To ask how you sorted sciatica

[Tworoads]

I don’t know if it’s connected but I don’t remember getting bouts of sciatica before my son was born 5 years ago by cesarean. The most stupid thing kicks it off and then I struggle to stand up from sitting or lowering down to sitting - even walking sometimes hurts like mad in my lower back radiating pain down my legs. I’m sorry to moan. Don’t mean to sound miserable but I’m not old ffs and it stops me running and everything.
Just wondering what you did to help. Don’t want to take nurofen too often.
Ice packs down in the waistband of my trousers helps.
I get maybe 3 or 4 episodes a year lasting 1-2 weeks. Also get knee pain sometimes (related?).
I don’t spend all day seated at work.
Any advice would be great.

@Tworoads

What kind of core exercises helped? Do you find swimming helps?

Pilates. Game changer.

It's highly likely to be piriformis syndrome than sciatica.

Pain is very very similar location wise. Lots of glute stretches works for me plenty other exercises on you tube.

Pilates builds your core muscles as well as giving you flexibility. I had awful sciatica twice last year and the second attack had me bedridden for a couple of weeks and I still have some numbness in one foot. I've been doing pilates since October and it's brilliant.

If it's piriformis pilates is good for that too

Sciatica is just the symptom. It means your sciatic nerve is being pinched. That might be because of the piriformis muscle or a bulging disc or whatever.

Plenty of walking.

Cut out sugar and it completely resolved

I get sports massages and do yoga.

Mine was caused my a horse riding fall (coccyx meet road 😭), I do minimum 10mins yoga daily, if I don't stretch it flairs up.

Another vote for Pilates - twice a week online class (hating every minute tbh - but working on the assumption the worst tasting medicine does the most good ) keeps my lower back pain and sciatica at bay

Saw a physio and they gave me about 3 exercises for the back - mostly gentle strentching exercises - I think a modified bridge pose, the one where you lie on your back and lift your knees up then let them flop over to the left sidefor 1 minute and then the right. Basically very gentle exercises to do several times through the day - it brought instant relief but also stopped it getting worse. When I was better I started yoga and havent had a flare up since - so as others re saying stuff like pilates will def help but if you are in pain/have limited mobility at the moment its probably best to start with gentle stuff specifically targetted towards back pain/sciatica.

@Dannn

Cut out sugar and it completely resolved

How could sugar have any bearing whatsoever on sciatica?

Thank you to everyone who wrote. It’s a horrible painful thing and I’ll try anything. Going to look for the equivalent of couch to 5k for core exercises. It makes sense.
And I’ll try and get a diagnosis too.
Thank you

Definitely Pilates for long term management as it should treat the root of the problem. Osteopaths/chiropractors are great for the acute phase but you need to address why it happened in the first place and strengthen the necessary areas so it doesn’t keep coming back.

@Dannn

Cut out sugar and it completely resolved

It might contribute to general health but just cutting out sugar on its own, with no other remedial exercises or physio will not cure sciatica.

Important to state fact, not absolutes that may be irrelevant and misleading to the OP's sciatica.

OP, there is an exercise called clamshell (plenty of good youtube videos for the right technique), which I did for about 8 weeks, as my diagnosis of sciatica was due to weakened glutes, ironically because of doing lots of running, it created a muscular imbalance. Clamshell is designed to get into the deep glute muscles and strengthen them because running targets hamstrings and actually weakens the glutes.

Also lying or seated / upright pidgeon is a great one for stretching the sciatic nerve.

I empathise, sciatica clung onto me for about 18 months but I haven't had it for years, due to doing the above exercises, and plenty of yoga.

I had it on and off for 6 years after my second DC was born. Then I lost two stone and it stopped. I wasn’t overweight, just at the top end of healthy, but went down to the lower end. If I start putting on weight I get twinges so it’s good motivation to keep my weight down!
My GP suggested Pilates and swimming, and told me to stop doing hiit and kettlebells but I ignored this advice and just made sure my form was good and my core was always engaged.

I was told I had sciatica for probably 2 yrs, fobbed off with a multitude of painkillers and drugs. I did sports massage, stretches...I would have prayed to a voodoo witch if it would have taken the pain away.
After a particularly bad few months where I could barely walk, I saw a chiro which only releaved the paid for a short while, eventually the Dr's sent me for a MRI, turns out a disc in my spine had collapsed and was pushing on my spinal column. My surgeon was non to happy a chrio had worked on me when I was in so much pain and it wasn't clearing.
Push for a MRI if you can just to rule out anything too serious and then let the consultants guide you on the best plan of action/ongoing support.

I feel for you, it’s horrible 💐 Acupuncture for the pain then Pilates to rebuild strength.

I’ve suffered for years and always managed it with exercise and yoga. Then after having a baby by c-section and slipping a disc not long after, it was horrible. Tried an osteopath, physio and lots of pain killers and nothing gave lasting relief. After one session of acupuncture I could stand up straight again but needed quite a few, regular sessions to make it better. I honestly think it’s magic.