I burst in to tears at the pool because swimming with sciatica is so painful

[Mxflamingnoravera]

I have had sciatica for three weeks now. No pain in my back but the back of my knee and calf are agonisingly painful despite tramadol/co-codamol/naproxen (not all at once but I'm tempted). My foot is numb and feels like I'm walking on marbles.

I need to keep moving and I'm a swimmer. Swimming is listed as one of the best therapies for sciatica according to all the websites.
Last week I swam twice and my numb foot became agony to move, I battle through 40 lengths of crawl, but I couldn't put any weight on it in the pool.
Today I went feeling determined that my foot was not going to hurt. And weirdly it didn't. But my calf hurt so much I was crying as I was swimming and at 600 metres I had to stop and have a quiet weep, the pain was excruciating, my body was loving the water but my calf was agony, every single stroke was painful. I stood at the shallow end and cried into my goggles, nobody saw me (at least I don't think they did) but I was in so much pain I had to give in and weep. After 5 or so minutes I regained my composure and pushed on (not using my leg to push off the wall) I got to my usual 40 lengths and thank god there were proper stairs style steps otherwise I could not have got out. I had my sliders by the steps and as soon as they were on the pain subsided.

I grabbed my stuff and sat in a cubicle bawling, when will this pain go away? When will I be able to do the one sport I love without being in agony? Should I stop swimming (dr said no, but was when it was my foot was hurting). I'm crying again now with the memory of the session I had been looking forward to and baca use my leg still hurts. I've had 2x30mg codomol it's made no difference.

I'm at the end of my tether with this, I start a new job next week but I can walk properly, I'm on strong painkillers and there is no sign of any improvement.

For info, I am having two chiro sessions a week, I walk at least 20 mins a day (as a deliberate walk). I have enough painkillers to start a pharmacy.

Do I stop swimming? Do I swim through the pain?

I'm going to cancel the dd for the chiro as well as booking the MRI. I was off my face on painkillers when I saw him, he too two photographs on an iPad and that was his diagnosis. I don't think I have a copy of any contract so I feel concerned that they've not properly diagnosed and taken advantage of my pain and fuggy state of mind when I agreed to a three month contract.

I have had acupuncture before and it was fab, a man who knows anatomy and physiology so well, and brilliant with the needles and Tui Na. After an mri I'll devise a treatment plan that may include my needles guy.

I'm feeling very weepy tonight and very poor me. But I know I will awake with a resolution to get some proper diagnosis and treatment plan.

Thanks everyone for helping me see my way through this mess of pain to seek diagnosis- why I did not start there baffles me. I'm usually pretty sensible and clear thinking. But the cocktail of pain killers cannot have helped.

I'll check in tomorrow to let anyone interested know where I have got to with MRI.

Gnight and thanks for helping me get some clarity. I live alone and reached the kind of age where things go wrong (60), so it's all been much appreciated.

Oh goodness, you are very brave to have kept up with the swimming.

I agree with pp, get an MRI to find out what the problem is, and see a private physio and/or osteopath. I have a bulging disc which seems to pop out sometimes (not really sciatica yet, thank goodness). It can be agony but a couple of session with my osteopath brings the pain back to a manageable level. My physio is great and does good manipulation too but when I'm in the worst pain I head for the osteopath.

You could ask your doc about Lyrica (Pregabalin) for the nerve pain - it's newer than gabapentin and supposedly has fewer side effects. I take it and find it not too bad. I'm on quite a cocktail and I'm always tired, but otherwise not too bad.

I echo anyone who mentioned physio. A proper registered MSK physio should be your first step. The difference 3 sessions of physio made on my life when I had a bulging disc was literally life changing. They also made the clinical diagnosis sans MRI.

OP I stopped reading when you said you had to keep moving.

Stop moving and rest it. I had terrible sciatica and followed the NHS advice about carrying on like normal and walking. I was going to have to have an operation, had 5 months off sick, it wasn't until the physio told me to rest that it started to get better.

You need to stay hydrated and rest it. When it starts getting better don't push it. Pilates, cycling and swimming is great once it's 80% better.

I am in the midst of this merry-go-round. I contacted Spire to get a private MRI and they said it requires an NHS GP referral.

This time last year I herniated a disc and the pain was like nothing on earth. Physio, acupuncture etc did not help and eventually I had a microdiscectomy which solved the problem. Herniated discs do more often than not resolve themselves but it's a case of "wait and see" as surgery is best avoided if possible. Even though I had private healthcare the physio didn't want to refer me for imaging till it had been given a good chance of sorting itself out (which it didn't) but from the point it was imaged, surgery followed pretty quickly. However even if you do have an MRI straight away and you see a lovely bulging disc, don't jump to surgery straight away as it may resolve itself with the correct treatment.

The GP prescribed amitriptyline in the meantime which did take the edge off. Cocodamol etc won't touch nerve pain though.

Definitely see a physio, they will be able to tell if it's disc-related (which is the most common cause of sciatica) or something else like piriformis syndrome.

Is there any chance you have BUPA or similar? The wait for treatment on the NHS will be loooooong.

I'd go nuclear on this my friend ended up in hospital for three weeks the numbness spread they were worried about her bladder. Back to GP, insist on a referral, pay if you can.

OH and stop exercising

I think you need to stop swimming for now.i know lots of people believe in chiropractors but most drs don’t.See an osteopath as they are recommended for treatment by nhs or if u can a private physio as I doubt you’ll get an appointment with an nhs at short notice.I had sciatica from disc prolapse and husband had terrible back problem out of the blue.we saw gp for pain relief and osteopath privately.I ended up with surgery got my sciatica as needed the prolapse disc removed.Husband was gone after 3/4 sessions with osteopath

Like other PPs I have known cases of sciatica where acupuncture has helped or cured the condition. Also it is well worth taking daily high dose of magnesium citrate or gluconate supplement. Anecdotally I have heard this can work miracles and there are some papers suggesting it can help, eg pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21609904/

Hello- fellow swimmer here- I have a problem with knees and lower back so swimming can be tricky. I can't do breast stroke and front crawl legs as these irritate my knees but I have bought a leg float that I put between my thighs and mainly use my arms. I alternate between a back crawl ( where I can use my lower legs with the float) and front crawl without legs. It takes a bit of getting used to but I can go pretty fast now!

Nothing to add I'm afraid but I also cried with sciatica pain yesterday. It's shit is t it

Go and see a physio, they'll sort it out and can refer for MRIs too. You need to find out what the cause is before exercising etc as you may be causing more damage. Chiropractors ate next to useless IMO.

I would also recommend a private sports physio. I have a sacroiliac weakness and last time I injured it I tried to cure it with Pliates exercises - this made everything much worse! 2 x sessions of physio and 2 x osteopath and I was on the road to recovery. Active exercising is for when you are well not injured.

A good physio will check you over thoroughly and you will have much more idea of which specific bits are the issue.

Do you get a big mental boost from the swimming? Are there other things you could do to cheer yourself up temporarily?

I have had sciatica since last September, it suddenly got really bad in January and I can't walk for more than 100 m or so without glute and calf pain and a numb foot. Had an MRI in April, the wait for treatment or even a verdict was so long I saw a consultant privately, cost £220. He said the length of time I've had it suggests it won't go away. He put me on his NHS surgery list which was 4 months or so wait, I am waiting for the letter now as 4 months is mid October.

Does he have magic MRI eyes?🙄

If there's any chance it could be a herniated disc you need to get treatment asap so push for an MRI.

I don't think you should be pushing yourself through that level of pain until you know what it is.

And see a physio in the meantime asap.

Dean Volks on FB is good. He's a physio who specialises in sciatica and his exercises really helped.

Good morning I have booked MRI scans for lower back and pelvis for Sunday.

I'm going to contact the chiropractor today to tell them I am not returning unless or until I have an MRI that supports that method of treatment and I'm going to stop the DD and let them pursue me if they don't accept my withdrawal from treatment as they have not provided me with a copy of a contract and I don't believe their diagnosis was sufficient or thorough.

I am going to see if I can get a session with my acupuncturist who I don't believe can do any further harm. And work, I'm due to start a new job on Tuesday and I declared this on an occu health declaration. I'll only get ssp if I have to take time off sick but I will have a job and I'll aim to work from home as much as possible to avoid the daily commute.

I'm going to rest more and gentle 10 minute walks will be the only exercise I do until the pain and numbness subside. Swimming can wait until the pain has subsided.

Thanks to all of you who have helped me calm down from my awful day yesterday. I can be too literal and when I saw swimming was good physio I went swimming and caused more pain which I thought was to be expected. Clearly I had misunderstood and will take more care to self assess before returning to the pool,

You have my sympathy. I have been through this. Mine got worse until it was so bad I could not leave the house. Surgery sorted it. I think it is better to wait a few weeks to see if it will ease. Try using a tens machine, use heat pads and ice packs. Also get a physio to give you stretching exercises. You need to stretch to try to release the trapped nerve. Only discovered this contraception recently when I had a flare up and it helped. Flexi:bak . Google it. Good luck OP. This won’t go away quickly so try to focus on distractions as well. Breathing exercises to help with the pain and to keep you calm are a good idea. Pick a good box set to distract you and good luck.

You poor, poor thing. I have sciatica too and thankfully have private healthcare as the NHS just used to give me painkillers and send me on my way rather than actually attempt to figure out why/a proper treatment plan.
My MRI showed I have a spinal stenosis and my L4 and L5 are compressed and slipped. I had several spinal injections and a course of intense physio that I continue weekly, based on my actual issues and if these don't continue to be significantly improved I will be getting the spinal surgery. I really hope your MRI gets to the bottom of things for you. I cried with relief when my doctor talked me through it as it was great to know there was something seriously wrong and that they were going to do something about it.

Regular daily swimming helped my sciatica. I don't know how, but it did.

Flossing the nerve is best, so anything such as sitting on the edge of a chair, and then looking up at the sky (head tilted) and leg out in front of you, curl back in and repeat 10-20 times.
Also gentle leg swings. So just holding onto a wall with one arm and then gently swinging the affected leg.

I had two herniated discs last year, one of which was bulging massively onto my sciatic nerve. I had to stop walking as it was too painful.
I would press the GP and get a referral. It took me 10 months to convince them how much pain I was in but finally got an injection 12 months after my original injury and I'm back to running now.
Sciatica is awful and there were times when I wanted to just cut my leg off to stop it from hurting. I'm really sorry you're going though this but please insist with your GP for a referral or ask for a second opinion.

I've booked a private MRI for Sunday. I've also cancelled the Chiro and found to my relief that I'm not locked into any long term plan and they will stop the dd and refund any unused sessions that I've already paid for.

Things already seem less bleak this morning.

I've been doing the nerve flossing and figure four stretches and am subscribed to the internet guy (can't remember his name). Today I'm going to do bed rest and a bit of housework - three weeks worth of laundry to put away. Perhaps a short walk to the local park and that's it. I'm going gentle on myself instead of forcing things beyond what is comfortable or safe. Oh and I'll get the ice packs out too.

Sounds like a good plan OP. Get a diagnosis first then sort out appropriate exercise afterwards.