Sciatic nerve(nf)

[ehg]

In last few weeks have been plagued by excruciating pain in my right leg.

Have Multiple Sclerosis so i thought this was some progression of the disease, went to MS clinic and they gave me muscle relaxants and painkillers thinking it was an MS thing called 'spasticity'.

 

The pain was so bad i went to a physiotherapist looking for relief wasn't getting any from painkillers etc...

The physiotherapist listened to my descriptions and told me i have sciatica. I was oddly relieved as she said it could be treated. That was a week ago, i had one treatmemnt with little relief. This pain is worse than the MS stuff.

Just wondering if anyone has had sciatica with successsful treatment? Apparently it is kinda common.

Thanks in advance.

[bigugli]

Sciatica is a fairly common symptom of lower back pain. Personally, I've gotten more relief by combining physio and chiro treatments. No it does not subside quickly. Used to take 3-6 weeks to feel semi- normal. Extreme compression on the nerves can require hospitalization

Also depends on the root cause behind the sciatica. Is it a compressed disc, DDD,fragmentation, a fracture, a form of stenosis? You may need to see an orthopedic surgeon or neurologist. As long as that root cause persists, the sciatica, and other symptoms, keeps coming back, and get progressively worse.

Treatment has come a long way since Ham Hall's text "The Back Doctor", but his book is still a good manual for back care for yourself.

[skeeter]

Yes it is common.

yes i have had it

it hurts like a son of a bugger.

i had physio for it, and i was taking kirkland signature extra strength muscle & back pain relief pills for it too.

they are WAY better then robax---way better.

and they cost $3.99 for a bottle of 80 at Costco.

i will say it again $3.99 for 80 @ Costco.

i found some relief when i was laying in bed with the bad leg hanging over the side of the bed.

lay on your left side with the left leg bent up a bit and hang your right leg off the side of the bed.

it wont heal over night, mine lasted for over 2 months.

every once in awhile i can still feel it pulling a bit, but the numbness is still slightly there.

also try leaning on a counter (arms crossed on counter)

other then that there's not much else i can suggest.

 

Dann

[skeeter]

i forgot to mention, i was taking 2 pills at a time.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DRIVE when taking 2 at a time

ask Tracker, he knows--LOL

my wife takes 1 pill when she needs to and it puts her into LOOPY LAND for about 4 hours

[lew]

I herniated a disc in my back in '99 which compressed the sciatic nerve and although I never had any back pain from it, the pain in my right leg was unbelievable.

 

I tried physio, chiro & even accupunture but nothing worked, infact it continually worsend. I ended up having surgery after a year of agony which was the easiest part of the entire experience.

 

Surgery on Friday, home on Sunday and almost pain free within a week and back to a normal life again.

 

With any luck they can fix you up without surgery Eric, but if it becomes nessesary, you may hopefully come out of it as well as I did.

Edited December 6, 2010 by lew

[lookinforwalleye]

I had a bout of Sciatica a few years ago and it hurt like heck,so bad sometimes I would have to crawl up the stairs on my hands and knees.

Personally I would never go for physio but that just my personal preference, Skeeter is on the right track with the stretching my doctor recommended a regime of stretching exercises and that did the trick.

Go see your doctor or google Sciatica exercise and that should help.

[Fisherman]

I've got it, physio and chiro is a complete waste of time, by the time I got back home the pain is back. Go find yourself a good Osteopath, I have one in Barrie that works nothing shy of miracles with my back.

[Beans]

Like Lew...I only got relief from surgery for a bulging disc which was pressing against the spinal column...a month later , no more pain down BOTH legs...I would damn near fall to my knees getting out of bed and would have to hang onto the kitchen counter while I made a cup of coffee...

 

It took me 2 years to finally have the surgery after messing around with pain killers and physio...finally my doctor sent me to a back specialist and to quote him "all the physio in the world won't cure your condition...you need surgery"...then it took another 3 months to get an MRI and then 6 month til surgery...only relief I got was from percocets...Don't let them play around very long if you don't get relief...

 

Good luck...I sure empathize with you...

Edited December 6, 2010 by Beans

[aniceguy]

its hell and back, I have had it on and off for a few years, I dont want a chemical therapy as it just masks and releives it

 

Intensive physio, the rack heat massage and the such makes it better but I found that switching mattrasses and pillows made the world of difference went to a temper belafina set and it really seems that whenI wake up I have way less stress on my lower back that with a swedish neck pillow seems to make all the difference

[fishing n autograph]

I had it for a little bit. It turned out that my duty belt was putting too much pressure on the nerve so I switched to suspenders which distributed the weight evenly across my shoulders and the pain went away.

 

Robax works but it may give you gut rot, the tylenol back and muscle works but your body will develope a tolerance to it so it'll stop working after a while.

[hammer swinger]

I too have dealt with sciatica, very painful. I went to my sports medicine/chiro guy. It took a few sessions but I got it corrected. Acupuncture with the tapping treatment (electricity) and torturous massage worked for me. My mother also was nagged by Sciatica from a car accident in the 80's. When I told her my results she went into the same clinic and is pain free after 25 years. I hope you find a treatment that works for you

[ehg]

Wow, thanks for the quick and useful replies.

 

Sciatica is a fairly common symptom of lower back pain. Personally, I've gotten more relief by combining physio and chiro treatments. No it does not subside quickly. Used to take 3-6 weeks to feel semi- normal. Extreme compression on the nerves can require hospitalization

Also depends on the root cause behind the sciatica. Is it a compressed disc, DDD,fragmentation, a fracture, a form of stenosis? You may need to see an orthopedic surgeon or neurologist. As long as that root cause persists, the sciatica, and other symptoms, keeps coming back, and get progressively worse.

Treatment has come a long way since Ham Hall's text "The Back Doctor", but his book is still a good manual for back care for yourself.

Haven't found the root cause yet. Just one treatment so far. Apparently losing muscle strength around vertabrae due to MS. Will see how it goes.

 

 

Yes it is common.

yes i have had it

it hurts like a son of a bugger.

i had physio for it, and i was taking kirkland signature extra strength muscle & back pain relief pills for it too.

they are WAY better then robax---way better.

and they cost $3.99 for a bottle of 80 at Costco.

i will say it again $3.99 for 80 @ Costco.

i found some relief when i was laying in bed with the bad leg hanging over the side of the bed.

lay on your left side with the left leg bent up a bit and hang your right leg off the side of the bed.

it wont heal over night, mine lasted for over 2 months.

every once in awhile i can still feel it pulling a bit, but the numbness is still slightly there.

also try leaning on a counter (arms crossed on counter)

other then that there's not much else i can suggest.

 

Dann

Ya,the Kirkland stuff is the cheapest and best for Ibuprofen and Cod Liver Oil(coffee too) i take. Will check this stuff out even though the presription stuff i am getting is like heroin, but not working.

Thanks for the tips on positioning to relief pain, that stuff should help. The worst part is in the morning, need to get up a couple hours before my daughter just to be loosened up enough to stand up.

 

 

I herniated a disc in my back in '99 which compressed the sciatic nerve and although I never had any back pain from it, the pain in my right leg was unbelievable.

 

I tried physio, chiro & even accupunture but nothing worked, infact it continually worsend. I ended up having surgery after a year of agony which was the easiest part of the entire experience.

 

Surgery on Friday, home on Sunday and almost pain free within a week and back to a normal life again.

 

With any luck they can fix you up without surgery Eric, but if it becomes nessesary, you may hopefully come out of it as well as I did.

 

Hoping to avoid surgery but if it truly helped it might be only option. Thanks for heads up.

 

 

I had a bout of Sciatica a few years ago and it hurt like heck,so bad sometimes I would have to crawl up the stairs on my hands and knees.

Personally I would never go for physio but that just my personal preference, Skeeter is on the right track with the stretching my doctor recommended a regime of stretching exercises and that did the trick.

Go see your doctor or google Sciatica exercise and that should help.

 

Always thought when people spoke of sciatica they were whiners. Now i know different, doing lots of crawling in mornings until bit of stretching effort starts helping.

 

Thanks for replies, i can see light at end of tunnel. Unfortunately ice fishing is done due to MS but still look forward to mid winter softwater fishing on Lake Ontario in boat, once sciatica subsides.LOL

[Woodsman]

I also deal with it. Now it's somewhat minor compared to when I first hurt my lower back. Went through strong muscle relaxers & traction at the time. It helped some.

Generic back & muscle pills help & sleeping on my back with a couple of pillows under my knees sure helps.

 

Good Luck: Rick

[mercman]

My wife suffers from this. She fished with me this year and the rolling motion of the boat would pop the nerve back into place. We tried everything, even bought a 4000$ bed.Fishing and accupunture were the only things that relieved the pain.

 

OH AND I BOUGHT HER A DR.HAU PORTABLE SHOCKER THINGIE. SWEARS BY IT

Edited December 6, 2010 by mercman

[ehg]

Like Lew...I only got relief from surgery for a protrubing disc which was pressing against the spinal column...a month later , no more pain down BOTH legs...I would damn near fall to my knees getting out of bed and would have to hang onto the kitchen counter while I made a cup of coffee...

 

It took me 2 years to finally have the surgery after messing around with pain killers and physio...finally my doctor sent me to a back specialist and to quote him "all the physio in the world won't cure your condition...you need surgery"...then it took another 3 months to get an MRI and then 6 month til surgery...only relief I got was from percocets...Don't let them play around very long if you don't get relief...

 

Good luck...I sure empathize with you...

 

Thanks Beans! The MS has taken out my left side now the sciatica has taken out right leg kinda puts me in same situation.

 

 

I too have dealt with sciatica, very painful. I went to my sports medicine/chiro guy. It took a few sessions but I got it corrected. Acupuncture with the tapping treatment (electricity) and torturous massage worked for me. My mother also was nagged by Sciatica from a car accident in the 80's. When I told her my results she went into the same clinic and is pain free after 25 years. I hope you find a treatment that works for you

 

This is the route i am going to try initially. Acupuncture, taping and massage seems right, just a gut feeling. That it worked for you and your mother under those circumstances is very positive.

 

Anyone have tips on overcoming multiple sclerosis? LOL

[NAW]

I've got it, physio and chiro is a complete waste of time, by the time I got back home the pain is back. Go find yourself a good Osteopath, I have one in Barrie that works nothing shy of miracles with my back.

 

That was going to be my suggestion. My step Dad had the same issue, and the only releif he could find was from an Oseopath, and in inversion table.

[splashhopper]

I have herniated disc as well (C-6 along with a benign tumour right under it) that caused unbelievable pain in my neck and shoulder and then I lost all strength and feeling in my right hand and forearm.

 

Did the whole chiro - physio thing... finally got an MRI ( 48 hrs after my doctor requested it too )

 

Was referred to a nerve specialist (also a spine injury trauma specialist).

 

The first thing he asked me was how long it had been since I had slept and did I want IMMEDIATE RELIEF ? uMMM YES PLEASE.

 

He gave me 4 shots of Marcaine. This is the stuff they numb your gums with before they stick the cattle prod in that they pretend is a NEEDLE .

 

i WAS PAIN FREE in a very few minutes!

 

Then the doc suggested that the pain was coming from an inflamed nerve. Ie: the nerve was pinched and we had to get the swelling down to get IT away from the herniated disc. Hmmm... that made sense. ( all the other docs were trying to treat the cause, instead of the symptom)

THIS MADE TOTAL SENSE TO ME.

 

He put me on Prednazone and within 48 hours I was pain free! nOW THAT pREDNAZONE HAD A FEW SIDE EFFECTS,... but hey,,, "potato face and a very touchy personality" for a few days were small prices to pay( for me ) to be pain free.

 

I did two weeks of physio to basically loosen up all the muscles that i was using to counter effect the pain and that was two winters ago and so far, no re-occurrences.

 

All the doctors have said that surgery for me is very risky due to the tumour under my disc and we will deal with this symptom as long as this form of therapy works.

They also told me no more golf . if I wanted to keep my neck in check longer.

Oh well, more time for fishing and I now have a sport that I can participate in all year long.

Edited December 6, 2010 by splashhopper

[wallyboss]

I had a sciatic problem and a lower back issue that had been bugging me for a few years. I completely got rid of it in about 2 days. I sit all day at my computers for work and always had problems, until I removed my wallet from my back pocket and I now leave it in my coat pocket. Weird what can happen to you when you sit crooked for most of the day. I was blaming the pain on Fibromylgia that I have been suffering from for about 4 years.

[lookinforwalleye]

I had a sciatic problem and a lower back issue that had been bugging me for a few years. I completely got rid of it in about 2 days. I sit all day at my computers for work and always had problems, until I removed my wallet from my back pocket and I now leave it in my coat pocket. Weird what can happen to you when you sit crooked for most of the day. I was blaming the pain on Fibromylgia that I have been suffering from for about 4 years.

 

Interesting that you mention the wallet, it was one of the first things my doctor asked me about,I never sit on my wallet anymore!

[brickNblock]

I strained the left side of my leg at work in 04 and by the next morning found that when sitting down for any period of time that standing was then difficult. This progressed to where it became lot a lot of what I have read here, A couple of hours in the AM before able to even stand let alone walk, hanging onto a counter with both hands waiting for the coffee to brew.

Do'c figured physio was the way acompanied by T^-3s when req'd....After a year or so it worsened They now figured Sciatica and i started accupuncture with Triggerpoint injections,then came the Steroid Injections, Marcaine Injections, Nerve Blocks deep and local.....the blocks helped relieve the pain for maybe days only...T-3s turned to perk's..

 

Fast Forward Nov-2010 (5 1/2 yrs later) and 4-5 MRI's they now believe it to be Spinal Canal Stenosis or Neurological claudication.....I get seen again next week to learn the treatment program. The pain starts in the hip and lower back causing 2-hand grabbing pain down the back of the left leg thigh and calve and swelling of the feet til your shoes dont fit, extreme fatigue and weakness and litterrally hours after waking before even attempting to get out to the truck to drive anywhere.

 

Eric, I can only imagine what you go through with this annoying item wether it to be Sciatica or another but to be coupled with MS is so completely unfair....

I hope you find relief shortly pal...

-Peter

[chessy]

i have a bad back i fractured 3 vertabre and have 2 perferated disc and a buldged disc. i have 2 crushed nervers to my left leg. that said there is a differnce between muscle pain and nerv pain . perks will not work they just make you fuzzy if you want something that works for long term pain is a med called topomax it is a pill that is use at regular strength for epeleptics . it works wonders perscribed by a painspecialist for off lable . i know it has helped me big time

[bigugli]

Because the problem is complicated by MS affecting the muscles in your back, you really do need to see the doctor. If possible, see if you can get a referral for a specialist in Rehab Medicine.

Long before viable surgical treatments were available for my conditions, I relied on an extensive rehab program and hospitalization, just to stabilize the back. That kept me going for 15 years until they could develop a surgical technique. I've had 2 surgeries, since, to repair and delay continued spinal cord deterioration. Honest truth is that with the more serious spinal problems, there are no cures, just repairs and controls. There are limitations

[Scott S]

I had 2 large herniated disc's in my back. Struggled for years went back and forth between chiro and physio.

Was finaly going to get the surgery when someone sugessted LASER treatment. I went to LASER ON therapy 3 years ago and haven't been back to a chiro or physio since.I went for about 12 treatments. My back gets sore from time to time but a little rest and good as new the next day.

Scooter

[jimmer]

Every back situation is different, so it is a pain in itself just to go through the strategy to diagnose the issue. I have suffered for about 25 years with one surgery on my lower back thrown in there back in the 90's. I always went to the doctor and they would send me for x-rays and then tell me I had degenerative disks, blah, blah, blah. I was sent to physio and they put me on the rack. That was one of the worst days of my backs life. I later told the physio guy to never do that again. He looked at me funny then ask me to do a couple of strength tests. After those test, he told me he wouldn't work on me anymore and that I should go back to the doctor and ask to have a CAT scan or MRI then a referral to a surgeon. I did that and they found that my sciatic nerve was completed flattened by a ruptured disk that was propbably there for over ten years. There were times I wanted to cut my leg off!

The surgery fixed my nerve problem, but not the back problem. I still suffer from facet joint syndrome, take Arthritis Tylenol and go to the Chiro guy every three weeks. Starting to question the chiro, but continue to go. It feels good at the time.

Heat is horrible for my back, but ice does wonders.

I sometimes find myself laying on the frozen lake to get relief when out ice fishing.

Get the proper pictures taken of your back before you get too involved in other stuff.

[Headhunter]

I had back surgury for a herniated disk in the mid 90's. Microdiscectomy... small incision, in with a laser, clean up loose parts and re-seal the bad disc...DAY SURGURY been great ever since...

Funny how no one until Jimmer's post mentioned ice...

Most folks with bad backs have stressed out muscles, not structural problems (note I did say most)

Muscles get over stressed and the body sends blood to heal, but when you send blood to muscles, they get inflamed and they squeeze nerves + PAIN... ice will take the blood away, so you should be doing the frozen pea thing 3-4 times a day, for 1/2 hour or so...

My doctor was Dr. Michael Ford and if you can get in to see him, I highly recommend him... he know's his stuff

http://orthopaedics.utoronto.ca/faculty/list/ford.htm

Ranked top in his field in Canada.

HH