sciatic nerve pain

[kayak karl]

i pinched the nerve in my left hip (at work, but no idea how). i was tiling a shower stall floor. i've been down for 3 days. today feels better. my first thought is i won't be able to hike or kayak (sitting is VERY painful). any thoughts or tips to prevent this in the future. i saw a chiropractor. go back tomorrow morn.

tykk

[Walkintom]

You probably already know this, but if you carry a wallet remove it from your rear pocket with this sort of pain.

[kayak karl]

You probably already know this, but if you carry a wallet remove it from your rear pocket with this sort of pain.

LOL i got in truck this morning and it was the first thing i did.

[SteelCut]

I had this condition exactly a year ago. I self diagnosed it as piriformis syndrome which manifests itself as sciatic pain and numbness in my left foot. I'm not sure if that was the exact issue or not but all the symptoms were the same. I treated it using conditioning and stretching exercises that are prescribed for piiformis syndrome. These, along with sitting less (which I did ALOT in my previous job), helped tremendously. It has not returned.

I did stretching exericses described in the follow link and do those almost daily since recovering:

http://triggerpointrelief.com/cdrom/piriformis.html


I'll see if I can find any more links to the sites that provided the exercises that I found most useful.

[hikingshoes]

Sciatic nerve pain put me in the VA hospital a few years ago. I blacked out lost all bladder control and EMS came. I'm doing a thru-hike this yr. I'm off the trail for a few days due to that injury(military). I'll be doing a 20 miles section next weekend and see how I hold up. Hope you get to feeling better. HS

[moytoy]

If it's not chronic you can stretch and maybe use a tins machine to help recover. I did exactly what you describe about 4 years ago. I actually went to rehab and got some treatments but they were expensive even with insurance. I quit the rehab and just did it on my own with good results. It was a full year before I was totally pain free. You have to be patient but you should get your old self back.

[moytoy]

That is tens machine not tins.

[kayak karl]

a friend , trail name Cabana Boy, recommended an inversion table. any thoughts?

[4eyedbuzzard]

How exactly do you know it is a pinched nerve in the hip vs. something else? I'd recommend seeing a orthopedic MD in addition to the Chiropractor. I could tell you a long involved story about being misdiagnosed with piriformis syndrome by a Chiro that after a number of visits, spine manipulation, etc., wouldn't get better and turned out to be an L4-L5 herniated disk that showed up on MRI ordered by an Orthopedic MD. I wouldn't just wait and see.

[OCDave]

kayak karl,

You gotta get some of the RED Placebos. The RED ones are really good. Take 2 every morning and 2 at bedtime for 30 days and chances are you'll be cured.

Some will balk at the placebo plan however, you'll find it as effective as NSAIDs, narcotics, muscle relaxants or steroids with fewer side effects.

I have also tried Ultra-sound therapy, it felt good while I was on the table but did zero to reduce pain or improve function once I got up.

Good Luck,

PS: You can find the RED placebos distributed with packs of Skittles.

[kayak karl]

the nerve pain started above left butt and traveled to ankle. that was thurs morn. saw chiropractor friday morn. it has been getting better day by day. even sleeping thru night. i see him in morning. i just don't want to do this again. if it does come back i will see MD.

[Walkintom]

I'm cautious of inversion tables. I have a friend whose sister used one and has not been pain free since, 9 years later.

[misprof]

Ask your chiro about the inversion table. Did they do an X-ray? Your Chiro or your orthopedic doc should give you some stretches and conditioning exercises for your hips and core. But they won't give you the conditioning ones until the inflammation is reduced. I feel for you. I hurt my back/hips 2 months ago and my first thought was shoot there goes tramping for the season. Get well soon.

[kayak karl]

i see him tomorrow. yes on the x-rays. i will follow up tomorrow.

[burk]

Two blower disc and one compressed, use the inversion board for last 11 years every day for 20 min. Keeps me running, hiking, and just about pain free.'

[archie]

Sounds exactly like my disk problems. I would check with an MD instead of a DC.

I wish you luck as I would not wish the pain from a disc problem on my worst enemy!

[upstream]

I recommend the MD and physical therapist route also.

That said, I've learned to use the McKenzie method first step as first aid for my back and sciatic pain. It got me working when I threw mine out 2 days before a trip to China in 2007. I couldn't walk.

First step: on a bamboo mat on a hard floor (therapists table with hole for your face works also) lay on your stomach with your hands by your side. Lay there still, until you consciously relax every muscle in your lower back. Then lay there for 5 minutes longer.

As long as it hurts, you shouldn't go past the first step.

You can google it and find out all the rest of the steps if you need them.

Piriformis syndrome is different. my MD sent me to a physical therapist, because the McKenzie exercises didn't fix it. That's why you should see an MD and a physical therapist first.

[naturlred]

Yoga will be a wonderful benefit to you now and in the the future to prevent this sort of thing again.

Just be advised: start out slowly! It may not look difficult but you will stretch parts of your body that you didn't even know you had

Feel better soon!

[Just Bill]

Hopefully you tweaked your back, which tweaked a muscle, which swelled and caused the sciatica.
In that case, vitamin I (and/or a muscle relaxer) will let the muscle injury heal and stop pushing on the nerve.

Tile is tough, you can make so durn much on it, but it sure is tough on yer back. Especially when you only do it occasionally or get stuck working in a shower where you gotta hold up the tile, reach out 5', not touch any other tile, and still work balanced on a knee. It's the odd jobs that get ya, not the stuff you do everyday. Hate to say it, only way to avoid that problem is to avoid taking tile jobs in showers.

Pilates works the best, yoga too- your core strength from paddling is probably a decent bit of help; but really the only way to prevent it in the future is to be diligent about keeping that six pack, which is tough as at the end of the day as it's easier to drink one than make one.

Sounds mainly to me like a bad day (especially when we're talking a shower pan). The sharp sudden stuff is an usually an injury, yer an old bastard, but injuries heal. The tricky part will be taking enough time off to make sure it's better before you tweak it again.

The tough stuff is the chronic stuff- nothing you can do about that- it's already done. That tends to creep on you until one day you've had enough, not pop up and knock you on your ass like yours did.

Sucks- but could suck worse.

[kombiguy]

Same problem. Pain from hip to ankle, occasional numbness. What worked for me was shoes with the right insole. I had to give up my Sperry Topsiders and go with running or walking shoes with good insoles, properly fitted. That did the trick, at least for me.