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.
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.
Inversion table. No need for the expensive Teeter version. Under $200 on Amazon and solidly built.
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.
Get an inversion table to decompress your spine.
You can get a good price on them off Craig’s list.
Sooner the better.
Essentially, it allows you to hang from your heels, head down. That allows a gentle pull on the joint sinews and bones of back and leg away from each other, rather than the usual pressure on the joints as in normal sitting or standing; or the torque on them when you lie down and toss about.
Actually, you can probably try this out with a long supporting board on your stairs, roping your feet at the top and letting your body stretch out downward on the board, just to kind of test out the effect. You might need a helper for this to get situated or to get up from it.
A primitive model of this inversion device was introduced by "Doc" Roy Ryland, a Physical therapy educator, to the scheme of treating back problems of athletes at University of Delaware. He applied the idea as chief trainer and therapist in charge of healing injured competitive athletes for several years. I heard him describe it and the benefitsbwhen he was brought in to address our company's monthly safety meetings.
A second useful trick you might try is one that Ryland mentioned when he addressed us, and that is for you to lay face sown prostrate full lenth on the floor, with your elbows at your side and hands flat on the floorby your head; then (keeping your hips down) raise your upper body on your forearms. Doing this makes your spine arch backward, thus relieving the muscles and the pressure on your vertebrae, and diminishing the lower back/sciatic forces that are causing pain. Staying up for a while allows your back to get some rest, and heal a bit. You won't want to do this al day, but it helps you ease off the disabling pain for a while.
Just a couple of thoughts to try out, not too difficult or expensive for you.
Also, you might try noddin your head from the vertical to the rear and back about five or ten times; then likwise forward and back; and likewise to the left shoulder, and finally to the right. Doing this regularly when convemient will ge your neck muscles stronger with better blood flow; and keep them that way. The point is to make your neck muscles strong enough to keep your upper vertabrae in line and not get/stay misaligned from normal use. That was suggested to me by a chiropractor, and seemed to work, keeping painful instances from happening.
No cost there, either.
My only advice is to make sure it’s sciatica. If you haven’t had an MRI to check further, be sure to ask your doctor for one.
They have several ways of treating.
sciatica exercises bob and brad
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sciatica+exercises+bob+and+brad