Sciatica problems

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jenlo1971
jenlo1971 Posts: 49 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
i have lots of pain along my sciatic nerve. I really really want to work out. I have been trying for months that find something that will not aggravate the pain I already have and have been fairly unsuccessful. I tried walking- I like to walk 3-4 miles when I walk. It didn't hurt while I walked but I'd pay for it later. To the point in which I wouldn't work out again for 3-4 days. The few times I pushed past the pain and walked two days in a row I didn't walk again for over a week. So recently I've switched to some old DVDs I have. I've been alternating between some light cardio and some light weightlifting videos. I did the weight lifting one on Monday, skipping no exercise and felt super proud of myself. I laid on the couch pretty much the whole entire day on Tuesday. Hurt worse than I have in close to 6 months. Finally worked out again today but modified some things- like no lunges. Anybody have any insight into exercises I definitely shouldn't do? Anybody else suffer with this? Should I just get used to the idea that I'm not going to be able to work out the way I want?

By the way I have of course discussed with my doctor who is wonderful, but I find she seems to kind of forget I have this issue- she has been working with me on the weight loss and just tells me to exercise "as much as I can". When I tell her it pains me she will say "do what you can". I guess I am wanting some more specific thoughts

Replies

  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Gentle yoga or Pilates? Swimming? Aquarobics? Pool running? Maybe recumbent (seated) stationary bike or actual recumbent bike?

    You've listed exercises that will stress that part of your body. The ones above should either stretch it out gently or support it so it doesn't have to do the work.
  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,406 Member
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    I had a nerve pain once that ran down my lower back and right leg. Yoga stretches helped get rid of it. The stretch that helped me most was placing my right ankle above my left knee grasping below that knee with both hands and pulling.
  • jenlo1971
    jenlo1971 Posts: 49 Member
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    I actually do this stretch as part of my cool down and it hurts like heck. I have thought of yoga-honestly I just feel as if I will get fit quicker doing other sorts of exercises. The only yoga did I have is from p90x which is like 90 minutes long and nobody's got the time for that- at least not me. If anyone has any good suggestions of yoga DVDs I'd be willing to try.

    I would love to do swimming- but I live in the middle of nowhere and have no access to a pool. I think the bike thing would be very hard for me as sitting really aggravates my pain- unfortunately I spend most of my 8 hours a day sitting.
  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
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    Have you tried searching the video archive for "yoga" on fitnessblender.com? A lot of the advice I found online suggested that with sufficient stretching and proper form, walking can switch from torture to really good for lumbar/sciatic pain.
  • njitaliana
    njitaliana Posts: 814 Member
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    Try looking for videos of low back physical therapy exercises. There are a lot that should help.
  • FMiller340
    FMiller340 Posts: 1 Member
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    I have some intermittent mild sciatica. I think you might be able to row for cardio, if you paid attention to your form and did not go too far forward with your knees bent.
  • SusanDLP
    SusanDLP Posts: 36 Member
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    Look up piriformis stretch on youtube. It can be effective at alleviating pain.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
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    What is the cause of you pain, sciatica is a symptom, not an injury.
  • Lofteren
    Lofteren Posts: 960 Member
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    Your doctor sucks. If you continually bring it up they should send you to a specialist to have it looked into. Sciatic nerve pain can be from something as simple as a tight Piriformis muscle or from something as bad as a lumbar radiculopathy. You NEED to find out what is causing it before you begin exercising at all. Request to see a Neurologist and have an NCS/EMG and an MRI of the lumbar spine. Once you know what the problem is you can put together a plan to treat it. Until then you cannot possibly know how to get better because you don't even know what the problem is.
  • maggiesheehe
    maggiesheehe Posts: 3
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    chiropractor and also before you get out of bed on the morning stretch you legs ex. knee to chin , legs to side, bicycle kicks etc.
    this is what my chiropractor had me do on top of treatment worked well
  • jenlo1971
    jenlo1971 Posts: 49 Member
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    I really don't know what the cause of it is. My dr. Did send me to an orthopedic dr. Whom quite frankly I disliked. He would not do an mri until I had a course of steroids and 1 month of pt. at that point my pain level was a 10. I was barely functional and that was only because of opiates. However I did as he said and by the time my follow up appt rolled around I was completely pain free. I had been getting flack for taking off work so I cancelled the follow up and within a week the pain returned although not at anywhere near the same level. The ortho did tell me he was fairly certain it was a herniated disc. I have muddled along for the past 5 months taking Celebrex and gabapentin.

    Thanks for all the above advice. I did a YouTube search and found some stretches and did them. I will also make an appt with a chiro in the next couple of weeks. If all that fails I will start the process over and get a new referral from my dr.
  • veganbettie
    veganbettie Posts: 701 Member
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    I have a really bad issue with my sciatica as well, went to the doctor and she noticed that my hamstrings were suuuuper tight, and now I notice that whenever I have issues, that's the problem, so if i'm stretching often I don't generally have issues. I work at a desk all day long so i'm assuming that doesn't help.

    I would go to a PT, they will show you the best ways to manage it.
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
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    Lofteren wrote: »
    Your doctor sucks. If you continually bring it up they should send you to a specialist to have it looked into. Sciatic nerve pain can be from something as simple as a tight Piriformis muscle or from something as bad as a lumbar radiculopathy. You NEED to find out what is causing it before you begin exercising at all. Request to see a Neurologist and have an NCS/EMG and an MRI of the lumbar spine. Once you know what the problem is you can put together a plan to treat it. Until then you cannot possibly know how to get better because you don't even know what the problem is.

    ^^

  • fittocycle
    fittocycle Posts: 825 Member
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    I had severe sciatica pain due to two herniated discs a few years ago. It hurt so badly to get up out of a chair. And it hurt to sit, stand, etc, you get the picture. About the only thing I could do was walk and ride the spin bike at the gym for short periods of time.

    What helped was ice. I'd put an ice pack on my low back for about 20 minutes at a time to reduce the inflammation. Stretching the hamstrings also helped. I saw a chiropractor who I credit with giving me a mostly pain free life again.

    Keep in mind that you have to figure out what works best for you. Some people might do well with swimming, others do not. Some are fine biking but others find it makes it worse. As you already know, it takes time to heal and lots of patience. Be good to yourself and give your body the time it needs to recover. :)
  • ilovecereal1982
    ilovecereal1982 Posts: 1,194 Member
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    P90x3 has a 30 minute yoga program!!!
  • amsmithatc33
    amsmithatc33 Posts: 27 Member
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    Look up McKenzie exercises for the low back. I have used these for years and find them to help quite a bit. Also, find a good chiropractor!

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