To wonder if I can actually heal my sciatica?

[internallyrebellious]

So I've had sciatica for nearly 2 yrs now and it just seems to keep getting worse.

I initially went to the GP they gave me painkillers. They sort of worked at first but very quickly (within about a week) I saw no painkilling effect and since these painkillers are a type of antidepressant I had some side effects I wasn't happy to live with so I stopped taking them. It's probably my own fault for not pursuing it further at that stage but I was so busy with work and a bit defeated so I just took co codamol when it got really bad and carried on as normal.

Fast forward a year and now the pain flares up to the point where I struggle to walk and some days I'm in pain everywhere from the waist down. I get strong 'pins & needles' in my foot that don't go away for hours and I'm finding it hard to cope with.

I've had an appointment with the spinal specialist at the local hospital who suspects I have a bulging disc pressing on the nerve. They have recommended 'conservative management' with different painkillers and a combination of diet/exercise and physio to reduce my weight (I am overweight) and improve mobility but I am starting to feel really disheartened and sceptical that this will actually work. I haven't received my new prescription yet but even when I do, will I actually be able to heal this without more intense treatment or is it too far gone?

The next stage of intervention would be steroid injections or potentially surgery and that possibility really scares me so I really want to make this work but will it? Has anyone else had this level of constant pain and actually been able to reverse it with (essentially) exercising alone? Feeling very hopeless at the moment 😞

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/wellbeing/sleep/how-i-cured-sciatica/

good article.

mine comes back if I don’t do the exercises, every day.

3 months is time to lose weight (mostly food) and do the exercises.

Ugh OP it's so miserable isn't it? I first herniated a disc as a teenager and have had several awful flare ups since then and am now almost fully pain free in my early 40s.

I'm sorry to say that exercise and weight loss are really the only things that are a long term solution. In the short term, and I hear you about the 5am wake up and then being on your feet all day, could you do the physio exercises in your breaks at work? That would mean you're not trying to do them after standing up all day and being in more pain than when you woke up.

Eating a high protein diet and strength training has kept my back in a decent state. The higher protein diet keeps my muscle mass in a good place and the strength training means I have a good core now to keep my spine in place. Pilates as suggested above is also excellent.

My sister had this recently for the first time, painkillers weren't touching it etc and the exercises she was given by the physio seemed futile. She persisted though and she is now (a year later) fine! She has a job where she is on her feet hunched over equipment so was in a similar place to you. Her exercises were done in little increments throughout the day as she too had an early start every morning.

Good luck. You kind of have to grit your teeth and tell yourself if you keep at the exercises and sort out your diet/routine then it should be better by the summer

You need an MRI. The pins and needles is your nerve telling you it's not ok.
I have spondylolisthesis (spinal fracture so spine has moved forward out of line impinging my nerve)
Physio didn't work for me but I found an orthopedic pilates instructor and she makes all the difference to my life. When I met her every moment was agony but within a couple of months I was having days pain free. It's on me to keep the conditioning up.
The exercises I do are different to someone with sciatica or someone whose spine has moved backwards so any physio or pilates instructor needs to know what's happening.
Your weight and core strength are key to managing back issues but you can't do it until you know what you're dealing with. I wish you all the best in finding a way forward

I had sciatica after the birth of my first child. I suffered for years and eventually asked my osteopath how I could be rid of it. She said you need a strong core. From then I on have tried to do 3 x 10 min Pilates core videos a week and it has been transformative. I don’t personally believe you need in person lessons etc to get enormous benefit from these very short videos. I know you’re tired and don’t want to get up early, but you also don’t want to be in pain, so as other said exercise - bot to lose weight - but to be strong and especially strengthen your core is the most important exercise.

I had sciatica on and off for years and eventually my disc just went "fuck you", I got cauda equina and surgery solved it

Tens machine can help a fair bit and gentle stretching and avoiding sitting

Definitely see a decent physio and also do everything you can to lose weight.
I also agree with PP about strengthening your core.

As others have said, physio is incredibly effective but so many people just don't stick to it. You have to actually do the exercises they prescribe.
It's boring and sometimes difficult but oh my god it can change your life.

Best of luck.

My partner recovered from this.

Suggestions of a physio/chiropractor to start are spot on. Then you have to religiously do the exercises, go to Pilates etc

10 years on he still does the daily stretches to keep on top of it.

Also, massive dose of magnesium every night.

The other thing is massage, I have a back issue and it's caused by a lot of tightness so if your physio think regular massage on top of exercises will help, do that too

@Sneakybusiness would you be able to share the videos you do? My sciatica is flaring up at the moment and I know my core is really weak

My sciatica basically disappeared with doing an online pilates physio class - I have done it for years. It's just half an hour, OP. A few times a week - do one at the weekend and squeeze one in midweek. And it's not vigorous, knackering exercise.

I would start with an MRI to see what the problem actually is. You might have to pay private.

Then physio once you know what the problem is. Show them your MRI results.

Keep hydrated.

Use an ice pack.

I'm still working on the weight loss.

You need an MRI scan to see what is really going on.
I agree with others about physio and keeping your core muscles strong.
Over the counter medicine is pointless. I was on both anti inflammatories and Co codomal (30 mg) which helped.
I had the steroid injections (which did nothing) and then finally they operated which worked. My pain went from around an 8/9 out of 10
Continually to a 1/2 out of 10. Some residual pain but now I can manage. Surgeon said the bulge of my disc would never have gone back on it's own as it had calcified.
15 years on and still doing fine, but work hard to stay fit.

Put cold compress on your back (to reduce swelling of the disc but warm on the muscle in the leg where you feel the pain. Don't put heat on your back.

Apparently it's more about strong glutes than core. Squats on a chair and bridges etc.

Following thanks for links to exercises

www.yourpilatesphysio.com

This is what I do - but there are free pilates videos on the NHS if you google nhs pilates video.

I had steroid injection with nil result.
Had microdiscectomy - bingo!

Recovery from Herniated Disc: your success stories, tips and advice would be wonderful www.mumsnet.com/Talk/chronic_pain/5075875-recovery-from-herniated-disc-your-success-stories-tips-and-advice-would-be-wonderful

Good thread here with a very clear journey by OP. I had a micrdecectomy which was successful but you have to do all the strengthening /flexibility work too

Thank you for tip! Here they are
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/exercises-sciatica-problems/

Thank you!

Pain relief did absolutely nothing for my sciatica apart from make me feel rubbish. Rest and ice packs for the inflammation helped and I saw a chiropractor a few times and it completely went away. I then went regularly to a pilates class and lost weight, I keep this up still as I do not want it to come back.

Sorry to say nothing worked for me and I tried EVERYTHING, I lost so much weight due to pain. What did work however....surgery. I would HIGHLY recommend it. Get your life back.

It is fantastic that surgery worked for you @Newmumhere40 but OP hasn't yet tried anything but painkillers and, as most of us are saying, treatment by a physio, doing the exercises they recommend (and pilates etc) and losing weight often does keep sciatica under control. It takes effort. Surgery surely is a last resort.

I have some hip pain which seems to flare up when I put on weight. I find 8/16 diet works for me. I eat whatever I like within 8 hours window then stop for 16 hours. I do cheat and drink coffee with a bit of double cream but no sugar. I can easily lose 1 kg a week on this diet as I naturally go off sweet things and bulk up on protein and veg. Dr Mosley is also a very good strategy, more of a way of living than a diet really. You basically eat whatever you like 5 days a week and restrict your calories intake on 2 days. Apparently, you just don't fancy unhealthy foods as much. Even though you are still allowed to eat whatever you like 5 days out of 7. Someone at work lost 12 kg in 12 weeks which is a miracle because we hav crisps, chocolates and biscuits everywhere.

According to the NHS, most people can recover from a bulging disc without surgery- it can be an incredibly slow process through and even when 'healed' you will likely always have a vulnerability there so will need to be quite proactive to minimise the chances of the disc slipping again.

My husband has a bulging disc. He had surgery about 5 years ago which solved the issue. Until the same disc went again last spring. 😩 He wants surgery again but I feel apprehensive about that- I feel he will end up having surgery every few years at this rate (and I don't know that the NHS would fund it on an ongoing basis).

Pilates, regular physio/osteopathy and losing weight will be your best options I think. I have also heard acupuncture can achieve amazing things and am trying to persuade my DH to have it. I know people always suggest Pilates for backs but it really is excellent exercise for strengthening the core and back which is what you need.

There are so many Pilates teachers around and some have extra qualifications making them back care specialists- I would look for someone like that.

If you try it for a long period and it doesn't work, then maybe drugs and surgery will be needed, but if it were me, I'd want to try and tackle it myself first.

All the best 💐

I'm surprised your gp didn't refer you for physio in the first place . Physio helped mine immensely but you must do it consistently.

It's not heat you need, but ice.
I would lie on the bed with ice packs on lower spine to numb the sciatic nerve. It starts at the spine and arcs to the butt cheek, so move the ice as needed.

I find an ice spray useful to take out with me. Spray it on in the Ladies before or when you get the first twinge. Keep on top of the pain.

It's ice for nerves and bones.
Warmth for muscles.

I take a Vitamin C fizzy tablet in as little water as it will dissolve in, each morning, try and leave 20 minutes before drinking my coffee. I buy the Boots 1000mg. It doesn't work for me if taken as a long drink. It seems to be the concentration that does it.
It's so cheap it's worth trying.

The role of vitamin C in the treatment of pain: new insights - PMC