To ask for your sciatica success stories?

[EggbertHeartsTina]

I had my second baby last week, was dilated and pushing for about 5 hours. I’d had sciatica symptoms in last week of pregnancy but the labour has made them so much worse. I can’t walk, sit and can only breastfeed lying down so I’m basically trapped in the house.

So far I’ve tried:
TENS machine (helped immensely for one day only)
Chiropractor (seeing him again today)
Booked in with osteopath next week
Back exercises
Heat and ice alternating
GP who prescribed Naproxen and also codeine but it’s not considered safe for breastfeeding
Paracetamol

I’ve had back pain before but nothing like this. I’m so miserable, I feel like I’ll never get better. My newborn is a fab little guy but I don’t feel I’m enjoying him like I should be, and DS1 isn’t even getting a look in. My DH is amazing but goes back to work in a week.

I’m basically hoping for people to tell me that in their experiences it’s gone away without referrals to surgery etc.

Thanks

I had it after having my son. Dr said it was due to my body returning to normal after the birth & it got trapped. I was lucky that the hospital (St Mary's in Manchester) offered physio to expecting mothers for pregnancy related issues... I called up & they agreed to see me, gave me some exercises to do & it cleared within about a month or so. It was horrendous though, couldn't go anywhere as the pain was awful.

I had acute onset sciatica several years ago. I was sent to a ‘back rehab’ class which involved a weekly circuit of exercises and small bursts of cardio - others in the class were recovering from severe spinal injuries!

I’d second the recommendation to seek postnatal physio and hope you see someone who can give you similar exercises to do at home? Also second the recommendation to walk as much as possible even though it’s counter intuitive. Just try and go a little further every day. Best of luck, I’ve never been in so much pain as that.

Thank you - the pain is akin to labour and as I was in labour only last week i can remember it quite clearly!
@jammysod did you suffer during pregnancy at all? I had it in my last week but it’s worse now, I’m hoping that it’s the same as you - body returning to normal (so at least I know there’s an end in sight!)

No issues before labour...it started about 2/3 weeks after I'd had him.
It's been 4.5yrs now & aside from a couple of niggles I've had no problems since.
Hope you make a quick recovery x

Sciatica is a general term for the pain - how you treat it depends on what’s actually causing it. OP I had it terribly in my first pregnancy - in the last week I literally couldn’t walk, I had to crawl to our front door. It took 6 weeks to resolve and the pain was horrendous and made the C-section feel like a breeze.

It was caused by SPD in pregnancy and I saw an osteopath who in hindsight was pretty useless.

For my second pregnancy last year I started seeing a postnatal physio as soon as the SPD twinges started setting in at about 5 months. She did massage/release work on me weekly & had me wearing a serola belt to stabilise my pelvis. She also told me to limit any walking ... so I got really fat but I avoided really bad SPD which is a trade off I can live with 😂

Anyway long story short - see a good postnatal/woman’s with awho can do massage release work on your piriformis & can advise you what’s appropriate in terms of exercise etc. walking through it at this stage may not help and may make it worse.

for you, it really sucks, I was so miserable for the first 6 weeks after DC1. It will get better. I remember leaping around the day after I had DS, so happy because the pain had gone away and I thought it was because I wasn’t pregnant any more. Actually it was because the painkillers from my c section had just camouflaged the pain and it came back a day or two later 😭

Depends what's causing it, mine was a giant herniated disc which had no other option than surgery. I had sciatica on and off for years and the last time just felt different, physio sent me for MRI and I ended up having emergency surgery but I had lost all use of one leg

Things that did help before that
Drugs. Diazepam, naproxen, codeine
Moving v gently
Lying flat with pillows under knees or on side with pillows in between knees
Sleeping with one v flat pillow only
Thermacare hip and lower back wraps

I had it for quite some time, what helped was stretching, strengthening core muscles gradually over time and working out what types of exercise I had to avoid. Really recommend doing the right stretches. See a physio for advice.

A spinal block sorted mine. Before my gynae op I was really struggling- exhausted because I couldn't sit for any length of time. When felling came back after the op, sciatica was gone. Such a relief.

Oh and the McKenzie stretch (google) and the big 3 back exercises

Mine wasn’t pregnancy related, but three significantly ruptured discs, and three surgeries. If you google sciatica exercises, then you will see a lot of good Pilates/core exercises. I do these after I’ve brushed my teeth every AM & PM. I’ve learned the hard way that I need to do these every single day. Keeping going with them, even when you feel ok, is important.
It’s unlikely to be a quick fix, unfortunately. Sorry.

Yes exactly what @Neron said. My pregnancy “sciatica“ turned out to be muscle/connective tissue problems. It was probably the worst pain I‘ve had in my life (csection recovery was a breeze in comparison). I was humbled to have had some insight into how it feels to be disabled, and how unfriendly the world is built for people with limited mobility.

I went to a private physiotherapist specialising in pregnancy pelvic problems and she did targeted deep tissue massage. The pain was 80% gone after one session and 100% gone after the second. I had to make sure the muscle remained relaxed, so lots of warm baths, self massage and warming body lotion.

Thanks all. I’ve found a post natal physio local to me and booked in. Interesting that gennz you were told not to walk, I’ve been pushing through it to do a small walk each day, I hope that isn’t making the problem worse . Also now concerned my chiro is doing more harm than good

Stick with chiropractor. It can take time but is worth it. I really struggled after my son was born, I struggled on for a year then started seeing a chiropractor weekly. After a while everything got better. My back hasn't been bad since.

The only thing that sorted mine after over 20 years of suffering in and off with it was surgery.

Had sciatica for years and pregnancy related.

Stretching really works, piriformas in particular. Get occasional bouts now but only if lifting heavy things.

@EggbertsHeartTina I was told not to walk in pregnancy as the “shearing” motion would further aggravate the pelvic instability & thus increase the pain. Not sure if that still applies post pregnancy but given your body is still full of loosening hormones I suspect it might? If it hurts to walk maybe just don’t until you see the Physio. I’m sure you won’t have done lasting damage. I went to mine at 5 months preg with DC2 last year already in a lot of pain (had gone away for the weekend and we had rented a big 4x4 that I was clambering up in and out of which triggered it) and after just one 1 hour session treating my back and legs I felt 90% better. I was so relieved,I had been terrified of ending up crippled again.

I personally think chiropractors are quacks but I know some people swear by them. I’d be really wary of anyone trying to click/reset your joints at this stage as your joints are all loose (the hormones don’t leave your body fully until 4 months after you’ve finished BFing). It really does help to see someone with experience in post natal health - a woefully under-researched area! (But that’s a feminist rant for another day.)

Cheers gennz - I’ve found a women’s specialist in post natal physio, can’t get in until a week on Tuesday so I’ll see how I go. Thanks so much for sharing your story it gives me hope !