Sciatica

Hunt down a book called Mending Your Own Back. My sister is a physio and she recommended it. Excellent advice in it. To alleviate symptoms quickly lie face down on the floor and then push yourself up with both hands while keeping your pelvis on the floor. It will be uncomfortable until the measures take effect but the idea is to try and centralise any pain you feel so it isn't on the left side or right side but at the bottom of your spine. This forces the jelly that has come out of one of your discs and is currently touching your nerve end causing the pain back into the disc and away from the nerve.

Cheers kansas.

had it about 30 years ago, got every sympathy. no easy fix, but would look at bed, is it too soft ? really need firm/firmish mattress . also weight loss can help -alleviates pressure on discs.

Sleeping on the sofa, cant walk up the stairs, thx mm.

Would also advise you to buy a lumbar roll. Wouldn't sleep on the sofa sleep on the floor instead

Might be an idea to see someone who knows what they are doing.

Physio’s and even massage therapists are pretty good at diagnosis. I trust them more than Doctors tbh. Also they are good at giving you exercises to relieve the pain and make the muscles around your back stronger

One bit of non medical advice I would give is you are an office type worker or on your feet all day ge5 a pair of Church shoes!

Mar 29, 2020 -- 10:52AM, morpteh mackem wrote:

had it about 30 years ago, got every sympathy. no easy fix, but would look at bed, is it too soft ? really need firm/firmish mattress . also weight loss can help -alleviates pressure on discs.

Snap, 30 odd years with it myself, I just get on with it (easier said that done )
I had the base of my spine drilled at L4 and 5 to alleviate pressure on the sciatic nerve. Didn't do a thing for it.

Loads of helpful stuff around now,the sort of thing you used pay a physio lots of money for. https://www.healthline.com/health/back-pain/sciatic-stretches#sitting-pigeon...

You many have done or are doing this stuff anyway. Some good the guys on here may have found something that helps and post it. good luck.

Thanks for all your help.

W.D   Whats the benefit of Church shoes please?

The human body hasn't developed, yet, to sit down.

Stand up or lie down whenever possible.

Get off your computer.

Back spasms in bed had me begging for death.

Most painful thing I ever had (not had kidney stones or gout, touch wood)

Have read totally conflicting advice since saying exercise was advised and not lying down.

Sorry, I can't help. Ask a professional. All the best

Lower back pain is horrible.  Had a nasty bout a few years ago and apart from being very painful it can be tough mentally if you're not making any progress

GP would prescribe strong anti-inflammatory like Naproxen.  Not a cure but does reduce pain and will allow you to do more of the things that will cure in the long term.  Ibuprofen (not as strong) is an alternative if you can't get to a GP or don't want to pay much.  Anti-inflammatories have issues with stomach ulcers so you'll need GP advice if you're prone to stomach problems

Physio would give you exercises to do and maybe do some massage.  This is what is most likely to cure long term.  One exercise that worked particularly well for me is knee rolls.  I used to do this when waking up, before going to sleep and one other time in between. I still go back to it sometimes now.  Like all exercises, go easy to start with
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39gL6fOqKWI

Stay active. Avoid sitting for long periods, sit in a decent chair, avoid sitting on the sofa.
Cycling was surprisingly good for me, found it easier than walking and it improves your core strength which is usually where these problems stem from

Had a spasm about a month ago.

Spent the night on the floor unable to sleep or even get in a single comfortable position.

Started improving the next evening.
User a wheat bag which is heated in the microwave and some strong pills .

You have my sympathy.

There is a 10-second exercise that worked for me. Of course, my problem might have been different from everyone else's. This is the video I got it from.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qZ517Rw7ME


One thing I used to do before discovering the above, in order to stop back spasms, was take a couple of ibuprofen then go to sleep with the electric blanket on (make sure yours is safe to leave on overnight). The idea is that the heat encourages the muscle to relax and the ibuprofen kills any pain that would immediately retension them. Something like that anyway but it would do the trick for a day or so. I guess this is similar to @sixtwosix's microwaved wheat bag heat pad.

I found the same Ramruna, but am cautious, perhaps over cautious about recommending any pills such as Ibprofen as it reacts with other medication.

Alak

Church Shoes

You can never spend too much money on a good bed / mattress or a good pair of shoes. You are likely to be in one or the other for 16 hours a day.

I am not an expert on the back and have no experience of bad back problems like some on here but I do know my body.

I would often get an ache in the legs / hamstring/ lower back. These minor discomforts can be fixed with a good sturdy pair of shoes like Church’s

I drive a lot know and get occasional lower back discomfort and pain in the side of the thigh. I think but don’t know if this has something to do with the femoral nerve. This can easily be alleviated by stretching.

For all of you guys with lower back problems stretching and movement is very important. Just walking will help if you are not too far gone but wear decent supporting footwear.

Dare I say some of you guys might need to dust off your Lycra leotards and get into the studio for yoga or Pilates. I know I am going to have to start yoga soon. I hate stretching so am not looking forward to yoga but have done some t’ai chi and chi kung / qigong in the past and that is something more enjoyable.

Ibuprofen can alleviate pain but is not a solution it is a patch or plaster and not good for your liver. If you hav3 a problem you must look to a non drug solution over time

JJ - I had a horrible bout of it about 6 years ago which took me months to 'recover' from...though I suspect a full recovery doesn't happen as I've not been the same since.
I was bent over looking like I was going through the cro-magnon evolutionary scale and the thought of it returning terrifies me.

I had the usual shít treatments and nothing was of benefit - I was even persuaded to pay for acupuncture and for someone who tried to turn me into an amateur contortionist - uselesss!

I'm always on the lookout for anything helpful as a precaution and from what I've been told, CBD oil is the way to go but there are so many dodgy fcuks out there, I wouldn't know who to trust or what supplier is reputable - I bought some stuff on eBay which was totally useless and was a waste of money, so I'd be reluctant to get bilked again, though I'd listen to someone's recommendation.

I've never been into weed...I've tried it twice and it's not for me but I wouldn't give a toss about the legal ramifications...I'd smoke a spliff.
Looking back on that episode years ago...I can't believe I was that dumb not to even consider it.
The old saying 'I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy' - that's exactly what I would wish for them!

I can't help but see an article like the one below as propaganda but if anyone out there took the bait I'm sure we'd like to know if it really was beneficial.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/woman-sciatica-back-pain-cannbis-oil-54-cured-brenda-davidson-orkney-a8022766.html

Good luck with it buddy...a bottle of rum didn't even help that much, so you have my sympathies.

I was suicidal with the unrelenting sciatic pain around ten years ago. It was that bad I purchased Final Exit. My son came across it and destroyed it. I eventually had a hip replacement, and have never had any problem since. Always have worn decent quality shoes W.D. My shoes of choice are Cheaney,

Knew a couple of Lads in the Building Trade , Big Strong fit men , Reduced to wrecks by back pain

One fella had to Lay on a hard wood floor for weeks ..

You have my full sympathy, sciatica almost ruined my life about 10 years ago. It started off as sciatica (which was unbearable enough) but progressed into debilitating back pain, couldn't walk, then couldn't even stand up, the only temporary relief I got was lying down curled up in a ball. I was housebound for 8 months and the whole shape of my body changed - I got a real fright when I saw myself in the full size mirror - my whole left side was convex, sort of caved in because I'd been protecting one side of my torso (due to the pain) at the expense of the other. Nothing worked for me (physio, heat. ice, acupuncture, and the strongest of meds - even morphine) and I had to get surgery. But I was lucky, my surgery was mostly successful (got about 70% of my movement back), many spine surgeries are unsuccessful and can do more damage.  My advice to you and anyone that gets regular sciatica, is see a spine specialist ASAP. MRI scan is a must, and take it from there. You might be lucky, sometimes stretching, exercise, physio and manipulation is enough to re-align your spine, take pressure off the nerve. Everyone's case is different. But you have my full sympathy. The pain can be a life changer and take you to some very dark places.

Akak, is that some kind of exit bag you're referring to? 

Final Exit, Derek Humphry ( self deliverance ) may end up a best seller shortly.

Almost as grim.

i had same back pain for years.was told to lift heavy weights.started dead lifting and shrugs as heavy as i could but mainly just holding the weight in that position on the shrugs.within 4 weeks i was pain free

I may have this, my mum says it could also be femoral nerve dysfunction, as she had it.

She said she was told to do certain exercises, lay on front, forearms on your front, arching you back, then lifting your leg back as far as you can, my right leg is affected, when I do this exercise with my right leg the tightness/stiffness compared to the left is like night and day.

cannot sleep on right had side, pain down the whole leg, knee feels very weak compared to normal left knee, out walking and right foot starts to feel swollen.

Stretching, exercises does help, not yet got rid of problem.


Convinced it's to do with posture, you know what it's like when you work on line for a few years, you don't really sit up straight the whole time, slump, lean towards one side, bring one foot up on the chair etc, put pressure on spine, reduces blood flow. I always sit up straight now though.

One night it feel like I had an electric shock as I moved over to my right hand side when half asleep, jumped up.

Just started these exercises, will see in a few weeks, after years, will take a few weeks of work at least. Will attempt to visit doctor to, though he's rather busy atm!

Darren dude

There are so many exercises in line. I might suggest your situation can b3 corrected. If like me you don’t know what L 4  L5 C8 D8 or whatever you do not have a serious problem but you have the start of a serious problem.

The simple stretch I’s slightly bend left leg place outer side of right ankle over left knee. Hold the pose and try not to fall over!

That simple stretch will sort out slight femoral Nerve “ inconvenience “

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448

This is not for most of us but shows what can be achieved without pills or doctors, both of which have their place.

i had it bad in leg had acupunture booked 5 visits at £45 a time after 3 visits it was gone had the 5 visits never had pain since money well spent

In terms of drugs, I found that it was only anti inflammatories that were any help.

My advice would be to try and keep moving and do the exercises. I found that the only cure, although it could be ridiculously painful and I would take an age to walk to the shops to bring back half a carrier bag of food, Anything heavier was impossible to carry.

Funnily enough my first episode of Sciatica was around 30 years ago, lasted best part of three years, main problem was sitting down, awful shooting pains I  basically ate standing up, hard bed ever since & I think sleeping on my stomach rather than my back helped, last time I had it was when I was in hospital having chemo in 2017, I was coping ok to a point but was in agony asking for paracetamol which had to be approved by a doctor who never turned up that was probably the worst for or five hours of my life, been ok since but anyone who's had it knows it could return at some stage.

This thread has really renewed my belief in the forum, thankyou for all the tips and sympathetic replies, day 7 or 8 today have been sleeping on the floor last 2 nights and managed a few exercises that i got off here, i think i managed about 5 hours sleep last night, longest for a week so hopefully onwards and upwards.

Great thread indeed. Lots of very good advice from nice people.

For what it's worth,here is my experience with back pain :

First noticed it in lower back in 2012. Went for MRI. Diagnosed as Degenerative Disk Disease. Visited physio a number of times and got some temporary relief in wake of each treatment.

Then I met a friend who told me to try brisk walking. I'd always considered walking for the sake of it boring but decided to give it a  go. After less than a month of daily 1 hour brisk walking, I noticed a huge improvement. Have continued the walking ever since and I've come to enjoy it. I still have the disease but hardly ever feel it now.

How did I get the disease ?  Between 1999 and 2010 I became a very sedentary person - the internet and in particular, Betfair occupied my life. I'm still doing the walking and still spending lots of time sitting down (in a good posture position) but every 20 minutes I walk up and down 16 stair steps.

Good Luck with the Sciatica, JJmbe.

I walk up and down the stair steps 10 times on each occasion!

posture very important. exercise and getting the blood flowing

You need a body scan really to find out the rea problem, as it could be lots of things.

I had the problem on & off for 20 years. Acupuncture helped, physio helped, but eventually it came back. Had a micro discectomy about 4 years ago to remove the disc from my nerve.

Lots of recovery time, but no sciatica since.

So get a scan I'd say.

For all the shiny a*rses out there and I am one when on Betfair watching a Test Match anywhere in the World

They have these desks somewhere probably California that go up and down a couple of foot so you can stand at your desk or pc to take the pressure off your lower back. Some of you guys are Flat Earthers, I promise I am not sheitting you!

Had this problem several years ago, more pain than I can describe. The nerve often comes out from the spine down through the piriformis muscle that can tighten around it and cause the pain. I got some relief by lying on a tennis ball when the pain was bad,it effectively pushed the slipped disk that caused most pain back off the nerve which it touched. That gave some relief but I was taking ibuprofen tablets like sweets and could hardly get out of bed to go to the toilet at nights. Eventually I had to have a MRI scan that showed the spillage from the slipped disk (a soft cushion that splits after bad posture/wear and tear? was touching the nerve causing the real pain. Next week I was in for surgery by a neurologist who sliced the spongy stuff from the disc and pushed the nerve out of vicinity. Back after one night and built muscles up and no bother since. All the movement/physio is just to see if it can be eased,if the pain is so bad you need the MRI scan,gd luck