Replies

I specialize in back pain. We have no doctor patient relationship, but here is my advice that you should do today...and then follow up on tomorrow.

Ordinarily, seeing a doctor is helpful, but not in the case of back pain where most doctors are clueless, plus since you’re seeing a PT, and getting meds, it means you’ve seen a doctor. Doctor’s treating back pain are great in getting you to “feel” better, but not getting you better.

I doubt that you have true sciatica....so here’s something to think about...

By far, most back pain is mechanical in origin, not muscular, not inflammatory. The fact that whomever is treating you with pills is clear, that they have you miss diagnosed.

Assuming they’ve ruled out the red flags of your pain, eg fracture, cancer, metabolic, neuromuscular etc, then it’s a good bet that you are suffering from a “derangement” of your disk.

I WOULD STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT YOU GO TO THE MCKENZIE INSTITUTE OF NORTH AMERICA WEB SITE, AND FIND A DIPLOMAED THERAPIST IN YOUR AREA, THEN TRANSFER YOUR THERAPY THERE.

In the meantime, today, try lying prone, (ie face down on your belly), on the floor for several minutes, and see if that immediately alleviates your leg pain. If it does, then rise up on your elbows, as if you’re watching tv...

If after a few minutes your pain in your leg subsides, and moves into the middle of your back then you’re half way there, and it shows that your problem is in the disk.

The next step would be to do a press up, extending your arms and rising up from the waist up. Some people call this a girl’s push up. Do about five of these, then resume a prone position and see how you feel.

If your pain does not go away or gets worse, then stop these positions, and see the McKenzie therapist in your area. You can go to the private messaging on this forum, and I can tell you more.