Sciatic Sufferers: Update

A little over a week ago I was moving a bush hog and twisted My back. So far my back is OK but my sciatic nerve in my leg has been quite painful, especially behind my knee down into my calf. Anybody have suggestions on how to get relief from this?

A friend of mine swears by those upside down hanging machines

I wonder if I stop by the park and skin a cat on the monkey bars would work?

Good chiropractor and lots of walking.

When you walk, use 2 hiking sticks to help maintain your balance. I learned this from my health care professional. It does help. I like the adjustable hiking sticks.

Swimming is also another great way to exercise.

Stretching, anti inflammatory meds and light exercise like walking. I too suffer from it time to time.

I just keep on keeping on and it usually works its self out

Some times I'll go for a ride on the yz ...... adrenaline and Moto therapy usually correct it


Also If I wake up in the middle of the night I will do some twisting and stretching when my muscles in my back are the most relaxed.

I also have a teeter inversion table


I'm 6'5" and have lower back issues . These things have worked for me . Laying on the couch , eating chips won't work .

I bought a pair of those ( granola tree hugger sticks I call em ) to use in rough terrain when packing out elk quarters......makes a big difference

Laying down is the worst. If I could sleep standing up I would.

muscle relaxers are the only relief i can get.only takes 2.been through it a half dozen times with workin in the flagstone quarries.

I have no disc in the L5 and had a pinched nerve. As I have said before I have without pain for a couple years now. I had no operation. I split wood and cut wood do carpentry and home inspection. I went to a acupuncturist and in three visits I could walk and my sciatica was gone. That’s my advice acupuncturist

Being high didn’t help? Cause you must be high to let somebody stick pins in you. lol

You definitely have my sympathy.

Can you get relief in a recliner ?

Find a good chiropractor usually one visit for me.

If you get to the point where you can’t walk and can’t feel your legs and the sciatica nerve is constantly throbbing from your butt to your ankle. Then pain has you curled up in the fetal position and dry heaving. Then the pain gets worse like someone taking a knife and driving into your bones. Those little needles are nothing and only one out of the 32 she put in hurt.

I just got over a bad case of if . I was out of work for a month X-rays mri four different drugs before I got some relief. Got so bad had to go to the ER for two shots of of narcotics because I could not walk.met with a specialist and ordered injections in my back but now on the mend. Like others have already said get in touch with your Dr and work on your core exercises to help strengthen. Also might want to look into physical therapy it’s help me a lot.

I don’t know, I’m not that affluent.

Just got over 6 weeks worth. Cut wood all winter and no problems. Reached over a table to get a plate out of a microwave and saw stars. Had to roll out of bed A few days of that and it burned like fire and went down my left leg, which I thought was terrible for a whole day til it hit my left testicle for 3 days, when that stopped just good old feeling like I was dying wasn't so bad. I was really considering the pig castrator. You may think you won't lift or push on bush hog anymore but next time you may just tie a shoe and its got you. Bone crackers can do wonders sometime, I only had one that I trusted and liked and she died. She wouldn't string me out for weeks at a time to run up a bill. Once I would get better she would tell me not to come back.

I slept in my chair a couple weeks, if you find a fix tell us!

I had 6 shots in my back they worked for anywhere from 3-6 months. Have been to your doctors yet. When your disc ruptures you get a chemical reaction with your nerves from the disc material against your spinal cord. It’s a whole new meaning to pain. I hope you don’t have a ruptured disc.

I read somewhere that lazyboy recliners are bad for your back.

One thing that did give me a little relief was to roll up a towel and lay on the floor on your back. Knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Put the rolled up towel underneath the small. Of the back and stay there for a while.

They might be bad for your back, but they are life savers when you have heartburn or post nasal drip to stop the coughing.

Back is good. Just a little soreness between the tail bone and hip. Like a pulled muscle.

No more heavy lifting, muscle relaxers and painkillers if you can get any, try to get some sleep. If it doesnt resolve withing a few months you might need to consider more seriouse treatments like burning nerve roots, or cortisone injections. If you smoke or chew stop! It definitely makes a difference.

So much for the monkey bars, they don’t have them at the park anymore. Gonna have to rig something up in the barn.

Pain from your tailbone to your hip. Center of hip to the top of the femur maybe? When you walk on that side, do your toes go outboard a bit? Your piriformis muscle goes from the center of the hip to the top of the femur & across that sciatic nerve. You can stretch or "release" it with a lacross ball or something similar. Applying direct pressure, not on that nerve, laying down or standing in a doorway. It will be painful on that muscle, hold it till the muscle pain subsides or you just make it "angry". 2 minutes or so. Stay of the nerve. Google it & good luck!

Wow, yes it does.

Finster would know nothing about this, but sex is a great way to cure sciatica.

Here is a video with Doc releasing that piriformas muscle. Did I mention it was painful? LOL!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUV9vQ4tv90

Already learned that, it’s about the only thing keeping me going. For the record, I don’t think it cures it but it sure does take your mind off of it for a while.

Been dealing with it for years. Lay on the side of the bed with the effected leg hanging off the edge. repeat for 5-10 minutes 3-4 times a day. Another thing is lay flat on your back with both knees raised and place your hands between your knees and squeeze your legs together. All the while pushing out with your arms. If you feel a pop it is instant relieve !!!!!!!!!!!

I got hit with my first major bout back in early Feb. I was laying laminate flooring and just reached to align a piece of flooring and it hit me. I was stubborn for a week and didn’t seek any assistance. I talked with a PT friend a she gave me some stretches to try and in about 3 days I was pain free, but still had some numbness in my toes. I stretched religiously until a the end of May and bam I bent over to tie my work boots and it hit me again. Not as bad as the original bout but still bad. I resumed stretching and in a few days I was good to go. I continue to stretch and my wife bought me one of those pillows that go between your legs to maintain alignment while I sleep. I made fun of it at first but really feel it is of benefit.

Yes, sex can certainly cure sciatica. But what about a sciatica remedy for married guys?

Every 8 weeks I get multiple bilateral injections into my spine. The first week I am sick from the medicine. Then have 5 weeks of relief followed by 2 weeks of agony.

Repeat unless the insurance fouls up the approval process.

A good Chiropractor. And a dose of prednesone steroids from your health practitioner. May help.
I had a trouble finding a new chiropractor this month. My old one retired. The first guy I tried just about killed me Had to go to another one who was much better.

My wife’s aunt puts a bar of soap under her mattress. She has shone no improvement however.

A couple years ago I started with a slight back ache and it kept getting worse, then the sciatic nerve started giving me fits. After going to the chiropractor for a month it kept getting even worse so I went to my family doctor who sent me to a spine specialist and had an MRI done and found that I had a herniated disc, so after 5 months of excruciating pain I had back surgery to fix it. Woke up in the recovery room feeling like a new man. I told the wife that now I know how people who are In chronic pain commit suicide. The pain was so bad I couldn’t think

It can be very dangerous going to a chiropractor for a spine issue without thorough X-rays, mri, ctscan, and a mileogram.

I had it so bad 3 years ago, I was afraid to tell anyone at work for fear of being "out-placed" as they say.
I bought an expansive pair of Danner high top work boots and laced them up snug, and before very long the excruciating pain went away. I still have chronic, low grade pain in my lower back with some days worse than others, but no more sciatica.
Don't discount cheap or worn out footwear as a contributor to worsening back issues.

Find a chiropractor who is certified in the " activator technique ". Manual manipulation and sciatica don't mix. My L4, L5 and S1 are ruptured. Pain pills only cover up the pain... so you continue to do damage without knowing it. I was on a cocktail of morphine, oxycodone, soma, and valium for five years and my pain only got worse. Strengthening you core is the best... if it's not to late.

I have always sustained a pretty strong core, from farm work when I was young to school sports and hard labor (I wasn’t always as smart as I think I am) in my early years in the workforce. It’s probably the only reason I’m not crippled right now.

In the short term, a chiro is probably your best bet. Long term, yoga and core work are your friend.

2 wks since injury and no better so went to the doc.

Arthritis and bone spurs with a possible bulging disc. Yet my back doesn’t hurt but my leg hurts so bad I’m about ready to surrender it.

So are you going to go see a specialist? What did the doctor recommend

Right now, muscle relaxers and physical therapy. Got see another doc next week.

Some good news, the bush hog is repaired. lol

Learn how to do some stretching, and strengthen your core (abs, back, glute) muscles. I had L5 removed 27 years ago, dealt with a year or so of sciatic pain after that. Got on a stretching/exercise routine and am 100% pain free. It will not likely go away on it's own.

This ^. About 6 years ago I had it so bad I was crawling to get around. I went a bone crusher and when he was done I walked out of there and never had anothah pain or a sign of it again.
I wouldn't of believed it if I hadn't lived it.

My mom was put in traction. Could only get out for bed for bathroom calls. She had it for 15 years and one day it was gone. She bad back surgery in her 80s. Lived to 100.

I had bad joint pain at one point. Went to the Doc and meds would relieve it, but it wasn’t until I went to rehab and completed it and lost weight did it ever truly go away. Stretching, walking, and believe it or not weightlifting, has kept it from coming back...five years pain free. I never considered it pain, more like a deep ache you could never get rid of, a constant no rest type of ache.

Since most of the pain is in my calf muscle the doc sent me for an ultrasound to check for blood clots. Negative, so now on to an MRI in a week.

Taking a muscle relaxer and some Advil. I am rethinking my decision to pass on the pain meds. Hopefully I’ll soon get some relief with exercises.

If we are taking bets I am thinking Ruptured disc and chemical irritation of the nerve

May I inquire as to the specifics that lead to your wager?

Just my two cents. sorry to offend you . carry on I wont chime in again

Whoa vermonster, I’m not offended, I seriously want to know if there was something specific that led you to think it is a ruptured disc.

That MRI is going to be fun. I know what an MRI is, unfortunately. Mine was for my head.

Sounds much like my story. The MRI will show a lot of stuff, Many insurance company's make you jump through several hoops before they will authorize payment for one.

It’s a bulging disc, L4, L5. Doc is sending the images to Neurosurgeon for a recommendation.

Physical Therapy ordered until they get back to her.

Hopefully the pt helps.

Another thing that will help is not sitting on your wallet. I know it has helped my back pain tremendously.

Mild calf stretches several times a day may help.

I had an appointment this morning with an Orthopedic Surgeon. He discussed a T12 Wedge Deformity shown on an X-ray of my back. He said it was an old injury; that it could be corrected with disc fusion. He advised against disc fusion because of my age (88). His suggestion was back strengthening exercises, either formal Physical Therapy or similar exercises at home. I chose the latter; to come to him for cortisone shots if absolutely necessary.

The best advice I ever got:. Stop doing stuff that hurts your back. I had L5-S1 discectomy 10 years ago. Felt like a new man for about 3-4 years doing full-time construction work, ranging from concrete flat work to framing/finishing residential and commercial buildings. At the end of year 4, I was thinking I might need a fusion surgery. Instead, I found a career path requiring minimal physical labor and the last year or so has been, pretty much, pain free. Unless you have a ruptured disc, try to baby that thing back to normal, work on strengthening your core (belly muscle) and quit doing stupid stuff! Avoid surgery if you can, but it's not the end of the world if you have a good surgeon.

Sending information to the neurosurgeon is like asking a barber if you need a haircut.

Truth. lol

If that surgeon recommends fusion surgery get at least 2 more opinions from other surgeons. Some surgeons are crazy and are all too willing to cut you up. If they recommend fusion that probably the way to go. I bet they will not unless its a severe rupture or the spine is structurally compromised.

I feel for you. My wife has been dealing with that since February. Her pelvis was out of alignment and she has a bulging disc as well. She's been through steroid packs, muscle relaxers, physical therapy and chiro. She's getting better finally. Just today she went in for a cortisone shot in the spine. Her chiro had her get a back brace from Walgreens about a month ago. She said that really helped too.
Hoping she gets some relief from the shot. Hopefully you can get it taken care of reasonably quick. If it weren't for the covid stuff going on I dont think she'd be still dealing with it.

It’s getting ridiculous. The first 2 weeks after the injury the only pain I had was in my lower leg the exception being rolling out of bed which sent a bolt of pain from hip to foot. The past week it has been all over the place. I’m a walking zombie because I can’t sleep standing up. lol

4 weeks today and I am getting a little pain in my back but nothing like what was going on in my lower leg.

lol

I had 2 bulging discs 20 years ago. L3- L4 I believe. The MRI looked bad....anyone could look at it and see there was a problem. The pain down my leg and butt was really bad . I lost a lot of weight, 80 pounds. Over the next 12 months, my back gradually healed up itself.

I’m hoping for that but sooner than 12 months.

I do feel for you hobbietrapper with your sciatic nerve. Some chiropractors are reopening again.

Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt. Pain don’t hurt.

I had bad back trouble. For years. Took two surgeries to fix it. civilian hospital I went t o for the first one made things worse. Limped around for several years and finally the V.A. fixed it. Had the surgery done in Leavenworth. Dr's name was Dahlenberger. He gave me my life back and I am grateful. I get to hurting sometimes now but not my back hips and legs. Its only in my lower back. 3-4 times a year I take 6-8 ibuprofen then 4 at a time for 3-4 days. So far 3-4 days gets the inflammation back down and I am good again. I avoid picking up anything heavy now and when I cant get out of it I am very careful.

PS that Dr has a private practice too in the KC area. He i s kinda funny looking with big thick glasses. He is also very good at orthopedic surgery if that is the route you decide on. Without going into all the sordid details the dr' s kept saying working on me was not worth the risk of paralyzing me. I was eating hydrocodone (vicoden) like candy and still got to where I dreaded going to the bathroom. I decided I wasn't living I was going to die. Wife called the VA and they put me on morphine. Few months later Dr Dahlenberger did the surgery.

Choose your DR carefully if you decide on surgery

Thanks Danny.

I’ve heard plenty of horror stories about back surgeries so I’m holding out hope that I won’t need it.

I’m certain not sleeping isn’t helping and I’m not sure the exercises are either. lol Feels like that is just moving the location of pain around.

My wife had the cortisone shot Thursday afternoon. Took all of about 10 minutes. She's been up moving around and said the only pain she's feeling is at the injection site. Hoping she stays that way. Shes scheduled to go back for another in 2 weeks. Plus her chiro is going to start doing traction.

PT yesterday and I hurt more than before I went in. lol

PT will do that initially, but before long you'll start to feel better. Fingers crossed!

If you don't have a ruptured disc, getting an inversion table will save you a lot in chiropractor bills. I can't go all the way upside down like they show but you don't have to go that far to get the benefits. If I feel something starting in on my back I hit the table and it takes care of it. I usually do it once or twice a week for ten minutes or so to keep it in form.

Second night in a row undisturbed sleep!

Saw the Neuro Surgeon yesterday, got some good news. My optimism is growing daily. lol

Good deal. I had one bout with sciatic pain about 8 years ago. Never believed how intense pain could be until those 3 weeks of my life. Brought me to my knees daily for hours at a time. Chiropractor stated the best cure(in my case) was time and sure enough that is what did it along with not being stupid about lifting heavy items with poor technique! Hopefully you have turned the corner HobbieTrapper!

Chris

I have the Doctors appointment on Monday.

I thought " Laying on the couch , eating chips" would work if you wash them down with Pepsi.