sciatica - is there an end??

[dipsy210987]

I have been suffering with sciatica now for nearly 6 weeks

It all started with me pulling me back (although I have had a week back for years but this is by far the worst I've done it)

the back pain slowly got better, but then I started getting sciatica. I have obviously been in contact with doctors and i am on numerous pain killers and have been signed of work as well

I have been referred to physio (a month ago) and my appointment is next month

my pain was so unbearable I paid to see a chiropractor - they think it sounds like a slipped discs. He gave me a range of exercises which I THINK are slowly helping, but the pain still comes and goes, although it is less frequent - is this a sign it is slowly getting better?

i've been told by doctors I can't be scanned till i see the physio

If it is definitely a slipped disc- can they heal on their own with the exercise I have been given plus physio ?

I am due to go on holiday next week and I am rather worried!

I have a perforated disc which has never healed but it does get better with times. It flairs up after periods of inactivity or sitting in the car a lot. It was AWFUL at first but I hobbled and hobbled as much as possible and just kept moving.
Not sure what you're doing on your hols but I'd just suggest not lying on a sunbed the whole time as it will make it worse. Get up and move around every hour. Get comfy shoes and walk as much as you can. It does ease.

It does sort itself out eventually - mine took a year of constant pain /discomfort, sleep disturbance and trying to find what worked for me. I eventually had improvement/pain control with regular ibuprofen, heat, tens machine and exercise.

I had to change the way I exercise totally - reducing high impact and prioritising mobility/ back and core strength and being very very careful with certain movements.

I don't want it back again.

@hermioneee @willingtolearn
thank you both

@hermioneee I am going away with my 2 young children so to be honest I don't think there will be much lying around on a sun bed anyway! I will of course continure with the stretches/ exercises that I have been recommended while I am there and hope for the best!

@willingtolearn I was advised to try Pilates to help with my back and core strength ! hoping till will also help in the long run

Hi Op I am a long term sufferer of sciatica lovely isent it , in my case it probably won't as I have other conditions that contribute to it , I do find gabapentin helps though may be useful short term x

The thing is - sciatica isn't really a diagnosis in itself. It's caused by another problem, usually a malfunctioning disc.

The only real way to resolve it is for an MRI to identify what has moved and is putting pressure on the nerves.

Then, dealing with that issue is the way to solve sciatica.

I have suffered severely over the years and have the utmost sympathy for you. Really recommend trying to get to the root cause rather then spending months or years on trying to fix the symptoms.

@Luckingfovely thank you
I am hoping when I go for my first physio appointment they will then refer me for a scan! Would have made things much easier if doctors did this when I originally ended up in hospital with my back

I developed excruciating sciatica about 4 months ago and I am now about 95% better. Most cases of sciatica resolve with time. An MRI scan to identify the exact cause is only really useful for surgical planning, and neurosurgeons typically do not want to perform surgery unless it has been going on for 6 months+, as the vast majority of cases will resolve by themselves in that time.

@pbdr thank you for your response. Is there anything you did in particular to help relieve your pain? or did it just eventually resolves itself ?

I have had sciatica once before about 5 years ago, but was nowhere near as bad as this

I had this last year. Sciatica is a symptom not a condition.
It started in April and it took me 8 months to get a MRI and diagnosis of bulging discs and trapped nerves.
I paid to see a Physio. I urge you to see a proper physio rather than a chiropractor or osteopath. Most private physios are also NHS or NHS trained.

I was given exercises and it took another 4 months to see an improvement. I'm fine now but still have to do the exercises or it comes back.

Similar story here. Excruciating sciatica that started 12 months ago. I got scans fairly quickly on NHS that showed disc extrusion. Took some painkillers initially but then stopped as they didn’t make much difference.

What really helped was pilates (online subscription, sessions 1-2 every day initially, 3-4 times per week later), sleeping on a firm mattress, spiky ball self massage, lots of physical activity.

That and reading a book about psychosomatic pain which in its own right helped me to reduce the pain by some 70% I would say.

It is a long journey but the pain will go away eventually however exasperating it might feel at the moment. I saw an NHS neurosurgeon a few weeks ago and we both were delighted that the body has repaired itself.

A year after the flare up (which was initially very bad), I am jogging, horse riding (that I never stopped doing even when the pain was at its worst!) swimming and sleeping on a soft mattress. I would say that I still feel some discomfort now and then, but it is more akin to stiffness rather than pain. Don’t despair, OP, this will pass.

Mine did not pass, I lost my job and was on the sofa for six months. I had surgery last November and the agonising sciatica finally died down. I paid for my own scan and took it to a private surgeon, he did the surgery on the nhs. I'm glad so many of you have had your pain go without surgery, but some of us need this intervention to get any relief.

I'm now getting a return of sciatic pain in my calf and ankle. The disc may have reherniated. I'm seeing the surgeon again on Thursday.

OP, GPS cannot refer for scans in most areas, it's the physios that make that referral, so make sure you attend your appointment and be very clear about the pain and how it is affecting your life.

Mine resolved with physio. I had an MRI which showed a herniated disc but they don’t tend to operate unless it’s affecting your bladder/bowel function.
Mine flares up from time to time but with core strengthening and physio those times are less frequent.

I've had the MRI and an imaging camera in my spine. It's herniated disc plus scoliosis (big surprise). Gabapentin stopped the spasms. I'm exercising as advised bought some resistance bands for extra exercise. My problem is exacerbated by hip impingement as well which muddied the waters until the MRI scan confirmed both problems.

Get an MRI. I had to pay

I had the same as you OP. I saw the musculoskeletal therapist at my GP about 6 weeks in. He did some manipulations which eased the pain a little. I’d say it took about a good 3 months before I was free enough of pain to not need pain killers anymore. The crawling upstairs stage lasted about 6 weeks, followed by another 3 weeks of struggling to get in and out of the car.
Sciatica is certainly a bugger!

I'm about 8 weeks into this. Symptoms are definitely getting better although it's still pretty sore. Some days are better than others. I've been seeing a physio who says that 90% of cases get better and it usually takes about 3 months. Physio recommended very gentle stretches initially and once pain has lessened a bit, increased focus on developing core strength through lots of planks. Doing too much, even slightly, can make the pain significantly worse the next day.

Saw a private physio for mine, quite a few sessions over a month, then Pilates twice a week. Dry needling etc.

After the first session the physio said to ask the dr for muscle relaxants to get me through my holiday, but I did the exercises every day on hol and lots of walking and both helped a lot.

For me mackensie method of back exercises (back arches) and steroids.

Mine started about 4 months ago. I got an MRI that showed a herniated disc at L4 L5. I could barely move in the mornings. I couldn’t do physio because of the pain.

I ended up having a spinal infiltration using CT last week. Steroids are injected into the area to lower inflammation which helps with movement. It’s about 90% resolved.

Ahhh I herniated a disc (L5/S1) 4 years ago. Still in constant pain. All day everyday pain. Really need to sort it out. Definitely don't leave it 4 years. ...

Ok so…

The physio may or may not help. Mine was shit, the exercises she recommended made my symptoms much worse. Be VERY careful with allowing chiropractors etc to touch your spine as they may make it worse. Be careful too with core strengthening excercises: you do need them to avoid future injuries, but you should probably not start them until after your current pain has gone. What you need right now is your inflamed nerve to calm down. Lots of naproxen / other anti-inflammatory drugs.

What I actually needed was slow walking exercise plus a lot of lying down flat with my legs propped up on cushions at right angles to my body, while my body slowly healed. It DID eventually get better on its own, for me. 3 months dramatic improvement with pain gone, another 9 months and my leg still feels a little numb and may always do so. But that’s me.

What exactly you need depends on where and why your disc is pressing on your nerve. Unfortunately your options are limited. The NHS offers 3 things: (1) surgery to remove or reduce the disc (discectomy), (2) an injection into the spine which my doctor said has almost as good results as surgery, but doctors don’t really understand why, or (3) pain relief drugs while you wait for your body to heal on its own.

The NHS deliberately make it hard to get a MRI as they don’t wanna pay for it and they know that most sciatica will get better by itself given time. If you have spare cash you can get a private spine doctor (eg neurologist or ortho) to refer you for a MRI immediately. Costs about £400 in my south east area with wait time of 1-2 days. But all the scan can really tell you is what has happened to the disc, it can’t tell you whether or not your body will sort itself out or whether surgery is the only solution.

So basically your choices are gentle walking exercises while waiting to see if you can heal, or surgery. Avoid anything that jolts your body: jogging, riding but also boat trips, waterslide etc.

I've had 2 bouts of Sciatica.

The first was caused by too much standing in heels and made standing still really difficult. This went away eventually by staying off my feet.

The second and worst was caused by too much sitting.
This one needed the Osteopath for fortnightly manipulation and daily exercises. Weirdly though I think running cured it. Now if I don't run for a while it starts to twinge so I have to go for a run. Like it somehow shakes the bones away from the nerve or something?!

I started at 19. Would literally fall over from the pain.
An osteopath really helped at the acute stage.
It's still flares up (I'm 47 so not ever been truly fixed!)
Things that help: moving, even when it hurts. Little and often. Gentle yoga. Hamstring and calf stretches. When I have a flare up acupuncture provides pain relief. Get them to needle the points that hurt along the outside of your leg and around the ankle.

@smilesup I had the infiltration two weeks ago. How long does it take to work?

Thank you to everyone for all your helpful replies!! Sorry that all of you have had to experience this horrendous pain!! I've said many a time I would rather give birth again!!

I definitely think its getting slightly better every day, although I'm still having episodes of bad bad , it's less frequent and I'm managing to get around a little bit more without wanting to cry!

I am waiting for the doctors to ring my back this morning regarding some more pain killers (especially for holiday) they stopped the diazepam a few weeks ago, but to be honest I can't say it was doing much. I'm hoping they can give me something else to help with the nerve pain! Cocodamol just make me feel horrendous to be honest and are not doing much for me

Mine was already better the next day but it’s been slowly improving. I’m 9 days out now and bar some stiffness and achy pain in my left bum cheek in the morning it’s much better.

I do cobra pose press ups to help. You basically do 10 push ups into the cobra pose from yoga but keep the pelvis on the floor.