Any of you guys / gals suffer with sciatica? If so, what do you do to relieve the pain? I twisted my lower back about a week ago which resulted in some extremely painful sciatica. Urgent care gave me a scrip for prednisone for nerve inflammation and I had 1 session with the chiropractor. So far still hurtin'. Just getting ready to string some steel once deer season ends but now I'm not so sure. Any suggestions would sure be appreciated!

Never had a back problem until 4 weeks ago then sciatic. Biggest problem for me was not getting more than an hour sleep at one time. Family doc gave me a script for oxy. I decided not to go that route. For sleeping I found on the opposite side of the pain in fetal position with a pillow between legs. Cold compress helped me. Time will heal. Not much help but good luck.

Stretch, stretch and stretch. Advil. Dr is probably going to prescribe Gabapentin. Take it so you can sleep.

Practice the”No BLT”, even the days you start feeling better, a minimum 6 months starting when you feel normal. If you don’t, you will suffer setbacks.

Im

Streching really helped me. I could not get out of bed after 4 or 5 attempts I would make it. Sometimes... after streching i got so i could roll over and even get up slowly and even walk with two walking sticks. In w few days i was taking a stick as a precaution. Today no stick so far just watching how i move. Untill i forget then i get a painfull reminder.

I rank sciatica, had it once, right there with gout and kidney stones. Hanging upside down on one of those tables did more for mine than anything...d2

Stretch and a good Chiropractor. Just about every outdoorsman that I know over 50 has some sort of back issue.

Get a diagnosis from a surgeon. Get a scan and get to root of problem. I had bone spurs removed and am now pain free. Just a few hoops to jump through. No easy way out.

As everyone stated, stretching is key. Its the only way to relieve mine other than powerful drugs that I won't use. Sciatica ruined my professional golf career....

Been layed up with a bad back for five months or more. Nothing has helped me yet.

I've have spondylolisthesis, which is a lower back issue. One of the side effects is sciatica. In 06, I went thru a summer from (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman). I found the sciatica to be way more irritating than the back pain itself. There is no way to get comfortable to ease the irritation. I was given different pain meds, but none of them did a thing for me except make me feel loopy, which I didnt like. Two steroid injections in my lower back did nothing either. Finally my Dr sent me to a surgeon. The surgeon was booked out 1 1/2 months and in the mean time my back and leg pain was almost normal again. I finally saw the surgeon and he recommended another steroid injection when my back goes out again. I told him I already had two different injections with no results. He said this time he will order the shot to be given in a different spot. Fast forward a month or so when my back and leg pain showed up again. I went to get the injection, they asked me if I wanted to be put under. I laughed and said I already had 2 injections and never felt the needle since they always numb the area. A little Asian Dr comes in and says your going to feel a little pressure. Holy balls, I never felt pain like that in my life. He must have hit the bullseye dead center on a nerve. I could feel the pain all of the way to my toes, I would have sworn my foot lit up like a flashlight. Then he said one more time!! As painful as that ordeal was, it worked like a charm. I could immediately see a difference in the recovery room as the medication wore off. Fast forward 15 yrs later and my back and leg pain is virtually nonexistent. On paper, my lower back is shot. In reality I feel normal and I'm not limited in anything I do. I work construction, cut wood, etc and everything else the rest us "real men" do. I do try and stay limber, I generally run couple miles every morning, but lately I'm slipping a bit as winter is creeping into the area. But I've been cutting firewood for the past week so I feel its a trade-off. I'm a believer is the steroid injection 100%, IF they put it in the correct spot. Again, my first two infections were a waste of time and money. Ask for the painful one

Heck I woke up with it about three days ago. I don't even know what kicked it off. Price of getting old I guess. Rice bag and some easy stretching, little ibuprofen and hopefully be good to go in a couple of days.

No. The Gabapentin is for nerve pain. It will allow you to sleep, It doesn’t put you to sleep.

Yes, be mindful of the side affects. I’ve only experienced “the spin” once. It’s a pain med that has virtually zero impairment. I’ve taken as much as 600mg three times a day. When I no longer needed it, I just stopped taking it with no ill affects or craving.

Sit-ups with knees bent. Teeter inversion table. I went through years of lower back pain. Degenerate disk disease.
When I start to feel the tightness I put my toes under the couch with my but as close to my heels as possible cross my arms across my chest tuck my chin and fall back stopping the fall just before my shoulders hit the floor I can feel and hear five or six vertebrae pop back where they belong then a dozen regular sit ups pain is gone and away I go.

A nerosurgeon is who told me about the sit-ups. The abdominal muscles are the “gye-wires” for the spine

Thank you for all the advice guys. I'm definitely going to give some of these ideas a try particularly the stretching / exercise /chiropractor route. Not a big fan of needles or prescription pain meds. Thanks again everybody!

I had a case of it so bad I had to keep my mouth shut in order to keep my job.
Since my back was so stoved up, I left my boot laces on my cheap work boots loose so that I didn't have to bend over to tie them.
On a whim, I broke down and bought some high dollar, high top Danner boots and laced them up tight every time.
It wasn't a week later when the sciatica went away. My back is still jacked up, but I don't cry real tears every time I move. Life is good.

Just a heads-up, my sciatica problems started about 25 years ago when pulling trap stakes out while bent over then straighten up pulling with my back.
I learned my lesson the hard way and use drags when possible.

Chiropractor and biofreeze helps me a lot. The biofreeze can get at wally world.

I had a bout a few yrs back, mid 30s. MRI showed bulging discs. Tuffed it out about 3 yrs before I went for steroid injections. It started one day pulling trap stakes out of a hard creekbed. I had a lightning strike feeling down back and legs. Thought I hit an underground powerline. What really helped me after the shots was 1: not lifting stupid amounts of stuff on the farm 2: keep good cushioned seats on equipment 3: walking keeps me loose.

yes 4 full ruptures to initially get the pressure off traction a few times , they hook you up to a winch and pull you apart with 1/2 your body weight.

walking 20 minutes a day on the tread mill 3% incline minimum , warms you up stretches you out , then stretching

this is going to sound strange , best thing I did was start standing I work a desk job and am active when not at my desk but that is my time and not the 40-50 hours a week at my desk

I have a stool for when I need to set down but stand most of the time

it builds the core muscles

more muscle = less reliance on the disks to support the bone structure = less pinched nerves

build the core muscles and enjoy so much less pain , there are still days but they are days and not weeks

stretch and keep warm that might mean you stay close to sweating all day

there are ball excersizes you can do to build core once you stop hurting.

Back your butt up to a table of anything butt high.
Cross your arms ,keep legs straight up n down and start leaning backwards (slowly) bit at a time.
It may hurt bad at first but keep on. Really stretches the back.
I discovered this on my own when mine flaired up.