Reply With QuoteWalking like herr flick is also a bonus I find!!
I feel your pain!
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Having never suffered with back problems of any sort I am now in the midst of sciatica - most unpleasant.
Loaded with painkillers is helping but what an @rse of a problem (pun intended).
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Walking like herr flick is also a bonus I find!!
I feel your pain!
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Had it about three weeks ago.It tends to just come and go.Very very painful and as you said A right paint in the ass (And the top of the leg in my case )
I've suffered for ages.
I found that painkillers are best reserved for really serious flare-ups.
Exercise can help.
The assigned leg pain is probably the worst thing but I just stretch it out if I can.
Get a decent bed.
I also use joint supplements which seem to have helped.
Really suffered when I was younger( to the point of asking my wife to throw an electric fire into the bath) but less now and relatively infrequently too, thankfully.
I genuinely feel the pain!
Nightmare that you can't wake up from.
When the pain has gone make sure you stretch all of the muscles down the back of your legs; glutes, hamstrings, calves.......
An awful problem when you suffer with it and greatly aggravated by sitting on chairs with very little cushioning. Sometime my pain was so bad that I wanted to cry just standing up, out of the chair. Since starting yoga and pilates I now don't suffer.
The most painful thing I've ever had. Ice and going for a long walk were the only way to relieve it when I had it.
Mine was so bad a few years ago, I ended up opting for surgery. Cured the immediate problem but it wasn't without its downsides.
Had a specialist come to look at my work station (had back pain but not necessarily sciatica) - chair type, desk height, monitor height, reach etc and despite my initial cynicism a few changes made a massive difference. Tried acupuncture too and this helped as well.
Ive suffered from this for years due to many years bent over the bonnets of cars and by far the best thing ive found to ease the pain is heat for 15 minutes and then cold pack for 15 minutes. Do this for an hour. For both needs to be as hot and cold as you can stand. This was a tip from the pharmacist when i had my last bout, she said that gels and pain killers are a waste of time and what you need to do is to stop the muscle from spasming which hot and cold does.
Hot baths and stretches sorted me out - also check you car driving positions and general seating position. Don't cross you legs either! :0
I suffer mildy with sciatica when I get feverish colds/flu type illness, but never at any other time. Strange, but unpleasant, you have my sympathy. Forcing myself to walk/exercise has helped.
Try to get to the root cause if possible, and think about what's changed recently that may be having an effect.
Paul
Find someone in your area using frequency specific microcurrent (FSM) this is supposed to be very effective for sciatica.
I had treatment using FSM for a pulled hamstring. I was hardly able to walk on arrival for treatment, and played football for an hour 5 days later.
Having had spinal fusion in 1982 and a microdiscectomy in 2004 there is very little I don't know about back pain and sciatica.
I once described sciatica as akin to having 24 hour a day toothache.
I truly hope that you get pain relief from it as soon as possible.
scooter
I have suffered frrom sciatica for years and was told it was due to me being on my feet all the time. The doctor said that it was caused by the discs in the spine getting squashed down through bieng on my feet all the time and carrying materials and ladders about all the time.
He reckoned that the discs are usually about 5mm thick but the ones in my lower back had got worn down by a couple of mil each and as this area is where the sciatic nerve runs it had got "pinched" and as a consequence had been bruised and swollen up further exaggerating the pain.
When I get a real painful bout( Usually after i have been on my feet all day or done a lot of walking) the only way I can relieve it is to sit down and pull my knees up to my chest. I guess everyones physiology is different and different things work for other people.
I've been really suffering with this since early December.
Mine seems to have crept up on me via old age, a couple of nasty car crashes and too many 'if you don't fall over you're not trying hard enough' wipe outs whilst skiing.
As other have said, it's like an incessant throb that simply will not go away. Prescription drugs did little more than make me comatose.
NHS physiotherapy was not much more than some exercise advice...but in fairness to them, I did listen.
So, using the advice and then some common sense, trying to not sit for more than 30 minutes has helped. Core muscle exercises have really helped and, recently, swimming with the masses at the public baths has proved a revalation.
I haven't quite got to the point of lying on the floor at work and exercising my pelvic floor but, if needs must, I'll live with the stares...
I suffered on and off through my thirties... normally only for a few weeks at a time.
However I had it 24/7 for the best part of a year about 2-3yrs ago. I was too stubborn to seek help until about 6 months in. At that point I had pain the full length of my leg/bum and the only thing I could feel in my toes was constant pins/needles. When lay flat in my back, I could only lift my right leg about 30 degrees
Horrible condition... affects you when awake, asleep, sitting, standing... only break was when walking.
Got an MRI scan and was advised it was 2 prolapsed discs causing my problems... rubbing on the sciatic nerve. Rather than go straight down the surgery route I was referred to a private physio.
The physio was quite to the point and said he couldn't fix my discs, but he may be able to provide some relief by giving me excercises to help and some manipulation. I visited him for a couple of months, stuck to the plan he gave me and made my work aware that I'd need to take breaks regularly.
I held out little hope that physio would work, but for me, it totally cleared it in 2-3 months and touch wood I've not had a recurrence since.
My discs will still be knackered, and may at some point need surgery of course...
Physio worked for me especially the stretches, though it took time.
The only thing that worked for me was doing a couple of the simple exercises described in Treat Your Own Back, a book by Robin McKenzie (ISBN 9780959774665).
Horses for courses, but after years of suffering with sciatica and LBP, I've been pretty much symptom-free since learning and practicing the techniques in the book.
Don't suffer now so much after losing 2.5 stone mostly off my belly. The worst ever was 09 just went to get back on my bike and the nerve slipped into my worn vertebrae at the base of my back, I just could not move and wife had to come and get me. I got home the pain was unbearable could not stand up,my groin was on fire, even had to take laxatives to go to the loo as I could not strain I was on my back for two weeks.
I had two sessions of Physio as we were going to the Caribbean. It was a nightmare flight, then stuck in my room for the first three days, worst holiday ever. Two days before we came home I got out of bed no pain,the nerve had slipped back out just like the Physio said it would. The front of my leg below the knee was numb for three years. I never want that again
L5/S1 prolapse?Originally Posted by gunner
Yep, pretty obvious where the pain was from!
You have my undying sympathy, having suffered with this last year for several weeks I feel your pain. It was absolutely the worst pain I've had and the bloody thing would never subside. I had some intense physio and was advised to do certain exercises using a swedish ball which thankfully thus far has not seen a reoccurrence.
I too feel your pain. I had it persistent pain for 14 months and decided to have a lumbar decompression and microdiscotomy on both sides in the lower back .off work for 9 weeks and a gradual build up to getting back to work over the following 3 months. It was money well spent as I've not had any issues since
My sympathies, I suffered the same for a year. I eventually had surgery (microdiscectomy) and the results have been great, back at work in 2 weeks and whilst I still get some stiffness haven't had to take painkillers since.
I found this video very helpful
https://youtu.be/wsL-57OYdW8
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Most of these settle down within few weeks,hence GPs don't get too excited initially.Try to take on board all common sense advice re posture/seating/driving /excercise.Avoid medications if possible.Back problems are idiosyncratic so it's what works for you.
Good luck.
Big thank you to everybody that has responded - most useful phone chat tonight and some great stuff to work on.
Thanks everybody!!
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I suffer from this and it is a horrible inconsistent pain.
I really find cycling helps.
have you been a regular cycle user previously? would you recommend it for someone to start cycling once they develop back issues?
Also known by some physios as reps bum. Often caused by a wallet full of business cards and other trivia. Move your wallet from your back pocket to the front. The full wallet in the back pocket presses directly on the sciatic nerve when you are sitting/driving etc. Try it - worked for me!
My two penn'orth.
Get a good one to one Pilates teacher. Work on core strength, especially if you are feeling that cycling helps. Consider investing in an Inversion table.
I am not sure if I have this or not, but walking or standing for more than around 45 mins results in a lot of upper back pain for me.
Currently awaiting an appointment for a spinal clinic.
However, to reply to the previous post, riding a bicycle has no problems for me and a racier, rather than sit up and beg works quite well. Its one way of getting out without coming back in pain.
Has anybody tried a TENS Machine to help deal with the pain, my physio leant me one this morning, and although I've only had one session with it of about an hour, it does seem to relieve the pain.
I've got it for about a week or so, if it works in the long run then I'll purchase my own.
I used a TENS machine and found it worked very well. Play around with the settings to find the combination that gives you the most relief.
The one the physio leant me looked like it came out of the ark, but it did work, will have to see what's available now.
Ive had a discectomy at 40, but was not in work anywhere near 2 weeks. Took months of half day rehab. The past 6 years apart from odd back pain (gardening or bending over) all seems good and life is alot better for it.
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Recently started with lower back / sciatica problems, horrible nagging pain. I've just started with a physio (2nd session earlier today) and I'm already feeling the benefit from the microcurrent FSM treatment along with an inversion chair and other exercises.
Cheers
I've tried almost everything over the years. Use of a TENS machine is top of the list of things that I wish I'd never tried. It actively caused me more problems in the long run, relating to the muscular contractions that the TENS machine also causes
I must have got lucky! I was 41 when I had it done last year.
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