Anyone have a fix for Sciatica?

[caryc]

Anyone have anything that works for relief of sciatica pain? I've been dealing with it for a couple months now. Even just sitting in my lounge chair it aches at the back of my thigh. It's downright miserable. I had sciatica pain a couple years ago and My doctor gave me a one week dose of Prednisone and that knocked it out of me.

I got another dose of Prednisone almost two months ago but I'm still dealing with the pain. I finally got an appointment with my primary doctor for Monday. Hopefully he can help me. This is making my life miserable. I was just hoping maybe some of you guys know of something that relieves the pain.

I've tried Newtons Sciatica nerve pain relief but that doesn't seem to work any more. Also tried Magnilife back & leg pain relief. That's no good either. Also tried Diclofenac topical gel and that doesn't give any relief either.

 

[Jeepnik]

Yea, an MRI to find out what’s causing it. If it’s a muscle spasm then muscle relaxants and PT usually work in a bit

If it’s a disc problem it a whole other story. But medicating without identifying the cause is like wonder why your car with a leaky radiator keeps the engine cool only so long.

 

[eveled]

For me it was stretching. Most of the stretches I found were impossible positions for me to get into. I realized most involve getting my knee across the center line of my body. I found the stretch online.

7 Poses to Soothe Sciatica

These 7 simple poses target the tight muscle that often causes sciatic pain: the piriformis.

yogainternational.com

Scroll down to the standing twist.

Stand with the bad leg on a chair. With the knee against a wall. Come up onto you tip toes twist into the wall then when you drop down flat footed you feel relief. It was difficult.

Then I realized to do it kneeling down. I kneel infront of my couch. Try to put my butt cheek on the floor next to my leg. The oposite leg will want to slide out a little that’s ok. Remember the goal is to get the knee to cross the centerline. Not to actually touch your butt to the floor. If you feel pressure thats far enough. Just hold it there for a minute or so.

There is also a spot in my buttocks right at that dimple on the side. Apply pressure to that spot if it hurts like a mother then thats the right spot. Hold pressure on that spot of a minute or so. I make a fist and use my thumb and first knuckle. Or standing use a door knob.

None of this seems to help right away. About an hour later I’d feel the sciatic nerve release.

Good luck.

9 Sciatica Stretches to Ease Nerve Pain

The telltale symptoms of sciatic nerve pain are severe pain in your back, buttocks, and legs. The pain can be so excruciating that you don’t even want to leave the couch. But relief is possible. Try these 9 stretches for sciatic pain relief.

www.healthline.com

I found these. The one I do is most like #3

 

[SWR]

A very experienced and capable Chiropractor fixed my problem. Was identical to yours. Debilitating for me. Problem for me was a poorly formed joint in my lower back. Now I go back every few months for a maintenance visit and have had no further exceptional problems other than occasional soreness or stiffness.

 

[MADDOG 521]

Prednisone reduces inflammation. There is a lot to read about reducing inflammation. Diet is a good place to start.

 

[Busterswoodshop]

Prednisone helps , but is not good in the long term.
I was prescribed prednisone quit a bit years ago.
Now according to my doctors . the bone in my hip socket is dead and is getting no blood.
I now need a hip replacement. The doctors ( more than one of them ) said it was caused by the prednisone.

Depending how bad and what is causing the Sciatica problems , there are plenty of things that can be done.
Usually it is because of a herniated disc pushing on a nerve.
Different things help different people. Rest , exercise , walking , hanging upside down , surgery.
Medicine can help with the pain , but it doesn't cure the problem.
I do know if it is bad , it can be a long row to hoe.
I had to have the disc removed in 3 vertebrates and titanium cages put in my back to cure my Sciatica problems.

 

[woodsy]

I was instructed by my doc to touch my toes several times every day, ten cycles each time. Went away after a few months, and hasn't come back. Ten years ago.

 

[gunzo]

Not having a big fat wallet or other in your back pocket helps.

 

[KurtC]

Sitting in a lounge chair can make it worse.

Sciatica is usually caused by a herniated lumbar disc pushing against a nerve. Bending forward pushes the disc out even further.

An x-ray or MRI can determine which disc(s) are the problem. They can give you an epidural steroid injection between the disc and the nerve, which strengthens the tissue there. Works great. I had one a month ago. Previous one lasted 2 years.

Anything to decompress the spine will help. I sleep on my back with a small lumbar pad. Do pull ups (or just hang there).

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

I've dealt with Sciatica multiple times - each bout triggered by a different set of issues. [Note: at age 23 while in the USAF, I was repairing data cables that were strung from trees in the jungle in Northern Thailand. I was using tree-logger's gaffs to climb these trees. A rotten tree snapped while I was about 20' up that tree. I fell on my butt and wrist, and suffered a double-compound fractured wrist - a real 90-degree angle job. I suspect my sciatica issues originated with that accident.]

1. First sciatica bout occurred 20 years ago, when I was age 53 - a cyst had grown into a crack in my L4 vertebrae and was pressing against my spinal cord. [Interesting side note: during examination, the surgeon asked me to look "left" and then asked if I felt anything. "No." "Now?" "Still no." Then he told me to look at what he was doing. He was sticking a needle into my lower calf muscle. The sciatic nerve blockage was preventing me from feeling that needle.] An MRI revealed that a cyst was causing this issue and confirmed I required surgery to remove the cyst and plug the hole. The surgeon later told me that he also "cleaned up" discs between my L3, L4 and L5 vertebrae. Pain went away. But the surgeon warned, "You'll be back."

2. Sure enough, four years after #1, the sciatica pain re-emerged (at age 57) - After the obligatory MRI, surgeon recommended fusion of my L3-L4-L5-S1 vertebrae, which I had done. So now my lower spine is now like a stick fused to my hip bone. But the pain went away for 3 or 4 years.

3. At age 62, sciatica re-emerged. This time I started taking Aleve and also attacked my poor physical condition (5'9" and 225 lbs) by dieting - dropped down to 170. After the weight loss, I then started exercising, focusing on my core muscles: lots of crunches (difficult due to the vertebrae fusion in 2 above), planks, pushups, and twisting/turning/tilting exercises with cable weight machine (at the gym). And I continued taking a Naproxen tablet (aka Aleve) every morning and every evening. Viola - for the most recent 13 years I am pain-free: no further bouts of sciatica.

Since then, I've kept my weight at or below 170, work out at my gym at 5 am every weekday, and walk a mile at a brisk pace every morning. I'm age 73 now and resigned to continuing this regimen until old age finally gets me.

My theory behind the core muscle exercise regimen (which was validated by my doctors) is that my Sciatica was triggered by weak abdominal muscles. This weakness, compounded by my overweight condition, allowed my posture to slump and essentially allowed the sciatic nerves to "rattle around." Firming up my core muscles and taking the Aleve have collectively eliminated my Sciatica.

 

[Chief 101]

For me it was stretching. Most of the stretches I found were impossible positions for me to get into. I realized most involve getting my knee across the center line of my body. I found the stretch online.

7 Poses to Soothe Sciatica

These 7 simple poses target the tight muscle that often causes sciatic pain: the piriformis.

yogainternational.com

Scroll down to the standing twist.

Stand with the bad leg on a chair. With the knee against a wall. Come up onto you tip toes twist into the wall then when you drop down flat footed you feel relief. It was difficult.

Then I realized to do it kneeling down. I kneel infront of my couch. Try to put my butt cheek on the floor next to my leg. The oposite leg will want to slide out a little that’s ok. Remember the goal is to get the knee to cross the centerline. Not to actually touch your butt to the floor. If you feel pressure thats far enough. Just hold it there for a minute or so.

There is also a spot in my buttocks right at that dimple on the side. Apply pressure to that spot if it hurts like a mother then thats the right spot. Hold pressure on that spot of a minute or so. I make a fist and use my thumb and first knuckle. Or standing use a door knob.

None of this seems to help right away. About an hour later I’d feel the sciatic nerve release.

Good luck.

9 Sciatica Stretches to Ease Nerve Pain

The telltale symptoms of sciatic nerve pain are severe pain in your back, buttocks, and legs. The pain can be so excruciating that you don’t even want to leave the couch. But relief is possible. Try these 9 stretches for sciatic pain relief.

www.healthline.com

I found these. The one I do is most like #3

Get moving, use the tele for target practice...it hurts to get old but it helps if you stay out of the easy chair...just an opinion from a cranky old guy...

 

[toysoldier]

There is no one answer, as there is no one cause. Using an inversion table to provide decompression will probably help. An MRI can provide a definitive diagnosis. A good chiropractor can sometimes work miracles; don't use the one with the biggest ad in the Yellow Pages. If surgery is indicated, check out the surgeon as thoroughly as you can. If you know someone who works in the O.R., ask them who they would or would not use.

 

[Dave P.]

I've found primary docs about useless, they screw with stuff for weeks to months then finally send you to where you should have went to start with.
MRI to find out what's happening to YOUR back, then a plan.
In general as already posted....stretching, core strength, weight control and just plain old general fitness go a long ways for most people. It will not happen overnight. Drugs may give temporary relief while you address the issues. The underlying problem usually doesn't develop overnight, took years of bad habits to get to where you are. In general for most people movement is better than rest.
I know a few people that got down to doing nerve ablation injections to basically kill the nerve. Was sort of the last resort.

 

[fuzzyedge]

Gabapentin and exercise have helped me.

 

[protoolman]

The right exercise, Aleve ( generic naproxen) nothing in your back pocket to throw you out of balance are all good ideas that have helped people I know.

 

[BearBiologist]

Not having a big fat wallet or other in your back pocket helps.

I found that moving my wallet to the other side helped. my father had the same problem (He was a truck driver).

 

[Colonialgirl]

At one point several years ago I was at a point where a SNEEZE sent lightening volts down the back of BOTH legs all the way to the heels. The VA did an MRI and then scheduled me for surgery.
They told me afterwards that they did the Bottom of L3, both sides of L4 and the top of L5; I spent several days in the VA hospital (Haley VA Hospital, Tampa, FL) and then they sent me home with a walker that I used for a bit. I haven't had any problems since then.

 

[jimbo1096]

I've got the same problem, right side leg and back with lightning bolts or a knife stabbing pain. I had the MRI and they told me I had spinal stenosis, which is the inflammation of the nerve as it is pinched in the spinal canal. They found it at L4 and C3. C3 was causing my right arm to tingle and go numb. I had a specialist do the Steroid Injections (cortisone) and then 6 months later a nerve block. After two years the problems came back. I can't take Aleve which is said to be the best over the counter medication. Gabapentin and CBD is said to help with inflammation. So for now I just put up with it, sleep only on my right side, limit walking and lifting heavy objects. My most comfortable position is sitting in a good chair, like an ergonomic office chair, with my back straight.
Good luck with your issues, time and a prayer is the best healer, unless yours is an advanced case where only a Laminectomy will relieve the nerve pain.
It's hell to get old----

 

[kcsteve]

Anyone have anything that works for relief of sciatica pain? I've been dealing with it for a couple months now. Even just sitting in my lounge chair it aches at the back of my thigh. It's downright miserable. I had sciatica pain a couple years ago and My doctor gave me a one week dose of Prednisone and that knocked it out of me.

I got another dose of Prednisone almost two months ago but I'm still dealing with the pain. I finally got an appointment with my primary doctor for Monday. Hopefully he can help me. This is making my life miserable. I was just hoping maybe some of you guys know of something that relieves the pain.

I've tried Newtons Sciatica nerve pain relief but that doesn't seem to work any more. Also tried Magnilife back & leg pain relief. That's no good either. Also tried Diclofenac topical gel and that doesn't give any relief either.

Ice pack every night when I go to bed tames my sciatica. Just don’t go to sleep on it. You’ll wake up freezing.
I use the ice pack that has mud in it and it has a cloth covering.

 

[gunzo]

I found that moving my wallet to the other side helped. my father had the same problem (He was a truck driver).

My father was a truck driver as well, & several times he came home without his wallet as it was lying in the dash of the Mack & he'd forgotten it.
I knew about that particular problem & kept checking my wallet on a long motorcycle ride. My left hip & thigh were bothering me but the wallet wasn't between my butt & the seat. So all OK right?
On the way home, still uncomfortable, 30 miles from the doggone house, I removed the wallet. Instant relief.
Their is a reason for the "truckers wallet" the one with the chain. Ya take the wallet out of your pocket when driving, but you don't find yourself without it when ya get out of the truck.