Sciatica- Alternative Remedies

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AIBU to ask has anyone had good results using some alternative treatments for sciatica.

I have been in horrible pain and unable to walk properly for 3 months. I have been to doctor and pretty sure it's a trapped nerve under the piriformis muscle. Im sick of NSAIDs and don't really want to take amitriptyline off label.

Has anyone had any luck with acupuncture/ osteo/physio/chiropractor?

Thanks.

DB has a massage regularly, from a sports physio type person, that keeps his bad back at bay. When it flares up he sees her more.

Oestopath can be good.

Though tbh I recommend Valium and codeine and MRI! Sciatica is the pits and the most pain I have ever experienced - worse than childbirth

You can self refer for physio or pay to see an osteopath. All medication does is ease the pain without fixing the issue. I get sciatica and both avenues have fixed it for me in the past. If the above doesn't improve things, then ask your gp to refer you to an orthopaedic consultant.

I find codeine not great and prefer Voltaren tablets. I've been on them for 3 months so would be worried about taking codeine that long.

I'm a few kilos overweight but nothing major. It's just really impacting my lifestyle atm. No hiking and even dog walking is horrible.

I would recommend an osteopath. I had severe sciatica around three years ago and started seeing an osteopath - I still go every two months to keep on top of it. I am so much better - 95% - although still get the odd twinge.

I was advised particularly when in excruciating pain to alternate a hot water bottle and ice pack on the site of the pain. This really helped.

i also started sciatica exercise , yoga type ones - to stretch out - i think it’s called the pigeon pose, hip opener ones - and lying on your back with knees bent and the heel of the painful side on the other knee. I think that helped ease the nerve. Also if in pain sometimes I would lie on my back , against a wall - with my bum right to the wall and both legs up the wall straight - this would help. I still try and do the hip opener exercise frequently when I remember.

Everyone is different. I've had it nearly ten years. I bit the bullet and had a spinal injection a month ago and it's actually made it worse. I think you have to push for the MRI if its not going away because it's the only way they know why you're getting. It turns out I had a congenital deformity of the spine 😢

I'm on Gabapentin for now. It's horrible, but it does mean I can sleep and sit at my desk. I try to walk the dog twice a day even when I really don't want to because I feel worse if I don't exercise.

I really empathise with you. It's shit!!

I couldn't walk at all so you have my sympathy. It went on for months. Very draining

It's difficult with drugs but I was on painkillers for a year and I was okay about it because the pain was bad. I came off codeine, tramadol, naproxen and amitriptiline! The worst one was Gabapentin which was like being a zombie.

I've had it for about 13 years, I still remember when it first hit me. I've tried physio, chiro, acupuncture, cupping, massage, meds, even a thing called spinal decompression where you're basically put on a rack and have your spine stretched to alleviate protruding discs, this goes on over several weeks with increasing pressure put on the stretch. Cost me over £1K and didn't work for me. Nothing has. Some months are better than others, but there's been no escape for me.

I'm sorry. That sounds awful! It's really impacted my life and my retirement plans are built around hiking and walking!

OK. I think I will push for an MRI. I really don't want to go down the Gabapentin route.

for all of you with this horrid pain.

I keep mine controlled with regular sports massage (monthly) and visits to an osteo (every 2-3 months). Stretching, stretching, stretching. Mine is linked to piriformis muscle so I get relief from sitting on a ball.
I find mine is aggravated from sitting down too long so I make an effort to get up and walk around frequently.

I am a relatively young sciatica sufferer. I have found yoga to be incredibly helpful, although depending on your ability you might need to work up to being able to take a yoga class. Regardless, exercise that builds lower back and hip flexor strength and leg flexibility has really helped me.

I agree with PP who mentioned sports massage and private physio. I've never done them long term but in the short term they have always helped.

TENS machine.. Managed camping at 32 weeks. Slept well on an air bed!

Definitely an osteopath for this

Normally I can ease the pain with yoga poses, and yes that used to include pigeon. BUT this time, when it flared up, those poses made it worse and I have been scared to try again.

This is my first post so here goes….
I've had sciatica since November and had mri in January which showed lower back was fine, no disc problems other than expected wear and tear (I’m 51).

I was given amitritylene, naproxen and gabapentin. Naproxen gave me awful stomach problems so stopped it after a week. It did nothing anyway. I didn’t take any of the other meds just muddled through with paracetamol and ibuprofen. Electric heat pad and hot baths helped and I bought a tens machine which helped alot during the day. I’m lucky as my kids are grown up and I don’t work so didn’t have that pressure if I couldn’t sleep.

NHS physios were rubbish, I saw 2.

So I’ve started having sports physio massages, 4 up to now and the guy is great. He’s treating me for piriformis syndrome. All my sciatic nerve pain has gone, no pain down leg or numbness or pins and needles. Sleeping well. Unfortunately I still get a lot of daily pain around buttock and can do very little. It’s been 7 horrendous months but things are slowly improving.

Hope this helps anyone suffering, it really is awful but I think time, good sports massages and exercises at home will eventually heal the problem.

This pillow helped me a lot and it has resolved now. I used to be in agony in the early hours with mine.
https://amzn.eu/d/epThkD7

I had excruciating sciatica last June while we were away for 6 weeks. I went to a sports physio for massage and he gave me a set of exercises. Saw him fortnightly before going away again for another 6 weeks. It was now manageable and was completely gone by my return

I still do the exercises at any slight twinge and there's been no reoccurrence

Physio or osteopathy aren't alternative remedies for sciatica, either would be first line treatment of choice if it's not settling down by itself. Different approaches work or don't work for different people. You don't necessarily need an MRI scan, for most people it's better to get going with treatment first and see how things go. I personally wouldn't wait for treatment on the NHS if I needed some help with sciatica - find a physio or osteo you feel confident in and pay for a few sessions if you can afford to. If you can't, most areas have self referral to NHS physio these days but waiting time may be sky high at the moment and you don't have control so much over who you see and when. Good luck :)

I had a bout of sciatica for about 18 months. It came and went, but I remember having to lie flat on the kitchen floor once when waiting for onions to fry.

The GP sent me for acupuncture, can’t say I saw any improvement. I was offered a steroid injection but didn’t fancy that. They told me that the nerve can get irritated and although the original inflammation would have resolved, the nerve can continue to misfire.

I was doing a massage course at the time, and got interested in Trigger Point therapy. While laying in bed I would find the tender spot in my bottom/hip and press hard with my thumb for 5 seconds. It hurts to start with the the pain dissipates.

My sciatica got better fairly soon after this. I don’t know if it was due to what I was doing or if it was just time for it to get better anyway.

Sports massage topped up with a decent quality handheld massager helped me loads with recurrent sciatica from a tight piriformis. I on the two occasions that didn’t work and I had to stay standing all night because anything else had me screaming in pain I was prescribed pregabalin which was a wonder drug.

I had really bad sciatica about 10 years ago. I went to see a physio and he showed me some great exercises. He called it "nerve flossing". (Google it, there's loads on YouTube etc) It hurt a lot, but fixed it almost immediately and now whenever I feel it flair up, I just do this and it goes away.

I've started taking CBD for my back pain. It doesn't stop it completely but makes it more bearable. Have had an MRI scan and seen the pain clinic who offered morphine patches. So alternative remedies to the rescue. My osteopath recommended heat and ice on affected area. Good luck 🍀❤️🙏

My osteopath cured my sciatica. I used to be in a lot of pain from it. I now maintain the situation with regular Pilates.

However, you have to go to a really good osteopath. They vary so much. I've had some that are brilliant and others that practically do nothing. Get a recommendation or read positive reviews.

Osteo sorted mine with bitnof manipulation then exercises for at home. I have also used a TENS machine which is great for pain but didn't fix anything of course.