Sciatic nerve pain - any ideas?

Ohhhhhh I feel your pain :((

I have suffered from lower back problems on and off for about 10 years, and this year in particular I have experienced debilitating bouts of back pain which lasts for as long as 5 days, and leaves me unable to drive a car, do daily bits and pieces that we so often take for granted, and even walking without being in excruciating pain.

I have tried literally everything to help with the pain, and I can now confidently say that I have felt the best that I have in a long time and I swear it is all because of ongoing physiotherapy that I have been having.

A combination of exercise, deep tissue massage and dry needling has helped me manage my back pain enormously.

While I know that some treatments work for some and not others, I do highly recommend that you see a specialised person who can help set you up with specific exercises that are designed best for your needs and pain management. If you can have regular massages with needling or acupuncture I'm sure that will help too.

Another option might be to try cortisone injections if you haven't already, pilates and to also have your feet and how you walk assessed/scanned to see if you need to be wearing insoles or orthotics to help align and straighten you.

A few simple measures, but like I said, all have worked really well for me ~*knocks on wood*!!!

Wishing you the very best of health Nick . (hugs)

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I had this from about weeks 35 with my second son. I wish I could give you a magic cure, but in the end he had to be induced because it was giving me so much pain. I hope you don't have to go through the same thing, but I would mention it to your midwife if the pain is too much to bear. I got to the point where attacks would leave me sitting in the middle of the road or on the kitchen floor holding trays of hot food. Never let it get as bad as it was with me, it's just not worth the danger and the discomfort. Now I'm almost 14 weeks + 6 with my third, and I've been experiencing sciatica again, although to a much lesser degree at such an early stage. I told my midwife straight away about what had happened with my last baby, and she has had me referred to both physiotherapy and a maternity acupuncturist. Hopefully this will help. I wonder if something like this wold be a viable option for you if they can get you an appointment quickly enough? Good luck with your bundle of joy and I hope you have some relief from the pain soon!

I have experienced several severe bouts of pinched sciatica:

One instance, as luck....I should say unluck, I was forced to ride my bike 1 1/2 miles to work cuz my car broke down. I did that for a week and my back pain subsided.

Another time, I went to a physical therapist and did some stretching exercises. I would lay on my back, bend leg, and pull the other knee toward my chest. Switch. Each time I visited I was able to pull the legs closer to the chest and the pain went away. **I think some Pilates exercises might help**

I've tried muscle relaxers but they just made me 'high' and unable to work. I do take Ibus though if I'm in discomfort and that works. I also put the heating pad on my lower back for 20 minutes at a time over 2 hours, as needed.

I haven't had severe pain in about a year. That was due to mopping at my job when I hadn't been conditioned for it. I was hurting the next day. I saw the therapist due to a work related injury.

Hope my info helped and wasn't something you already knew.

Tight muscles in your lower back press against the nerves going to your legs and hips to cause pains in them, including the sciatic. To get rid of the pains you have to free up the muscles in your back and here's how to do that:

Back:

(do from a sitting position)

Place your left hand on your left leg next to your body. Place your right hand over your left shoulder, fingers over the back and the palm in the front and firmly pull down on them and hold. After 30 seconds slowly lower your body forward and to the outside of your left leg, keeping your left arm fairly straight as you do. When you reach your lap remain there for another 10 seconds, release the pressure but rest there for another 30 seconds. Then reverse your hand positions and do your right side.

For best results relax your body first by taking a deep breath and exhaling then remain this relaxed.

Hrm... Well the thing that cured me of my sciatic pain was childbirth lol. I had awful pain at the end of my pregnancy but it went away when my daughter was born... That was not really a very helpful answer I know... Sorry Nick... Um, talk to your doctor I guess or see a physio. I got a lot of relief with my shoulder pain from the deep tissue work she did.

Hope you feel better soon.

(((((hugs)))))

Ehm..

It is a fact that no one condition reflects sciatica and it would be prudent to refer to it as a generic medical term encompassing lots of symptoms that taken together describe a lower back pain that a patient suffers from. When someone complains of severe back pain that passes down to legs through his buttocks, even down to his feet and toes, doctors suspect him to be suffering from sciatica. Often sciatica presents itself as numbness or a tingling sensation that may not be anything like the severe pain commonly associated with sciatica. This tingling or numbness may be felt by the person when he engages in some activities.

On this site you can find very good tips on how to treat your sciatica: http://curesciatica.toptips.org/

Hope it helps.

You can relieve it through medication and exercise, my ex has had a broken neck C3 and C5 disc were involved and it goes into spasm a lot at the base of his spine, he ends up in tears at time and takes muscle relaxants to help as well, but it is very hard to handle and making sure it happens again, I hope you get better soon :)

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:( I'm sorry you're still in pain, Nick. People seem to have good answers for you, though I don't have any experience or knowledge myself to suggest anything more. I just hope you feel better soon, and take things easy for yourself. *hugs* xx