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sciatica


Glasseye

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Ten years ago I did , it was a complete bastard for about three months , there were times I could hardly walk 

was on loads of painkillers , had an epidural and two root nerve ganglion blocks ...

the second one did the trick , touch wood I haven't had an attack since 

I still get some tightness in my legs  now and then , but have been doing Pilates to help strengthen my core and stretch my leg muscles 

Edited by Stillearly
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Yes I have and it is the worst pain ever.

My brother suffered it before me and I never understood the level of pain until I had my first episode.

He was just running up the stairs and missed a step and hit hard, his back spasmed and that started his problems.

For me I pulled too much weight on the rowing machine in a gym and something popped, I collapsed, fainted and the next thing I was being attended by an ambulance crew. I stayed the night in hospital but the result was weeks of back pain to such an extent I became frightened to get out of bed due the pain. If I was out of bed the pain was so bad I couldn't bend to get into bed and had to throw myself on to the bed. Going to the toilet needed planning and courage.

2000 mg of co-codamol a day helped but the side effects of taking that can leave you well constipated.

I have had 2 major episodes of sciatica, the first was above, the second was in Thailand and lasted 6 weeks before I found acupuncture worked the best for me. I have had small flare ups when in Thailand and I just went back for acupuncture which worked for me.

Every so often I get a twinge and think I am going to be struck down but it goes away.  Sciatica is very debilitating, not something I wish to hit me anytime soon.

Edited by Horizondave
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3 hours ago, Horizondave said:

If I was out of bed the pain was so bad I couldn't bend to get into bed and had to throw myself on to the bed. Going to the toilet needed planning and courage.

Your comment describes perfectly my experience about 2 years ago.

I have no idea what caused it but I never want that amount of pain again! I sort of found a way to support myself using by arms and rolling onto the bed...Then trying to gently shuffle into a sleeping position....

I found doing pelvic tilts very useful...bloody painful at first but I am damn sure it helped it get better quicker.

 

 

Edited by Derek Dangleberries
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In 1996 I put my missus on an Eva Air flight in a wheelchair.

She was in massive pain down her left leg & foot & was on the waiting list with the NHS to get a disc cut out of her back.Our GP's were useless,just telling her to take more painkillers.We tried an osteopath but he didn't make any difference.

She was adamant that she wasn't going to go under the knife & wanted to go back home to try to get it fixed.

Anyway six weeks later I flew out to Thailand & she met me at the airport right as rain,barring a permanently numb left little toe.

A Thai masseur sorted her out.

There used to be a massage place down one of the first soi's on the left past the roundabout as you go into Naklua staffed by blind or partially sighted people that I went to once.It wasn't for sciatica but they sorted me out.You just need a Thai translator to tell them exactly what is wrong.

I've had my back go here in England a few times & I see a chiropractor who has the added bonus of being a very attractive South African woman & she's always sorted me out.

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1 hour ago, coxyhog said:

In 1996 I put my missus on an Eva Air flight in a wheelchair.

She was in massive pain down her left leg & foot & was on the waiting list with the NHS to get a disc cut out of her back.Our GP's were useless,just telling her to take more painkillers.We tried an osteopath but he didn't make any difference.

She was adamant that she wasn't going to go under the knife & wanted to go back home to try to get it fixed.

Anyway six weeks later I flew out to Thailand & she met me at the airport right as rain,barring a permanently numb left little toe.

A Thai masseur sorted her out.

There used to be a massage place down one of the first soi's on the left past the roundabout as you go into Naklua staffed by blind or partially sighted people that I went to once.It wasn't for sciatica but they sorted me out.You just need a Thai translator to tell them exactly what is wrong.

I've had my back go here in England a few times & I see a chiropractor who has the added bonus of being a very attractive South African woman & she's always sorted me out.

I had awful pain in my right shoulder, so much so that if I turned my head to the right, then looked forward again, my jaw would "drag" and take a second to catch up with my head!.

in 1999 I was taken to a blind massage place, also in Naklua, the TG I was with explained everything in Thai, 1 hour  and a couple of hundred baht later I came out of there totally cured and have never had the same problem since. I would have been prepared to pay hundreds of pounds at the time as it was really giving me gyp, and I admit I went into it a bit skeptical, but damn, I'm forever grateful.

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I had what i believed to be sciatica some years ago when I was living in my mother's house after she was placed into care - it wasn't bad in the days and I was able to work without much pain but when I laid down at night to sleep it could be dreadful, it would literally take me several minutes to simply roll over in the bed. I finally discovered it was the old bed that was doing it to me - when I had a closer look at the underside I discovered it was at least thirty years old and had sagged - after throwing it out and buying a brand new bed my problem disappeared and has never bothered me since. 

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I had it on and off over a period of several years with physio sorting it out most times.  Every episode was getting worse though and one time I was admitted to hospital and put on a morphine drip for pain relief.

Ended up getting a partial discectomy at L5/L6 a few months later and the surgeon mentioned afterwards that parts of the disc internals had fragmented off so would never have returned to where they should be and would have continued to give me grief if he hadn't picked them out.

Occasional muscle spasm in the same area now and then but nothing serious.

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Ice, rest (a little), NSAIDs/muscle relaxants, stretching, abdominal exercises.

Losing weight, especially stomach weight that pulls on the back muscles, helps a lot.

Check sitting position in chairs and vehicles...lumbar support helps a lot.

If it gets worse might be time to consult a doctor. But unless you have a seriously lumbar herniated disc...they'll make the same recs as above.

. . .

 

Edited by lazarus
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19 minutes ago, lazarus said:

Ice, rest (a little), NSAIDs/muscle relaxants, stretching, abdominal exercises.

Ice - I used a 1kg pack of frozen sprouts from Friendship.

NSAIDs/muscle relaxants - I always use Ibuman plus which is available at most Pharmacies on Soi Buakhao for 50 Baht a pack of 10.

Stretching etc - The afore mentioned Pelvic tilts definitely helped!

25 minutes ago, lazarus said:

Check sitting position in chairs and vehicles...lumbar support helps a lot

- I no longer use the high backed plastic plastic patio chairs as that always seemed to give me problems.

- I use a wooden elongated S chair with a hard Garfield cushion as extra lumbar support.

Good Luck everybody!!

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17 hours ago, Glasseye said:

Anyone ever have it ? Hurts like f**k !

I tell you, I "cringe" when at the gym at times seeing these guys doing " deal lifts" without using a belt for support. Some of these guys are going to completely and utterly f**k themselves up for life. Sad, you try talking to them and they are oblivious to what they are doing. 

Have never had this, but I hear it is no fun as others above have said.

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4 minutes ago, Yessongs said:

I tell you, I "cringe" when at the gym at times seeing these guys doing " deal lifts" without using a belt for support. Some of these guys are going to completely and utterly f**k themselves up for life. Sad, you try talking to them and they are oblivious to what they are doing. 

Have never had this, but I hear it is no fun as others above have said.

Think I did mine pushing my Mum in a wheelchair ... just an awkward movement ...

There's a great documentary about Ronnie Coleman on Netflix , he is completely fcuked after the years of training he did ...worth a watch 

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58 minutes ago, Yessongs said:

I tell you, I "cringe" when at the gym at times seeing these guys doing " deal lifts" without using a belt for support. Some of these guys are going to completely and utterly f**k themselves up for life. Sad, you try talking to them and they are oblivious to what they are doing. 

Have never had this, but I hear it is no fun as others above have said.

Great compound movement the deadlift is, but also a great way to injure your lower back. I started powerlifting at 16-17, and was quickly hitting a max around 440 pounds while weighing under 200. But I wasn’t using my legs enough and the lower back did all the work, but hey when you’re young and fearless you don’t care. I do believe it was the start of the back problems I have today. Add in 130 pounds of fat gain, 15 years of driving all day, weak abs, low flexibility, and a short violent golf swing…….lucky I’m not already in a wheelchair 

Starting to lose some of the weight, but I regret not starting years ago, just simply keeping my back loose with stretching/yoga. It doesn’t take much, if done regularly. 
 

Best of luck to the OP with the sciatica, but the back is NOT like a broken limb where after a month in a cast….BOOM better than new. It’s a complex set of bones/muscles and I feel sorry for anyone with issues because it’s tough to become pain-free once issues arise

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2 hours ago, Yessongs said:

I tell you, I "cringe" when at the gym at times seeing these guys doing " deal lifts" without using a belt for support. Some of these guys are going to completely and utterly f**k themselves up for life. Sad, you try talking to them and they are oblivious to what they are doing. 

Have never had this, but I hear it is no fun as others above have said.

I agree wholeheartedly, numerous times I've seen youngish guys and girls doing squats / deadlifts with the wrong technique. All it takes is one slipped disc and it's going to be a long, hard road back to recovery.

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I suffered with sciatica during my first ever trip to Thailand in 2008.

Only 2 things for me have been more painful, gastroenteritis and the worse toothache ever. 

Kind of funny really, as I met up with some mates in pattaya and one guy was so bad with sciatica I gave him half of my co codamol medication and we used a porters trolley to push him around the bars. 

Only had the odd twinge since 2008 so all good. 

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21 hours ago, Derek Dangleberries said:

Your comment describes perfectly my experience about 2 years ago.

I have no idea what caused it but I never want that amount of pain again! I sort of found a way to support myself using by arms and rolling onto the bed...Then trying to gently shuffle into a sleeping position....

I found doing pelvic tilts very useful...bloody painful at first but I am damn sure it helped it get better quicker.

 

 

Thanks... I'll give that a go tomorrow. Finishing up the 12 pack of Black and Tan today.   lpl

 

4 hours ago, Yessongs said:

I tell you, I "cringe" when at the gym at times seeing these guys doing " deal lifts" without using a belt for support. Some of these guys are going to completely and utterly f**k themselves up for life. Sad, you try talking to them and they are oblivious to what they are doing. 

Have never had this, but I hear it is no fun as others above have said.

 

Dead lifts were one of a few things I didn't bother with (Although I know the are one of the 4 or 5 fundamental lifts that is recommended). I didn't seem them as worth the time and effort. I'm glad I didn't do them. 

I am thinking though my abs and lower back are not in as good of shape as normal. And some improper posture while sitting on the computer is probably the cause. Making some adjustments now.

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Had an exceptional episode of pain a couple of years ago. I dont know the direct cause but was told after a MRI scan my plates in my lower back had trapped a nerve. If I waked on my heels one would just flop down. Scary!

Options given by a specialist to have an op but the risk list was really something I couldnt live with.

Continued to walk gently at first but slowly improved. YOUTUBE helped alot following various exercises. Now I get some aches and pains but not dilapidating.

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1 hour ago, john1000 said:

Had an exceptional episode of pain a couple of years ago. I dont know the direct cause but was told after a MRI scan my plates in my lower back had trapped a nerve. If I waked on my heels one would just flop down. Scary!

Options given by a specialist to have an op but the risk list was really something I couldnt live with.

Continued to walk gently at first but slowly improved. YOUTUBE helped alot following various exercises. Now I get some aches and pains but not dilapidating.

 

I went to an Osteo  clinic yesterday. They were fantastic. Had an xray done. I have some arthritis settling in on some of my lower spine.

The doc was optimistic though. Got an Rx for steroids and muscle relaxants. Discussed diet, building back core muscles, etc. I will be working on that from here on out.

The pain is still significant, but has come down a notch or two today. I think I have at least a couple more days before that becomes reasonable. Then focus on the slow plan to reduce my weight and strengthen the core muscles. Both the Dr. and I felt confident that I can get this under control. For some it can be hell and they never get back to normal. I refuse to let that be the case. But, It is really up to me.

 

The Dr. also said that smoking can add up to 30% of the problem. That's another thing to work on.  lol

 

Happy New Year -   55555555

 

*****   BTW - for us guys in here, getting up in years. This very likely can happen to any of us, and actually most of us.

 

This incident has really been a "wake up call". I plan on using it as a positive and making the adjustments I need to.

Pain is a strong motivator, and this pain is Dog damn horrible.

 

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  • 11 months later...

I am currently got a kneeling chair from here. which is highly beneficial to experiencing sciatica. Researchers have found that when sitting in an open-angled position, the pressure on your lumbar spine, thighs, and buttocks is dramatically reduced compared to conventional chairs. Thank God My life is in peace after getting this . 

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