Sciatica relief--on here for traffic

[ScreamLikeYouMeanIt]

Just this really. Does anyone have any tips amon hiw to subside sciatic pain. My lower back has been twinging all afternoon and now I'm unable to sleep with a dull ache pain over the front of my hip and down the back of my thigh. I'm wriggling around in bed trying the stretch it out (much to annoyance of DH) but nothing relieves it. Any tips?

I have suffered from sciatica for the last two years and have my op for a herniated disc in two weeks after having tried the following:

Physio, chiropractor, cocodamol, codiene, spinal pain injection following a MRI scan, amatriptaline. I had a second MRI scan 18 months after the pain started which showed the disc was still bulging.

The pain was in my right leg and I found lying on my left side with my right leg bent up helped a lot at night.

I have two discs, bulging. When I saw the results if my MRI I understood why I had been in so much pain. One at the top, one at the bottom. No one can say why, or how it happened. I have had all the painkillers and felt drunk all the time, without much pain relief. It is a lot better now, but I worry if it all gets as bad again because I am on my own now.
One thing that has helped is I bought a 4 inch memory foam mattress topper for the bed. It has really given me a better nights sleep. The mattress entire is expensive, and I couldn't really afford it. 80 pounds from amazon for the topper.
I go for acupuncture on Wednesday and it keeps me going.

Diazapam to relax, then zapain and core exercises, keep moving though don't be tempted to lie down and do nothing

It is the worst pain ever. I have a disc that pops in and out and sometimes gives me awful sciatica.

I've had this for a decade now and have a number of strategies for dealing with flare ups:

Heat - I know some people prefer ice but for me heat helps massively as it relaxes my muscles and therefore the tension in the area

Exercises - I have a host of these, mostly shown to me by my physio. The best one involves someone else helping. Lie on your back, bend you legs at the knee. Get the other person to loop a long towel behind your knees and then the gently pull on the towel so that your legs are pulling your spine out. It requires the other person to be gentle and apply steady pressure for about 5 seconds and for them to repeat it several times. I often get instant relief from this.

Most of all, keep doing core strength exercises, so that the pressure is off your spine and your muscles are supporting your trunk.

I found sleeping on the most comfortable side but with a cushion between the knees helped relieve the strain on the area. Cold is best as sciatic pain is usually because there is swelling in the area. The best exercise is about stretching out so knees to chest whilst lying down and arms outstretched to side. You can hug your knees to your body and release then put feet on floor knees still up and slowly push the knees over to each side but keep torso as flat as possible (there are u tubes on these exercises). It may not give immediate relief but over three or four days it definitely improves things.

Also to relieve any muscle cramps I do leg stretches to stretch out back of calf and leg. I am two years down the line from a horrendous episode of around 3 months unable to do anything but semi sit and lie down or stand for short periods - it took a long time to sort and am now very careful. I think mine is a partially slipped disc and in the new year will be going to ask for a better proper assessment to avoid it getting any worse, although I haven't had a lot of help from GPs in the past with it

Although it is a serious subject the suggestions when put together start to sound as though they are part of an erotic novel.
Get on all fours on the floor, lay with your legs in the air, drape yourself across settees and stick balls up your backside. Include it with the post on wool carpets and bare behinds and I'm wondering when the movie premiere will be?

Go to YouTube and search for stretching exercises to help with sciatica
also yoga to help with sciatica

I was offered amitriptyline for my sciatica. I didn't take it as I was still breastfeeding.

Tens machine, amitriptyline, tennis ball against the wall and rub against it, foam rollers, heat pack, stretches, seeing a chiropractor/osteopath

In bed, sleep with you bottom sticking out to curve the bottom of your spine and your top leg on a pillow to give you the best alignment.

When watching tv, lie on your front with the upper part of your body propped up on your elbows to stretch your spine.

These tow things help me when mine flares up.

X

I had sciatica all down my right leg for about a year. Really awful pain that never let up. It turned out that the sciatic nerve was being squashed where it goes through the piriformis muscle (butt cheek) and to free it I was shown how to do this exercise:-
Lie on your back with bent knees and feet flat. Raise the painful leg and put the ankle on top of the other knee. Grab the bent knee and try to pull it up toward the opposite shoulder (in my case the right knee toward the left shoulder. Wonderful relief!!!!!

Hi, first time poster, male.
I've suffered from sciatica for years, had acupuncture, cupping, two epidurals and still suffering although not as bad as it was. It's always there but not as excrutiating as it was.
Couple of exercises I found help - lie on your stomach and with your hands push your upper half up keeping your pelvis on the floor, hold for 5 seconds and lower yourself and repeat 10 times.
Another one, get one of those large exercise balls lie backwards over it to stretch your back. These should be done on a regular basis, but please check with your Doc first, mine is for a trapped nerve in my back, but check first as I'm not sure about discs etc.
I do sympathise with anyone suffering from sciatica, mine runs from my buttock and down through the hamstring to the knee, it's rotten!

Hi just wondering how you are all getting on? Hopefully you can offer me hope. Been suffering with sciatica for 7 weeks now and been to doctors twice, given 6 weeks worth of naproxen which didn't seem to touch it. Have been referred for physio and the physiotherapist is lovely. Seems to think it's 'just' a bulging disc and given exercoses for me to do at home. Whilst it's not as excruciating as it was, it feels like it will just never go away. A lot of people at my work and at ds's school have had it and say it lasted for months?? Will this ever go away?

Naproxen, ultra sound from private physio and lots of core exercises, whenever I get pain now, especially hanging gear in the car, I do core exercises (recommended by physio) and it clears up after 2-3 days

Gabapentin from the Docs has saved my bacon with this horrible pain. This drug works differently to those you are used to - it works on the nerves - and it does the trick.

Experienced sciatica for the first time in pregnancy and mine was caused by frozen muscle/connective tissue rather than inflammation. Saw a private physiotherapist and she miraculously got rid of it with two sessions of deep massage. I tried stretching exercise online, meds, support belts etc but it was the physical pressure that released the nerve. It was without a doubt the best money I ever spent in my life.

Have been seeing chiropractor for last 6 months for what I thought was just sciatica, turns out that's just the symptom for something else that's wrong. I have very tight hip flexors too which also doesn't help Have had acupuncture etc which has helped but yoga is the main thing that's helped me tremendously. "Yoga with Adrienne" on YouTube and search her videos for lower back relief. She has lots of videos for lots of issues

Thanks all. I am awaiting mri but it was ordered from doctors over a month ago and still not heard anything more. Physio seems to know what she's talking about and I agree my core strength needs upping. I am just running out of hope, maybe it's just been a bad few days but it's so depressing being in constant pain and discomfort for so long. Sorry for moaning but thanks for the replies.

I know that this is an old thread, my DH is suffering from sciatica for about a month now (not been at work for 3 weeks now). I really thought the pain would subside but he seems to be in more pain every day.

He's had no diagnostic imaging, just seen several GPs, has had one physio session, (next appt tomorrow) and visited a Chiropractor yesterday with follow up appointment on Tuesday. Also had cupping treatment a few weeks ago.

I know everyone is different but how long did it take for the pain to go away or at least subside enough to be able to carry out normal daily tasks?

We're both getting so frustrated :(

Try an arched back stretcher, there is loads out there, works wonders

anyone tried the epidural injection therpay for a bulged disc/sciatica? was it any good?

@Nopenotsureigiveahoot

anyone tried the epidural injection therpay for a bulged disc/sciatica? was it any good?

This is a very old thread so it would be a good idea to start a new thread to get replies.

I got no relief at all from several different spinal injections. I had mainly back pain.

SIL had mainly leg pain and got terrific relief.

We both had the same L5/5/disc prolapse.