AIBU to think nothing helps 'cure' sciatica?

[user0512]

I believe that I have sciatica (I'm 25). I get really bad pain in my back and I can feel it running down my right leg too. I have this pain every single day and every single day I take painkillers for it. I'm just a bit fed up to be honest because it's not healthy that I take painkillers everyday and that sometimes the pain is so bad that I struggle with tasks that other people my age do with ease.

AIBU to think that this is how the rest of my life will be?

Physio and an osteopath sorted my sciatica, flares up very very occasionally now but I know the exercises to do to sort it out now. Painkillers are not the answer .

it most definitely is not how the rest of your life will be!!!

Osteopath
Squats
Theraband exercises
Epsom salt baths

It gets better :)

I developed sciatica over lockdown due to a crappy home working set up.
physio sorted it. Occasionally flares up again but settles if I’m strict with the exercises

What were your symptoms with the sciatica? I've not been formally diagnosed but I believe I have the symptoms x

Osteopath here...
Sciatica is irritation of the sciatic nerve.
This can be from a few different places. The nerve roots (for instance from degeneration of a disc or calcification of the facet joints causing impingement), or from irritation somewhere further along the nerve. A huge reason people get "sciatica" is from having tight bum muscles from improper walking/exercising/being sedentary. An easy stretch is to sit on a chair, cross your ankle on to the opposite knee and lean forward as far as possible. Hold for 5-8 seconds and repeat. Do it frequently (6 times a day at least).
Go see someone though, it is pretty much always treatable other than in very severe circumstances.

I had it on and off for a few years, starting in my lower back and shooting right down my leg to the ankle and foot, in my 20s and 30s, I at last saw a helpful GP, who luckily referred me to a sports physio, as the local NHS hospital physio was booked up. He gave me progressive exercises to do each week, and was remarkably accurate in forecasting how the pain would retreat each time. After 5 or 6 weeks it had gone, and if I start to feel any twinges, I repeat the exercises, which seem to keep it away. He stipulated not slouching on the settee, never crossing my legs, even at the ankle, and recommended a sleeping position, which sort of stretched out my spine. I am now in my 70s and have not suffered that particular problem for years.

I had sciatica (diagnosed) between 21 and 24. Physio exercises and lots of swimming sorted it along with focusingon my posture.. Now in my 50s I get occasional days but doing the exercises sorts it. You certainly aren't stuck with this for life.

Callanetics has helped mine enormously! I got a DVD from eBay. The difference is amazing.

I must add that he did not recommend really hard stretches to begin with as he said they could irritate the nerve, but started with very gentle movements of my hips, such as standing sideways, feet a few inches away from a wall, with my shoulder touching the wall, then moving my hip towards the wall. Also no shoulder bags, only bags which share the weight equally both sides, like a rucksack, and when carrying anything in your arms, keep it central and close to the body.

I view mine as controlled rather than cured. There are certain things (mostly swimming!) that I have to do and keep doing. But I haven't needed painkillers for about three years, and as long as I keep doing what I'm meant to, I hope I won't need them again.

I've had sciatica off and on for 20 years. Mostly off.
Self help that works for me:
Hooking my hands over the top of an interior door then taking feet off the ground so I'm just hanging on arms and stretching back loooooong (tip from GP) once a day for a minute or two
Sleeping at night with a hotwaterbottle balanced on my hip/bum on the affected side
Epsom salt bath (before bedtime)
During acute spells, don't be immobile. keep gently moving every day . However much it hurts/wobbleds/gives way, , slowly and carefully walk 20 yards from your door and back. Several times a day.

Help from DR; acupuncture. Magic.

Improving core muscle strength improved my sciatica as it took pressure off the lower back muscles and thus the sciatic nerve.

Really would recommend seeing your GP or at least a physio about this

Three years ago I was knocked off my feet with sciatica. I'd just started a new job too and, reluctant to take time off, would sometimes find myself crying in the toilets due to the pain, even with Naproxen.
I had NHS physio, acupuncture, 3 months of private chiropractor and 3 months of,private osteopath. It was a bit better but not a lot. And my bank balance was down by approx £1500.
Then I joined a £12 a week Pilates for Healthy Backs class, and each week it got better and better. I still go now, I'm very aware that I need to maintain myself better and will always have to. It's a way of life.
I cannot recommend Pilates enough.

I had surgery so.. cured
It did come and go before that though, physio is helpful and making sure to sleep/lift/sit properly

Exercise sorted mine. Regular 1 hour strength and aerobics classes, or Pilates, 2-3 times per week

I've had it 3 years - it started when I had to have my knee MRI'd all that lying down in the machine having to be still...

3 years later I get an MRI on my spine to see what's causing the sciatica - last week found out I have 2 bulging discs, one pressing completely on the nerve

I've been on various doses of Gabapentin from 1600 down to now 700mg for the whole 3 years

Physio- most places you can self refer for nhs treatment.

All the PP have given great advice.. Don't put up with it! My problem started when I hurt my back at 18 when I started nursing. I 'protected' it and over time my 'core' muscles got weak.. I couldn't even put my knickers on without pain.... All of my 20s and 30s were blighted by back pain and sciatica to the soles of my feet.. Spend a month of my middle pregnancy flat on my back.. (advice then) I spent £1000s on osteopaths and private physio.. They helped a bit.. Anyway.. Someone dragged me to yoga in my late 30s..the rest is history.. Nearing 60 now and not a day goes by that I take my healthy, pain free back for granted.. Get it sorted.... It is possible.. Don't give up.. You might have to try a combination of all the suggestions.. Good luck..

My dad cured his sciatica by falling down his stairs, when his leg gave way (due to the sciatica) on the top step.

I cured mine by avoiding being in a car accident (wrestling to keep my car on the road when someone pulled out in front of me on the motorway).

I wouldn’t recommend either but we certainly felt much better afterwards. Maybe a good osteopath could help though.

DH was told time is the only cure. As DF is finding out. But horribly painful.

No I don't believe this is how things will be for the rest of your life. I have quite serious lower back problems which caused me all sorts of pain, including sciatica, for years. I tried all sorts of treatment and nothing seemed to bring lasting relief. I started doing an hour's brisk walking every morning about 5 years ago (I got a dog) and haven't needed any pain killers for my back for the last 4 years.

Everyone will have a different experience and there are many causes of back pain so although this is my experience I did have expert input before I found a solution which helped me. I didn't attempt to self diagnose and devise my own treatment plan. I paid for a lumbar MRI about a decade ago which helped me understand the extent of the problems in my lower back and stopped me doing things which would cause more harm.

Physio and chiro sorted my sciatica 20 odd years ago. Hope you find relief.

I had one session of acupuncture and some exercises given to me and it works. Really works!

I had it for three months about two years ago. I think it came out of me running every other day. I had private physio with a clinic who had magically cured lots of other stuff rong with me and they said there wasn't much they could do. I still remember the sadness I felt when they said that. I kept being told to exercise (ie walk a little every day) and I did so faithfully and the pain got worse and worse. In the end, I had a rather screechy conversation with my doctor and she signed me off for two weeks, told me to take cocodamol at maximum strength and to rest. I stayed flat on my back for about 8 days, with painkillers and it went. I now do yoga, weightlifting, walking and swimming, kind of randomly cycling between and have kept it at bay. But when it was bad, exercising, even gently, made it much worse. Exercise definitely keeps it at bay once gone though. I have been through a lot of bad things in my life, but I still remember the sciatica as a kind of mental torture. I really hope you find a course of action that works for you. I would say gently experiment with the different advice and listen to what your body is telling you. Good luck. X

All great advice given above.
Speak to your doctor, see if they can send you for an MRI as this will show if there is anything major going on and then work from there.
(Mine was a herniated disc crushing my spinal column so surgery was my only option after over a year on various painkillers, exercises, massage and chiropractors and it still getting worse)