Sciatic Nerve Issues

[REW]

The use of ibuprofen for pain relief has been mentioned by some for pain relief for situations of back pain.

If you have onging nagging pain that you need to treat daily or multiple times a day, please try to avoid the use of ibuprofen.

Although this is a very good muscle relaxer and does help a great deal for pain at times, it has some negative effects.

This medicine can lead to internal bleeding.
Also, this medicine can cause a lot of excessive fluid retention.

Perhaps a better option is to use Alieve or the generic version of Acetaminophen.

This medicine typically works well also, but does not seem to have the side effects of ibuprofen.

But, use what ever works.

[Paul H]

My opinion, but I had issues fo 10+ years.

In Order
MRI
Spine steroid shots - did NADA
Physical Therapy - also NADA

several years of massage, PT, Stretches Chiro with little help.

Last year I had to stop the daily -2 mile walks and started to get to the core of it.

1 1/2 eval by a specialist, one leg is 1/2 shorter.

Another steroid shot - again no help

More PT - no help.

Then I decide to just go with surgery eval.

MRI - again, Surgeon stated he would have done surgery based on the previous (10 year) MRI.
Ended up with a Laminectomy in March, I still have issues, but this is the simplest and needed anyway. I had been having numbness in one foot, well as leg cramps and Charley horses. These both immediately stopped.

I will eventually need to have spacers placed between a couple discs.

What I have is very similar to Tiger Wood's.

My suggestion - find a great neurosurgeon, skip the Chrio and insist on a MRI. - sooner the better as it will not go away if it's a nerve issue.

[mh454]

I had a sciatic nerve pain a couple years ago. Started with chiropractor but didn't have any success. Went to my doctor where they diagnosed it was most likely a sciatic never issue (first time experiencing this). They recommend therapy. Went to therapy for 4-5 sessions. Did some stretches/exercises and the traction table (combined with heat and a tens machine). That is what ultimately help relieve the pain. I would say I had a 50% decrease in pain after the first traction session. Was 90% by the third or fourth. After about a month I was completely healed and haven't had any issues since. I did purchase an inversion table for home use. Whenever I'm having some back issues I do about 10 mins on it and feel a lot better. I don't even tip back that far (first setting). I sit too much for my job as I'm either at a desk or on the car. Thinking about getting a standing desk for work as I think that might help too.

[Derwood]

I got a muscle relaxer to take tonight (with tylenol) and a steroid to start tomorrow am. Hopefully that will knock this thing down, and then I'll get real proactive about keeping it away. Hopefully some of the suggestions will work.

[Sparkyd]

Have you ever tried an inversion table? I've had similar problems with my lower discs. Go to Chiro and he stretchs me out and good to go for about a week. Found a used "TEETER" inversion table. It has really helped. Just don't go wild and completely invert your self. About the 4 o'clock position is the max. Then you start hurting those tiny legimints that hold your spine vertical. You can find their add on internet.

[Bobby Winds]

I do leg lifts EVERY MORNING even before I get out of bed.......It's the last thing I want to do when I just wake up but it's made all the difference in the world for my sciatic nerve pain.

[Baseline]

There is only one cause of Sciatic problems and that is a impingement of the nerve. Problem is it manifests in many different ways and affect individual people differently and has different solutions ranging from doing nothing to surgery. Best thing to do is get an eval from your personal doctor and move on from there. A few years ago I tripped and fell in my boat banging my left hip into a seat back. A few days later I had the classic sciatic nerve pain radiating down my left leg which caused all sorts of discomfort. I saw my doc a few days later and over the next several weeks progressed from taking Advil to muscle relaxers- to narcotics - to PT to more PT to a MRI - to a spinal injection which finally worked.

[Jatar]

look into :
Prolazone therapy

[Derwood]

I ended up getting some steroids and muscle relaxers to take for a few days to call this thing down. Once I'm feeling better, I can should be able to start on more preventative measures.

[DerHornen]

I had an L4-L5 disc that was protruding and causing sciatica. I saw a chiropractor for a while and in the end I think all that shoving around made the problem worse. Got an MRI to identify the problem, and it went away after a cortisone shot and a month of physical therapy.

I was good for about 10 years with some core strengthening and stretching for maintenance, then it flared up again. This time I did independent physical therapy using what I had learned after the first go around. After a couple months it wasn't working, so I went to the doctor. The MRI showed it was the L5-S1 disc protruding instead of L4-L5, but luckily no herniation. The original problem disc had actually shrunk back to where it should be. Tried another the round of physical therapy including traction, stretching, icing, TENS unit, cortisone, etc. After 8 weeks with no improvement went in to have the offending portion of the disc surgically removed. Surgery should be a last resort if the other methods don't help, but that was the only option left for me. As soon as I woke up I could feel the pressure on the nerve was gone and the recovery was easy. The hardest part was feeling so much better but holding to the doctor's orders to take it easy for 6 weeks.