Sciatica nerve
 

It may sound funny but I found these guys on you tube.
Absolute Best Exercise for Sciatica & Herniated Disc- McKenzie Approach. - YouTube

I had sciatica really bad and these guys really helped. When I do get the pain now it's very minor. When it used to get really bad I saw somewhere that you should sit on a tennis ball. You need to work the ball to find the right spot. That really worked well when driving. I feel your pain!
Steve

I have a TENS...and it's a very short-term "solution" (it doesn't do anything long-term). I tried the PEMF treatment with The Villages Health (you don't have to be a member...it's out of pocket and they do seminars from time to time). It helped but their unit isn't in our budget. A friend told me about OSKA Health, which is much/much less expensive AND it's also where you can take it with you. I ordered one. I've been doing PEMF for well over a month and many of my pain issues are either better or gone.

Also will add...it's not a snake-oil solution. Been there, done that so did my research before going this route.

Also didn't look at the video the other op gave you...but it may be your perifimis muscle (maybe that video addresses that) and there are stretches you can do.

There is another thread on this website about the PEMF treatment. If you research the FDA website, you will find nothing on it that approves that device for sciatica. And, there is a letter from the FDA posted on the FDA website to a company that sells the device threatening them with legal action for making false claims about the device.

Google “yoga pigeon pose”. It’s easy and gets easier. A few good stretches a week and mine has disappeared.

I have been using an inversion table for about 30 years.

I'm so confused! And sad. It's been a month. Dr. Said arthritis, hospital said sciatica, osteoarthritis. Physical therapist, sciatica. I have done everything they said. I'm realizing I'm basically on my own. It helps to know I am not alone, but I can't help wondering about the future.

Tommy Copper Compression Sleeves work miracles for both of us.

I am in crisis this very moment with pain from the knee down. I've done about 50 laps around the inside of the house. The Pool is very helpful also. Good Luck. :pray:

I think the term "sciatica" refers to any pain caused by pressure or irritation of the sciatic nerve. The nerve extends from the brain stem all the way to the foot. The pressure can be caused by a bulging or herniated disc, or by bone deposits caused by arthritis. The pain can be felt anywhere along the nerve, even remotely from where the pressure occurs. I had a herniated disc in my lower back years ago that caused severe leg pain. It was diagnosed with an MRI. I had surgery, and the pain is gone, but I really don't know if the surgery was the cure, or just time. But, I don't think physical therapy will help much. If you can get an MRI, it may show where the nerve is being compressed. Good luck.

Only an MRI can detect a synovial cyst.

A synovial cyst can grow quite large in the lumbar spine and can cause excruciating nerve pain in the legs.

These things are sometimes called "rare," but I have reason to believe they are underdiagnosed because insurance companies do not want to pay for MRIs.

Your back can look OK on an x-ray, but the soft tissue of a synovial cyst will not show up except on an MRI.

I hope you will Google synovial cyst lumbar spine and see it the information you find there might apply to your situation.

I wish you well.

I had a synovial cyst, and the pain went down my leg was unbearable!!! They operated and 2 years later I got another one. This wasn't as bad as the first one. My surgeon said I would eventually need back surgery to tighten things up and not have the fluid build up. 2 years after that I had back surgery.....and have never had another problem. I suggest you see a nuero surgeon.

I was just about to suggest this program to you ...... I get sciatic pain in the left back cheek, it's like being kicked in the rear. I handle mine with yoga stretches which I got off the internet and especially YouTube.

I too had a herniated disc that was leaning against the sciatic nerve and causing excruciating pain down my left leg. I was also experiencing foot drop which is a condition where the foot and ankle don't support the weight and basically "flop". I had two epidural shots to relieve the pain, but they didn't do much, so was referred to a neurosurgeon who examined me and said the cause was the bulging disc and said surgery was necessary and quickly before permanent damage resulted. I had the surgery three days later and have had zero problem since. I am sure there are many causes for sciatic nerve pain, but in my case surgery did the trick.

My Villages Medi-care doctor wanted to refer me to a back surgeon in Ocala, he said I was a good candidate for fusion surgery. I couldn't stand in one place or walk through a grocery store or mall without looking for a place to sit within five minutes. I had extreme lower back pain.

Before I saw the surgeon I tried a chiropractor and after 9 sessions found no improvement. I bought a Teeter Inversion Table at Dick's in Ocala and within six weeks all my pain was gone. I've been using it about 5 minutes a day for over two years and no more pain.

Had severe pain from my back, thigh, hamstring, calf,all the way through my big toe. Got so bad I couldn't walk. Had the epidural shots, went to chiro guy (bad idea) and finally spinal surgery from a brain/spine guy in Orlando. Instant relief and three months of rehab with zero pain.

You have been through it all, except for a chiropractor. I know that many people swear against them, but many swear by them, including me. I went through physical therapy twice, which each time made my sciatica worse. Dr. Kuhn on 301 in Wildwood got me to be able to walk again.


Also, I have found that since we moved from a three-story condo to a one level Villages house (2011), my situation flared up out of nowhere (it had gone away in 1997 Oh duh... that's when we moved from a one-story to a three-story). Since then, half the year since 2016 we live in a two-story house and I do walking trails that are rocky and uneven. My problem during this time disappears. I think the back-and-forth motion somehow eases everything. Perhaps you could find a stair stepper or some other form of exercise that puts your back in different positions.


Or try Dr. Kuhn. He's old-fashioned very good.

OP .. Here are three suggestions, all pf which I used over the past 6 months:

1. Talk to your GP about Gabapentin - It is used for nerve pain - I take 300mg 2x daily - it does have some minor side effects - I would best describe it as a "cloudy head" - I have also found that it accelerates the effects of alcohol, if you are a drinker. It did wonders for my lower leg pain.

2. Daily magnesium supplement - My calf was knotted up so bad I could hardly walk - After striking out w ortho, GP, MRI, I made my first ever visit to a chiro, who recommended the magnesium. I take that daily after breakfast

3. Consider a visit to a licensed massage therapist (also a first for me). I told her I needed her to work for an hour solely on the calf, which she did.. She found all sorts of knots and patiently and professionally found the pressure points and worked them out..

Bottom line, I can walk two miles again ..

Good Luck !

I started using Gabapentin in 2005 for diabetic neuropathy in my feet. I have diabetes 2 and my feet would only hurt when I slept. It worked great for a dozen years and then about two years ago I started sleepwalking. The last time about a year ago I was standing on the bed and walked off, I woke up with a bleeding head. I had hit my head on the metal frame. I had to stop using it and the dreams and sleepwalking went away. I've eliminated all sugar from my diet and for the most part, no more pain.

Classical stretch solution
 

If you have not had an MRI, it might be time to think about doing so to find out what is going on in the lumbar spine. Even though your back itself might not hurt much, or not at all, you seem to be suffering from radiculothopy (pain radiating along the sciatic nerve from the lower back.) An MRI can show if there is a herniated disc or a synovial cyst that is compressing the nerve at a point in the lower spine.

Good Advice
 

You are very welcome. :) When I saw that you had started this thread 4 months ago and are still enduring the pain, I decided to follow through with my MRI advice.

Before ordering an MRI, your doctor probably will do an x-ray. Insurance is known to require an x-ray first. If the cause is a synovial cyst, an x-ray will not show it, but an MRI will.

I wish you well.

Dear Boomer,
Thank you so much. I have been suffering for one year. It seems to have started with walking/standing and has spread up the sciatic nerve now affecting my back. I remain hopeful the exercises will strengthen my back and I will align properly but if not - I'll ask my doctor to do an MRI. The support you've provided has given me such comfort. I'm always amazed how little follow-up care the medical profession provides. Not even a phone call to ask how I'm doing. Guess I'll have to wait for my scheduled 6 month follow-up visit. Florida Blue offers 24 hour doctor access as part of my plan...I'm considering it.

You are very welcome. When I saw that you had started this thread 4 months ago and are still enduring the pain, I decided to follow through with my MRI advice.

Before ordering an MRI, your doctor probably will do an x-ray. Insurance is known to require an x-ray first. If the cause is a synovial cyst, an x-ray will not show it, but an MRI will.

I wish you well.
Last edited by Boomer; Today at 09:01 AM. Reason: Added info

Update
 

I have had several of these and they can be excruciating. The first one, I had to go to the emergency room at 3:00 am. You never know when you are going to get them and there is nothing you can do about it except getting a shot for pain immediately. Had the MRI and that's where it reared it's ugly little head !

Had all the shots, did absolutely nothing for me. Now trying the Pigeon Pose. Lot of people did get relief from this exercise. Will see how it goes !

Painful
 

rjcataniajr,
Sciatica is sooo painful. The pigeon pose is a good stretch but be prepared for soreness. Hang in there.

Bellaboy, you seem to have tried all the conventional routes. Now I would recommend trying David Kuhn on 301, a chiropractor. After physical therapy made my problem worse, I went to him and he gave me relief. He is an old-fashioned chiropractor with only a few bells and whistles, but magic hands with your back. If you have an MRI and take it to him, he can set up a series of corrections that medicare will cover (if you are of that age).

One other thing... My sciatica problem had gone away after I quit the tennis team in 1997, but it reared its ugly head again when we moved down here permanently in 2013. (We had been living in a three-story condo up north.) After a few years in a one-story house here, I could barely walk. That's when I went through PT and on to the chiro. Now we have a summer home that is two stories, so must do stairs a lot (the one bathroom is upstairs) and it's in a spot where we do a lot of hiking on uneven ground. Lo and behold, my back problem has disappeared. I think the unevenness of terrain plus going up and down stairs again has realigned my back to alleviate the problem. Of course, that is my non-medical-degree guess. However, Anytime Fitness has a stair stepper, if maybe that would help you. Good luck; I know the pain.

I used the most powerful CBD cream I could find. I woke up one morning and found I had no pain-----WONDERFUL !!!

It also cured my Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

was wondering who your neurosurgeon was and did someone recommend him.
thank you

Back alignment
 

I finally took a chance and went to see Chiropractor, Dr. Kuhn in Wildwood. He could tell there was extreme tightness in my lower back causing pain on the sciatic nerve. He relieved some of the discomfort but I think it is still too soon to tell how long before this condition will heal. The pain and soreness continues.

Thanks for the update. I really hope you are able to get relief from your pain. But, mark me down as highly skeptical that a chiropractor can permanently cure any medical condition.

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