops when my body gets warmed up also. I just kept working out and loosing weight and it has gotten better the more active I have become!
  • nightshiftzoomer
    nightshiftzoomer Posts: 38
    Wondering where is it bothering you? ... Mine causes different pains in different areas.. even up behind my neck!

    STRETCH, Stretch, Stretch.. that is the secret to relief... mine wakes me up out of sleep. and I have to get up and stretch, or work out... because the pain stops when my body gets warmed up also. I just kept working out and loosing weight and it has gotten better the more active I have become!

    The pain is down my left leg, to the middle of my calf, I also have permanent numbness in my left lower buttok, top of my left thigh and left *kitten*!

    Had this for 18 months then it went for about 2 months but back with a vengeance! Having physiotherapy for it again but I find that it doesn't work!
  • stefjc
    stefjc Posts: 484 Member
    Try an osteo too. They work differently from physios.

    I was fortunate and found a husband and wife physio/chiro team. They didn't have the usual protectiveness about their own way of working and I got a lot of good advice and great treatment. But I did feel that I benefitted from accessing both as sciatica is both a bone/postural condition as well as a muscular one.

    Good luck.
  • Mr_Starr
    Mr_Starr Posts: 139 Member
    Sciatica sucks... i could walk more than a block a couple months ago.



    i know what didn't work for me.
    - ice
    - massage
    - stretching/yoga (muscles to tight in right leg)

    what worked for me
    - pain killers ! From a history of hating to take even an aspirin, i found pain killers essential to just take the edge off the pain enough so i could sleep.... and some days to move at all. Before i never really understood their need. I have broken my bones ( arms, wrists, ribs) and never felt need to take any mediation. But sciatica broke me... :( Thank goodness i don't need anymore.
    - i went down to the local pool and started taking some water classes with all the seniors. After a couple of weeks the pain eased enough so i could start walking a few blocks without having to stop and rest cause of the pain. I also 'graduated' and started going to the more intense water aerobic classes.
    - bicycling. Even when i found it difficult to walk a block without extreme pain, i found i could easily bicycle with no to little pain. And after biking if felt so much better.
    - hot tub! wow... never really enjoyed hot tubs before. It really feels good after one of my classes or biking for a while.
    - losing weight? from the efforts above i lost over 10 lbs and i just kept it up since.

    Today the pain is mostly gone. I can still feel the numbness and occasional pain, but it is not constant and crippling as before. And now I feel ready enough to start yoga again. My leg muscles are still excessively tight... but yoga is starting to help me loosen them and regain some flexibility.

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  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    Walking does it for me. As much of a pain the sciatica is.
  • VBnotbitter
    VBnotbitter Posts: 820 Member
    Walking does it for me. As much of a pain the sciatica is.

    Off topic but I love your avatar
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
    Wondering where is it bothering you? ... Mine causes different pains in different areas.. even up behind my neck!

    STRETCH, Stretch, Stretch.. that is the secret to relief... mine wakes me up out of sleep. and I have to get up and stretch, or work out... because the pain stops when my body gets warmed up also. I just kept working out and loosing weight and it has gotten better the more active I have become!

    The pain is down my left leg, to the middle of my calf, I also have permanent numbness in my left lower buttok, top of my left thigh and left *kitten*!

    Had this for 18 months then it went for about 2 months but back with a vengeance! Having physiotherapy for it again but I find that it doesn't work!

    That sounds really bad. Have you seen a doctor or had a CT?

    I think sciatica can be caused by so many different things that not one treatment will work for everything. You need to know the underlying cause and address that.
  • Mr_Starr
    Mr_Starr Posts: 139 Member
    That sounds really bad. Have you seen a doctor or had a CT?

    I think sciatica can be caused by so many different things that not one treatment will work for everything. You need to know the underlying cause and address that.

    So True... i am most lucky it is a "simple" pinched nerve in my leg, and not a problem with the disks in the back. In some cases surgery is actually required or you can suffer long term nerve damage. A good friend of mine just had a successful back surgery to fix his sciatica. He had some nerve damage (numbness), but at least he got to it before the dropped foot problem he was having became permanent.
  • nightshiftzoomer
    nightshiftzoomer Posts: 38
    I'm waiting on physiotherapy deciding if I need an MRI, I just want it done so I know exactly what I'm dealing with

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