Sciatica Back Pain
 

Have you, had it?
What worked and what didn't?
I am not much of a medicine person to treat pain, only if the pain gets bad.

I had a MRI and going in for the results Monday.

The pain starts in my back, to my right hip, then down my right leg.

Cheers!

I found a chiropractor Dr. David Kuhns (Wildwood) that treated mine for 6 to 8 weeks, and that was 3 years ago, never returned.

Sciatica occurs when a bulging disc or a bone touches on the sciatic nerve. I had surgery to correct it many years ago, and it worked. They removed part of a disc. But, in older people, it can be caused by arthritis where the bone touches on the nerve. A chiropractor will take your money, but won't fix it. Medicine won't fix it. An epidural is a waste of time and money. The MRI is the way to go, but it doesn't always diagnose it properly. If the pain is not too bad, don't rush into surgery because it may correct itself over time. Good luck.

I had this and it hurt really bad. First thing my doctor did was recommend I go to physical therapy. Wrong! Then he recommended I go to a chiropractor. Double wrong!

Then he suggested, albeit gingerly, that I go a pain doctor. The pain doctor said I needed an MRI. After that we scheduled a time in the the same surgery that I used later for a colonoscopy, and they put me to sleep and he stuck a needle into the spot on my back that was indicated on the MRI. I went home and the next day it was like something magical happened. That was nineteen years ago and I’m still pain free.

The last time I had it the doctor recommended heavy doses of Tylenol. I don't know that it helped much. Tried various exercises, stretches, and heat packs but not sure that helped either. After about five weeks (hard to remember exactly) it gradually got better.

I have the same problem, though it was sciatica. As it turns out my friggin right hip is bone on bone and the pain radiates up to the back and down the leg. Looks like more hardware going into that leg, already had the knee replaced. Dam, I sure had lots of fun skiing all those moguls, but I’m paying dearly for it now.

I had it bad, and now an occasional flair up. Chiropractor did the trick and now I do Yoga stretches... seems to help.

Agree on a Chiropractor. Like anything else, choose wisely. Wait for MRI results and supply them to the DC. To me the least invasive way should always be explored first....before pain meds and surgical procedures. I don’t have a specific rec for you since I have a close friend in MA who treats me at his practice but I attached a Yelp link for May on DC in Sumter County. Best of luck!


THE Ultimate BEST 10 Chiropractors in SUMTER COUNTY, FL - Last Updated June 2024 - Yelp

Certo (fruit pectin)

I like Aleve (Naproxen) if you can take NSAIDS. I also use some kind of decompression, like hanging from a chin up bar. Inversion tables (Eg., Teeter and others) get a lot of positive comments; many preowned are available on Craigslist, etc.
Of course, my medical advice is worth what you're paying for it, and check with your healthcare providers.

If you are interested the most recent review of the value, or lack of value, of Chiropractic treatment for low back pain is online
HERE or for those of you who won't click that you can do it
Benefits and harms of spinal manipulative therapy for the treatment of chronic low back pain: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials | The BMJ

This study looked at published data comparing chiropractic manipulation and compared it to sham manipulation where someone does something known to be useless to the patient, or compared to simply taking a drug like motrin, or to exercise etc.

There are lots of details to read, but the outcome was that chiropractic was no better than just taking motrin at any of the times measured, one month, six months, and one year. But of course the cost in dollars and time is not insignificant. It was better than fake treatment. YMMV

Everyone is different. Chiro helped me. So did ibuprofen.

Sciatica may be from 20 different causes. Tight IT bands is one of them. A massage gun or tiger tail helps with that. Stretching is mandatory. Or do yoga.

I was diagnosed with it some 25 or so years ago, and it was most painful.
At that time, my doctor was an elderly gentleman, and "old school."
His advice was suspending from a rail so full body wight was stretching the spine, walk a lot, work through it, and take a couple of painkillers when really bad.
I just went with it, did as the man said, and after some months it just went.
Did it go because of the exercise, or on its own accord, I haven't a clue, but it went and never returned.
Think the treatments are a little more sophisticated these days, but if all else fails, it's worth a try.
Worked for me.

You might want to try a SI belt. You wear it below your waistline and it takes the pressure off. Around $10 or so on Amazon. Works for me!