Sciatica getting worse

[Netball01]

I’ve had sciatica for 4 months no - initially i got a twinge when I stood up but it’s got worse and worse where it’s pretty much constant unless I’m lying down.

I saw a physio but that seemed to make it worse & now seeing an osteopath which initially helped but seems to be getting worse again.

it’s fine when I wake up but the moment I start moving it hurts again - Ive been stretching twice a day as recommended & swimming / walking but walking seems to aggravate it. Also nerve flossing seems to make it worse too.

Does anyone have any other suggestions? I’m booked in for an MRI but still got another month to wait for that.

You poor thing. Are you taking any medication?

Is it definitely sciatica? I thought I had sciatica, physio thought it was sciatica but I saw the GP and eventually was diagnosed with a tear in a sacral ligament.

@Topjoe19 I’ve been taking IBproferen - I was pescribed Naxopren but they made me feel awful so I stopped

@DocOck that’s what my Physio thought & my gp would only give me a telephone appointment so hasn’t examined me.

ive just googled it and the symptoms sound quite similar - do you mind me asking how your GP was able to diagnose it please ?

Sounds really debilitating! I sympathise. My sciatic pain has, finally, been linked to incredibly tight hip flexors. I had various scans, nothing interesting showed up. I now spend about ten mins a day doing simple exercises to untighten the flexors. A physio can give you advice with suitable exercises, but at the base level, lots of gentle pelvic tilts might help. This said, you're right to get a scan organised. (Writing as a non-medic, by the way.) Good luck!

I hear acupuncture may help sciatica.

Can you ask your gp to prescribe something for nerve pain? Amitriptyline or gabapentin/pregablin?

Also yes to pp acupuncture can be helpful. It's important to get properly diagnosed though, but it's extremely difficult to get this. GPs aren't great with back pain help always

Amitriptyline, 10mg, is the only thing that helps me. Amazing stuff.

Op I sympathise with you, I developed sciatica in my late teens and suffered for a number of years. Crippling pain, unable to stand for more than and few minutes at a
time etc.

I tried all sorts of stuff - exercises from the physio, deep tissue massage, some sort of sound wave therapy (very old school). For me it was acupuncture that finally did the trick. After about 4-5 years of suffering, a course of acupuncture over a couple of months I think it was (this was almost 20 years ago) and the pain has gone. I can now stand up for a reasonable amount of time, go to gigs
In the standing area etc. I also made a few changes afterwards, such as continuing to exercise and strengthen my muscles, ensuring footwear had adequate arch support (I suspect my sciatica developed after spending 4+ hours stood behind a till wearing flat boots and no support at all).

Definitely get a scan though, as others mentioned there could be a whole host of other things that need to be ruled out.

Hopefully you’re on the mend soon xxx

Thank you for the responses everyone. I’m going to look into a accupuncture

Just an update in case anyone is going through similar - I’ve been for an mri scan and have a large protruding disc that’s pressing on a nerve ! So would definitely echo all the Pp who said get a scan to determine the cause of the sciatica.

So glad you’ve got an answer OP 💕

@hwotsit to be honest it hasn’t changed my treatment. I’ve been seeing an osteopath (privately) and it does seem to be helping.

I was referred for an MRI on the NHS but it was about 6 weeks wait and I managed to get one done privately through my work. Following the scan I was referred to a Neurosurgeon (again privately), who said as my symptoms seem to be getting better then for the moment I don’t need any additional treatment but if it gets worse the plan will be a steroid injection (and a 2nd one if the first didn’t help), and then after 2 failed injections they would do surgery.

It sounds like it could be worth a call to the GP for you - especially if it’s getting worse again. I was referred because I’d had pain for a few months, I was also prescribed some painkillers too. Sitting makes mine worse too, I’ve been working from the sofa for weeks now!

I have sciatic pain, comes and goes. Nerve flossing has to be done correctly, does osteopath recommend this. Also laying on my stomach helped me a lot. With eventually leaning on my forearms while on stomach. Called the McKenzie stretch, doesn’t help everyone though. As little sitting as possible helps me too. As it squashes discs.

Have they diagnosed it as sciatica because if it's spinal stenosis you want to avoid the McKenzie stretches as they can exacerbate it.

In my experience (of a lifetime of prolapsed discs) they usually heal 6-9 months after the initial injury. By a year later you're back to normal. I say this because I wouldn't rush to surgery. Every surgeon I've ever seen says surgery really needs to be the last resort as they are so unsure what the outcome will be and it can be a lot worse, cause further complications with scar tissue etc.

I’ve had a few flare ups of sciatica caused by a bulging disc confirmed by mri over the last 15yrs. The worst lasted 18mth recovery but it did re-absorb. A combination treatment approach worked for me, physio massage, gentle pilates to strengthen core muscles, work out how to keep moving i found I could cycle with raised handle bars but walking was too painful. I use a sit / stand desk for work and have used a saddle seat for10yrs+ now as you sit in a different position and drive using a wedge cushion to tip my pelvis. Swimming breaststroKe only if head in fully as the dip in lower back caused issues but front crawl was great. It’s a slow process but if you can keep moving somehow gently it did help me. I used Naproxen and acupuncture around the piriformus muscle helped. I didn’t get on with Amitripline was too spaced out.