Mild scoliosis causing compressed sciatic nerve

[JadeSeahorse]

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced similar?

Just over a year ago I had an MRI following months of lower back pain and scan showed what looked - to me - like a relatively minor curve in my lower spine.

A month later I suddenly experienced agonising sharp pain in my left calf which left me pretty much debilitated for 2 days. I eventually was able to move around gently but the pain has never left and this was a year ago. I was referred to the MSK clinic who agreed I had scoliosis - nobody mentioned what degree - and the issue was between L4 and L5 which was causing the compressed sciatic nerve. This was 11 months ago.

Since then I have done my exercises twice daily, use my tens machine twice daily, have spent a king's ransom on private physio, freeze gels, OTC meds. etc. but it doesn't seem to show any signs of improvement. The pain is there constantly but it doesn't feel numb, burning or weak. It feels exactly like a pulled muscle. Some days walking is incredibly difficult but because I am 70 - although have always been incredibly fit and healthy, young for my age, and definitely not overweight - I just feel like I've been written off unless I continue spending a small fortune for things like electronic acupuncture which, as with the physio, has done nothing at all.

Can anyone relate at all please? (Sorry for the long post).

Sorry to hear you have been struggling with this op. My questions focus on the nerve root and how much space there is around it..? Whether the scoliosis has incurred any narrowing or not-it’s possible the scoliosis may have been there for a long time but the symptoms have only been present a year so it’s not clear whether it’s related or not.

At your age there can be some boney narrowing around the nerve called stenosis-was this mentioned at all?

I think getting to the bottom of whether the space around the nerve in the back is reduced or not and to what degree would be my first thought. Have a spinal injection been mentioned/offered at all?

After that has been cleared, my next thought would be around positions that aggregate the pain. Usually there are specific positions which annoy it and helping to reduce those for 3-4 weeks can really help the nerve settle (if it is confirmed as nerve related). You may have already tried that of course.

Have they definitely ruled out the pain coming from the calf itself?

Flipflopflipflapper thank you so much for responding.
You certainly sound like you know your stuff!

Yes, my MRI report states I have mild canal stenosis leading to compressed nerve but this was a year ago. I was also told that I have always had the curvature in my spine but it just hasn't been picked up previously as I never had any issues until 3 years ago.

No, unfortunately I was just discharged from the MSK clinic after one visit as they obviously thought I wasn't worth proceeding with. I was just given the horror story about operations and how they can cause more harm than good. ☹️ Must admit, I don't fancy risking an operation on my spine and I have read that the injections rarely give long term relief.

I am determined not to let this get the better of me and so keep persevering with the exercises etc. However, I do think I am getting close to the time when I will need to approach the GP regarding pain relief although I was initially given a short prescription for amitriptyline which again proved useless and I hated the way it made me feel. I did manage to get hold of a few Naproxen and they have certainly helped although the pain was still there it definitely made it more bearable. (However, I'm now reading that Naproxen isn't really suitable for anyone over 50 🙄)

I suppose I just don't want to be stuck like this for life now. 😥