Sciatica!!!!

[Saracenlad]

Saturday 31st November washing my feet in shower when I was hit by a massive pain in my right thigh, buttock and lower back. Excruciating pain like I have never experienced. Doctor diagnosed it as Sciatica and said 2 to 6 weeks to calm it down with pain killers and rest. Anyone on here suffered the same or similar with any advice or help would be very much appreciated. Only affecting my Right side lower back, hip, buttock, thigh and knee. Dare not ride my bike which is causing me grief.

 

[fossyant]

Yup, stretching does help. I've had it once and fortunately never returned. Takes time to settle so ibuprofen to reduce swelling. Hopefully it's a temporary problem, and not linked to longer term issues - slipped/bulging discs.

 

[vickster]

I had it back in 1993 and ended up needing surgery to remove the bulgy disc to avoid paralysis!
Rest, gentle exercises and I’d see a private sports physio. Heat can be useful if there’s muscle spasm too
Definitely don’t cycle

 

[roadrash]

yep....... oh ive had it alright , and i seriously hope its a one off thing for you, unlike mine,

 

[BrumJim]

Yes, had it this year. You are right - unbelievably painful. When it happened it was like my brain had maxed out in terms of the pain it could describe, but started to feel very sick and unable to move or even stand due to the pain.

I took painkillers to get to sleep, I woke up in the night in excrutiating pain and had to take more in the middle of the night. This is from someone who can tell you all the times in their life that they have taken painkillers (headache aged 19, fractured rib in late 20s, knocked off bike in my 30s).

There are some NHS exercised to do for Siatica. Do them daily, even if they hurt. My understanding is that most pain is your body telling you to stop. Sciatica is a trapped nerve, so the exercises aren't working the area of pain, but moving your back around to release the nerve pressure, so keep on going no matter how much it hurts.

Also get back on your bike. Any exercise that you do regularly and therefore have strong muscles and a stable posture for is good. You need to keep your back moving and keeping muscle tone where it is already good.

The problem is that there doesn't seem to be anything that you can stop doing to prevent it happening again. I aggravated it a second time by leaning and twisting to put a bike lock on my bike. The only lesson really is that if you have put your back under a bit of stress (lifting, riding up steep hills), be very, very careful for the next few days and don't do any back twists for any reason at all.

 

[kynikos]

I used to sffer from it, intermittently but painfully. I tried various traditional methods all to no effect (it lasted a weeks before clearing up and the only thing to alleviate the symptoms was painkillers).
Several years ago, when it was coming on again, I tried acupuncture. It gave immediate relief and, after three sessions, was gone. I've not had it since.

 

[snorri]

I had the stabbing leg pains, these were diagnosed as sciatica by a GP who referred me for physiotherapy. I had a few sessions which seemed to help but did not clear the problem. I met up with a retired GP friend who gave me a book which gave instructions relating to posture and stretching, the curvature of the lower spine seemed to be an important part(lordosis). I followed the simple exercises in the book and that cleared the problem quite quickly. I still do the exercises almost subconsciously, stretching up to touch the ceiling, shoulders back, chest out and increasing the inward curve of the lower spine.
Good Luck!

 

[Twilkes]

I've never been diagnosed with sciatica but quite a few times in my life I've had pain similar to what you describe, small of the back down the leg, in some cases I couldn't even stand up, on one occasion when we didn't know what it was I got taken to hospital by ambulance because my friend couldn't pick me up to take me to the car (the local GP told us to call an ambulance because they didn't want to organise a home visit but that's by the by...)

It was a muscle spasm, where the muscle locks tight and grips down on everything around it including the nerves which is why it hurts so much, and why it just suddenly comes on. When I think back, each time I've had it I've been in a leaning forward/sitting forward position for a fairly long time, or repeatedly - one time was at a music festival where I was sitting on the ground with my back and legs pretty much at right angles, and my muscles obviously couldn't take that position for long; the spasm didn't kick in until the next morning though.

Painful for anything from a few hours to a few days, and really sore for maybe a couple of weeks after that. I could walk after a day or two, but if my lower back went slightly out of position I got a shot of pain right down my leg again. Physio told me to stop being a wimp and the more active I could be the quicker it would right itself, which was tough but true.

It's a cliché but yoga etc really helps - I really noticed the difference when I did it once a week for a few years, and then noticed the difference again when I stopped. Ironically, riding a road bike really helps it, as it seems to exercise my lower back muscles meaning they're less prone to being strained when doing other things.

Or it could be sciatica.

 

[vickster]

Saturday 31st November washing my feet in shower when I was hit by a massive pain in my right thigh, buttock and lower back. Excruciating pain like I have never experienced. Doctor diagnosed it as Sciatica and said 2 to 6 weeks to calm it down with pain killers and rest. Anyone on here suffered the same or similar with any advice or help would be very much appreciated. Only affecting my Right side lower back, hip, buttock, thigh and knee. Dare not ride my bike which is causing me grief.

Since when does November have 31 days...we're only on the 9th (or Halloween, Sat 31st October )

The exercise that helps me most for low back pain is lying on floor and pulling each knee to chest in turn, holding for 20-30 secs

 

[Mo1959]

I had it back in 1993 and ended up needing surgery to remove the bulgy disc to avoid paralysis!

This is what concerns me. I've had two episodes......one over 10 years ago down left side then 3 years ago after stupidly doing heavy lifting down right side. Both times have left numbness in parts of my legs and feet and I feel my leg strength has declined badly the last couple of years. An MRI around 5 years ago showed 2 herniated lumbar discs as well. My own, now retired doctor says avoid back surgery if at all possible but I'm beginning to think it's maybe required, although maybe not in the current climate!

Sorry for hijacking the thread slightly, but just to show it doesn't always resolve as quickly as you would like.

 

[Saracenlad]

Thanks for all of that. Really appreciate it. My post should have read 31st October of course.

 

[roadrash]

@Mo1959 seriously, give surgery i lot of thought, only as a last resort, my tale is well documented on here

 

[Cambram]

I have had it. It certainly hurts. I went to the GP who gave me some painkillers and advised physiotherapy. I went to the recommended chap who "manipulated" me and only stopped when I shouted at him. He asked if I wanted another appointment and I somehow politely refused. A friend of the wife suggested a local woman who seems to treat all of the local golf club members with aches and pains. A bit of gentle manipulation, heat treatment and about 5 acupuncture needles was applied. I had a second similar treatment and there was a noticeable improvement. I asked should I book another treatment and she said "no, it should improve now".
She advised walking, so, being near the Peak District I started to explore the local hills. It has never come back.
What works for one person doesn't always work for someone else. Hope it gets better.

 

[vickster]

This is what concerns me. I've had two episodes......one over 10 years ago down left side then 3 years ago after stupidly doing heavy lifting down right side. Both times have left numbness in parts of my legs and feet and I feel my leg strength has declined badly the last couple of years. An MRI around 5 years ago showed 2 herniated lumbar discs as well. My own, now retired doctor says avoid back surgery if at all possible but I'm beginning to think it's maybe required, although maybe not in the current climate!

Sorry for hijacking the thread slightly, but just to show it doesn't always resolve as quickly as you would like.

I was only 20 at the time, hence the need to act surgically. Lots of red flags. The back of my leg has had altered sensation since then but no other ongoing symptoms. Just feels a bit odd when massaged or being deforested with a razor

I was having pain and issues and had a full back and neck MR scan and nerve conduction around 2 years ago, the neurosurgeon I saw then (extremely expert on matters spine) was impressed that there was minimal lasting damage or scar tissue, just wear and tear consistent with my age.
Acupunture (dry needling) always works really well for muscle spasm for me
If you do consider a surgical opinion, definitely see a spinal neurosurgeon, not an orthopaedic surgeon

 

[Drago]

A physio cured mine. After several - excruciating - sessions he was able to manipulate the nerve to a fractionally different position. Aside from the occasuonal slight twinge he fixed it completely.