Sciatica and how to deal with it ?

What has your doctor suggested?

I am surprised your doctor didn't give you any exercise suggestions. Well i guess the list of suggestions people give here won't end up being duplicates

A great osteopath helped me. Both the manipulation and also advice about rehab exercises which were mainly working on progressively improving core muscle strength.
Yoga, pilates, stretching may help.

I'm very much against stopping exercise as when you lose strength and your muscles atrophy you have less support for your spine.
I'm also against pain killers outside of a major acute episode (ibuprofen isn't a pain killer by the way) as they can mask the problem. Pain is a good guide as to what you should / should not be doing!

Losing weight also helped to a smaller degree (reduction in vertical spinal compression). I also have to avoid very large vertical compression loads as I have very reduced lumbar disc height.

Definitely stretching!!!! I've had sciatica & tight back muscles for over a year but just put up with it until I could no longer stand for long without fidgeting from one leg to the other (like a dancing flamingo lol).

I didn't want to keep taking pills forever so I finally got an appointment with the hospital who advised to keep on moving! He said I was doing all the right things with working out etc but with all the strenuous working out I do I don't stretch enough to compensate it. He did some tests and seemed to know what he was talking about so I tootled off and started stretching after EVERY workout but for a count of 30 seconds on each stretch. I particularly love 'Pigeon Pose'. It helped to relieve pressure from the back/upper buttock and really stretch it out as well as being very relaxing.

I feel your pain and although I have can tend to be a little lax with stretching now I feel better it's still in the back of my mind to do it.

I hope this helps a little x

Sciatica is a painful chronic condition.
If you are taking Ibuprofen make sure you take them with food or milk. (Never on an empty stomach). And yes, taking the medication every six hours, regularly, is better, than every now and than.
Stretching is excellent as is gentle movement.
Keeping still is probably the worst thing for Sciatica.
Wheat packs, hot showers and physiotherapists are all helpful.
And weight loss really does reduce the episodes and severity of Sciatica. ( I can testify from personal experience).
Good luck.

Mine has all but cleared up now I'm 60lbs lighter but to echo others, exercising to keep everything strong and supported, keeping moving, stretching and (not nearly regularly enough) foam rolling or releasing with one of those spikey balls.

I used to basically collapse on my legs if it pinched in a particular way, haven't had that happen since I don't know when. So I hope you find solutions because it is awful to live with.

RunRutheeRun wrote: »

A friend sent me this link a while back for a stretching workout for hips, maybe this might help https]

I just watched the video, and those are pretty much the same things that I did at physical therapy for my hip issues. That's a good one for anyone really. I also go to a chiropractor once a month which helps also. She gave me exercises to do at home also. Good luck to all!!

Hot yoga helped get rid of my sciatica thank goodness. That thing was a nightmare. I just signed up for a full month (the beginner pricing) and it worked like magic. Haven't gone back to hot yoga because it's freaking expensive, but it did help.

I've suffered with sciatica off and on for years. Sometimes it just flares up in the middle of the night. Being as active as possible helps in the long term. For short term relief I do specific yoga poses that help. Here's a link to some of the poses:

https://yogainternational.com/article/view/7-poses-to-soothe-sciatica



Also a great YouTube video by Adriene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5h0jkoBFbI

If I must resort to medication, my doctor recommended taking both ibuprofen and tylenol together. I rarely do but that combo works better for me than either of them alone. I never do this longer than 1-2 days anyway.

You might also consider getting a TENS unit (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation). When mine is at its worst the TENS will knock out the pain nearly 100% within a day. I bought mine from my chiropractor for a ridiculous amount, but you can get a decent one on Amazon for under $30. I now own 2 of them so the husband and I don't fight over who gets it after a long hike.

I agree with others about seeing a physio!

I also get that pain sometimes. It seems to have disappeared since I stopped running though - that seemed to set it off quite badly. Working on posture/core strength seemed to help me too.

There are stretches you can do to relieve it. I'm quite a fan of "Pigeon Pose" - it's a yoga pose that really stretches that area nicely.

I had it for 3 weeks earlier this year and was going to physical therapy and doing the exercises she gave me at home. What did it for me was a massage. It hurt some while she massaged my painful areas, but the next day, the sciatica pain was gone and hasn't come back since.

Sciatic nerve flossing is a miracle. The idea is that you floss the nerve back-and-forth in the nerve sheath, reducing “stickiness” and improving lubrication. YOU DON’T STRETCH IT! You floss it. The exercise is very simple, and there’s really not a lot that can go wrong—unless you stretch rather than floss. Here’s a link to a chiropractor who does it right (plus he’s British, so you get the added bonus of the adorable accent). It seems wrong when you first start doing this because we are so tuned in to stretching, and it feels like you aren’t doing anything. But you are! Blessings.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OMbKv94Bu_U

Also, I Googled a bit, SPD can result in worsen sacroiliac joint problems. Does the OP sit a lot? This is also not helpful for the SI joint.

Again, please see a medical professional. Best of luck.

MrsSpareski wrote: »

I would seek help from a physio. It may be your sacroilliac joint causing you the pain rather than the sciatic nerve, and they can present with similar pain (especially if it’s something that originated when you were pregnant, as hormonal changes when pregnant can affect these joints). A good physio will be able to diagnose the issue and give you specific exercises to both help during flare ups and keep future ones at bay. Hope you get it sorted!

That or your piriformis muscle.