Posted on 01/19/2025 10:12:59 AM PST by God luvs America
Does anyone have any treatments for sciatica or any recommendations? I have it awful!!
Little background- i trained for the Olympics for 10 years (decathlon) and still workout daily, an hour and a half to two hours. A lot of running, swimming, weightlifting. I'm in good shape- great shape for my age.
I've had a problem with my left hip which has morphed into sciatica the past six months. It was initially annoying but now its almost debilitating. Had to stop three times on my run this morning.
Severe pain is in the lower half of my butt check through my hamstring. Calf and a achillies a bit tight but nothing bad.
Thanks
Most MD's don't have much respect for Osteopaths and Chiropractors.
I prefer Osteopaths to MD's. The Osteopaths don't over medicate and they will listen. Most of them don't suffer from over ego.
I am 77 and take no prescription meds. I can only remember one year that I met my deductible for Medicare. Normally I go to the doctor once every 2-3 years.
Turns out two of my disks were bulging putting pressure on the sciatic nerve. I tried exercise, stretching, meds and cortisone. The only thing that worked was lumbar laminectomy with microdiskectomy. You can see an animation of the procedure online. I’m now extremely careful with my back. If I can’t lift it with two fingers, then I don’t lift it.
Exactly my experience too. 14 years after the surgery I'm still pain free, I just don't do any lifting.
“still workout daily, an hour and a half to two hours”
Cut that in half for 2-3 weeks and no running or weights.
Walk and bike only. Maybe a few curls and bench presses, but no lunges, squats or dead lifts.
I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night...
yes, but only on tv
I’m 75, overweight, and have debilitating sciatic pain in my right thigh, that radiates down to my ankles. In my case it was determined to be caused by bulging discs in my lower back. I take percocet on a scheduled basis. But what really helps is to get spinal injections of a steroid such as cortisone. Unfortunately, these are allowed only once every 3 months or so. If I don’t suffer any new falls between injections, the pills help. But if I fall and have to pull myself up, it triggers sciatic pain about 2 to 3 days after falling. And I don’t wish that pain on anyone. My pain management doctor says that spinal surgery “may” permanently solve my problem. Bu5, the chance of success is only 60% or so. In my state, only a pain management doctor is allowed to routinely prescribe opiods.
I use a thc/cbd rub...supposedly it doesn’t enter your bloodstream so you don’t get high...expensive but it works
Had it once. Very painful. Got an MRI...orthopedists says my disc was not herniated but “pooching” out a bit.
Ordered physical therapy by someone who knows how to build up core strength. I didn’t do that. So far so good. No recurrence. Orthopedist told me no surgery unless I have to crawl into his office. Get your personal m.d. to order an MRI...you need to see where and how far the tissue has gone out of whack. Then you can get going on optimal therapy...whatever will not make it worse. Best wishes....it really hurts and needs optimal care.
I went through a bank of shots, just last week had the nerves ablated...so far so good
I can tell you from painful experience physical therapy exercises really work.
I continue to do mine.
Especially if you’ve never had PT, have your doc set you up with someone ir have your doc give you a list of appropriate exercises with descriptions of how the exercuses should be done and how often.
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I had sciatica twice. First time I moved my wallet to my front pocket from the back one. Second time I had injections from a spinal doctor. One time and within a week it was all gone. Good for 10 years now.
I think excess retinol can cause it. Skim milk has retinol supplements. Some brands of fruit juice and multivitamins also have it.
I have had it a few times over the years. Had it for about six months last year. The only thing that fixed it was time.
That was fortunate. The same thing happened to my wife a couple of years ago. She had part of the kidney removed and her yearly follow-ups have shown that the cancer was successfully removed.
I had very bad sciatica. It was due to impingement of surrounding tissues on a nerve. The basic problem was corrected surgically, but the pain continued because of damage to the nerve. Acupuncture abolished the pain after three treatments. It never recurred.
Definitely invest in a TENS unit! I have sciatica pain & the most effective way to ease the pain is with my TENS. I can’t imagine what I would do without it.
Inversion table. No need for the expensive Teeter version. Under $200 on Amazon and solidly built.
You are right. Sciatica is not a hip problem, it’s a lower back problem.
It had it 40 years ago. The pain going from laying down to sitting up or standing up was excruciating.
Back stretching and an anti-inflammatory medication should help a lot. If a person wants to use a heating pad it should be on the lower back.
It could take several weeks to several months until full recovery.
The pain in your buttock is from your sciatic nerve in your lower back. The problem is not in your hip.
Sciatica is caused by “piriformis syndrome”, and it’s easy to cure.
Sit slumped and tilted on a tennis ball or handball. Place the ball under where your hip joint hurts. Roll around on the tennis ball for about five minutes twice daily. Add ice packs for pain relief. You’ll feel better in 7-10 days.
Why? Massage breaks up calcified collagen and shrinks the inflamed piriformis complex.
Sciatica and disk dislocation (L4-L5) are both symptoms of piriformis syndrome. The two-part piriformis muscle runs from the pelvis through the sciatic foramen (hole) to the top of the femur. The two-part sciatic nerve exits downward from the spinal column at L4-L5. It coils at the pelvis, and runs along the piriformis to the leg. The piriformis/sciatic complex is wrapped in collagen protein. As the complex rubs against the pelvis at the foramen it inflames, causing the piriformis to swell, and trap the sciatic nerve against the pelvis. Movement tugs on the upper or lower sciatic nerve, depending on the patient’s piriformis/sciatic configuration.
Humans evolved an upright gait from running into cold surf. The cold water shrank the piriformis enough that a larger sciatic opening was not needed.
I have spinal stenosis and degenerating disc. Got sciatica about a month ago. Pain was mainly on the left of my spine and especially my left hip. From there it traveled down to my thigh and even to my calf. I tried alternating cold and heat but it didn’t help much. Was using a walker to get around. Went to the doctor and he gave me a steroid shot in my hip and a methylprednisolone pak. That helped but did not totally alleviate the pain so I went back the next week. Got another Steroid shot and another pak and this time he prescribed a nerve drug gabapentin 300mg. I am much better. No more walker to get around. I will also start physical therapy this week and resume my treadmill walking. Found that Volteran gel really helps with the pain.
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