UKC

been struggling with it for 8 weeks now and still not much better. hellish pain down left leg from top of left buttock.
tried physio, osteopath, alexander technique, accupuncture and tens. nothing shifting it.
spending my days propped up on elbows to releive pain and walking dogs round the woods. bloody sick of it especially now winters here.

any tips???

thanks.

In reply to dan bulman:

Not me but my Dad is currently getting over it. Sounds extremely uncomfortable. He used Diclofenic for the pain and has been doing a series of exercises and stretches which are very slowly helping - he's now off the strong painkillers and on normal ones. It started about 6 months ago for him, so it could be a long haul. Best of luck.

In reply to dan bulman:
Yep been there, it is terrible!
Sounds like an MRI is in order, in my utterly amateur status I diagnose a prolapsed disc so physio etc doesn't work. I paid for an MRI - ask your GP where cheap ones are, I travelled to Cheltenham for mine from Devon but saved £300. This will massivley reduce your NHS time.
I ended up with an discectomy - cutting away the disc that was pushingon the nerve causing the sciatica.
Ten years later - 1.43 half marathons, cycling 100 miles sportives, fell running and everything. In my 40s now.
At the time it was awful, really worried about being able to do any sport at all.
Get a definitive diagnosis is the starting point, they need to 'see' inside your back to get to the heart of it.
good luck

In reply to dan bulman: As per the previous, I too managed to prolapse a disc in my back almost 15years ago. No improvement despite many sessions of physio. In the end it was a bunion that saved the day.
Basically I had grown used to living on painkillers and struggling to move properly but I started to get pain from a bunion on my right big toe. A visit to the GP saw me in the podiatrists office where she commented that I must have terrible back problems. She prescribed custom made orthotics. Unbelievably my back problem dissappeared in a few months ( still have the bunion though). I now run competitively and only have occasional problems with the dreaded sciatica.

In reply to dan bulman:

I had the same symptoms, and a decent chiropractor who was I recommended sorted it out. It took time though as it would recur where my body slipped back into old ways. All fine now. Worth the outlay for the relief.

In reply to dan bulman:

I sympathise with you. I have had sciatica for the last two years. I have had an MRI scan - no problem with disc and I have had physio which was ineffective. I now see an osteopath regularly who manipulates lower back which does sort it out for a couple of weeks then it's back to the osteopath again. My Dr has prescribed all kind of painkillers but nothing really works. I know have a stomach problem as well from the painkillers. I too am bloody sick of it.

In reply to tony forster:
Similar here. Stabbing pains in the left knee, back ache and sciatica. Physio told me my left leg was 2cm shorter than the right! Custom orthotics sorted it out, along with exercises to stretch out the hamstring and glute on the left. Went private, much against my political inclinations and financial circumstances - worth every penny, to be fair.

Still get the odd tiny twinge of sciatica, but 5 mins stretching sorts it out.

In reply to dan bulman:

Do a search on these forums,this condition has been well covered,with lots of good advice.

A couple of years ago I ,suffered from sciatica through both buttocks,hips and the worst pain was between the knee and ankle on the outer aspect of the leg.I used to walk like my shoe laces had been tied together.

Spent a fortune on physio / accupuncture,just made it worse.

Was put on various medications,which got rid of the pain,but left me stoned.

Paid for a private MRI scan to avoid the months of waiting on the NHS,the scan revealed two prolased disc's in my lower spine and I soon had surgery.Paying for the scan put me near to the top of the list for surgery.

Two years later the same problem returned and further surgery,hopefully now back to reasonable fitness.

If your pain is getting worse push your GP for a MRI scan or if you can afford it go private,it saved me months of pain.

Good luck

In reply to Tony Naylor:

I have one leg shorter than the other so I think I will try to get some custom made orthotics.

In reply to dan bulman:

MacKenzie exercises might help and his book is very clear that if they will work, they will do so quickly.

http://www.lasportsandspine.com/pdfs/McK-1-05-1.pdf

thanks very much everyone for some top tips. good to hear that most folks recover, without surgery - although i'd take anything to make it better.
thanks again,
dan.

In reply to dan bulman:

Remember that if the conservative methods don't work, surgery most definitely does ... and the results are instant. I've had all sorts of back problems including prolapsed discs and horrendous sciatica. Tried everything and in the end had to go for surgery. The offending bits were shaved off ... end of problem.
I know it's the last resort but rather than dread the possibility take reassurance in the fact that if the other stuff doesn't sort it surgery most likely will.

In reply to dan bulman:

As per some of the others here I've had this and I really sympathise.

You don't say but I imagine a good physio will have given you a diagnosis. It sounds like it may be disc related though that diagnosis can only be confirmed by MRI - you should be pushing the GP to get one of these done. Some parts of the country now do them quickly on the NHS, others don't and you'd be better off paying if you can afford it (in London you can get one done for c. £300 including interpretation if you look around).

Painkillers should help a bit. Ibuprofen and Paracetmoal 4x a day is a good start and your GP may well add Codeine/Tramadol too if you're still struggling.

Hate being the bearer of bad news but about 90% of sciatica caused by disc problems resolves within 6 weeks. If it hasn't you've a clear problem which, at the minimum, needs a proper diagnosis.

Surgery, like any medical intervention, carries risks. That said the likelihood is that if you need surgery it'll be microdiscectomy +/- laminectomy. That should relieve pressure on the nerve root and it should feel a lot better or totally better straight away though you'll need to rehab for some months.

In reply to BGG:
A very knowledgeable/informative reply. It is a seriously unpleasant condition. I remember trying to prop myself up in all sorts of stupid positions to alleviate the pain.It didn't work.
Dan's problem sounds very similar, I hope it's not as severe ... but as you say an MRI scan is the only way to get to the bottom of things (no pun intended).I was on papaveretum tablets but as I said in the previous post it was the surgery that totally sorted it.

In reply to dan bulman: I've had sciatica bad a few years ago. It was extremely painful sports massage that taught my piriformis (sp?) muscle to stop clamping around the nerve in the end that started me getting over it. Some physios/masseurs seem reluctant to do the business! In my case it isn't spine based problems. I have to say though changing my car helped a hell of a lot, jumping into the old one after a climb /walk caused most of my problems. The latest, has far better seats, do not under estimate the small things that make a difference.

In reply to dan bulman:
its bloody excrutiating when it comes on but it will ease off dan.
i used to get it quite regular in my 40s but started doing some exercises to try and stay flexible and touch wood havent had a bad do for over 10 years now.try and stay active as resting it didnt seem to work for me.when i was driving i used to put a pillow on the seat at the small of my back and this used to ease it aswell as its pushing the discs back in place.
just be aware its something you will have for probably some time and be careful when you bend over ...
try and remember to bend your knees when reaching down and keep your back straight.!
you could maybe try a heat lamp if you havent done so already ,it may help

gd luck dan theres worse things could happen to you.

In reply to dan bulman:
I was knocked off my bike in January this year and have just about sorted my back out now; ended up with prolapsed disk at L4/5 which caused extreme pain down left leg and buttock.

Tried just about every treatment going and ended up with surgery.

As suggested getting MRI done is the first thing to do and doing it privately may be the best option; I went to A&E with symptoms (not being able to stand for long or walk) and doctor sent me away saying that I had probably prolapsed disk and would just have to get on with it.

I had facet joint injections and epidural which sorted pain for a short period of time each time (maybe 2 weeks)

The next option is radio frequency ablation which burns the nerves around facet joints (but not permanently and no loss of function) this work well for me for maybe three weeks.

During the course of all this treatment I tried many other treatments:

Chiropractor was a big mistake and I think he made it worse; I will never let anyone near me with an acupuncture needle again! (especially when they only put needle exactly where the pain is – was excruciating!!) the manipulation wasn’t helpful either.

First physio I went to was poor – I realised that each time she (aggressively) tested my range of movement it made matters worse.

I eventually found a good physio who explained that the only thing you can do to the area is strengthen the muscles around the disk as they ‘turn off’ after injury which makes the matter worse and tried a course of treatment specifically strengthening the area.

Eventually none of this worked satisfactorily so a few weeks ago I have an interspinous implant placed between L4/5 and decompression (shaving the bone away) where it was compressed – this has improved my life massively, it hasn’t been a complete fix but I can walk/cycle etc.

I would recommend trying everything in same way if possible and leaving surgery as last option; there is a million people offering quick fixes to what I had but ultimately it was a ‘mechanical’ issue that only surgery could sort out; for many either the injections or radio frequency will work if physio doesn’t – some people can have major prolapses and it will not affect them much and often the body will recover naturally

In reply to dan bulman:

You have my every sympathy. I did mine (again) at the weekend - firstly lifting the Xmas tree and secondly lifting boxes of Christmas decorations bent double in the loft. Sodding thing.

Anyway, it's back to sleeping on the floor for me for a few days (left side, right side, front, and repeat). A thermarest provides just about sufficient comfort. I know when it's getting better as changing sides doesn't wake me up completely.

Add in a trip to the osteo and it should sort me out. I hope. My toes are a long way away today

In reply to dan bulman: Make sure you get a good diagnosis - my mum was diagnosed with sciatica/rheumatism....8 years later she was in a wheelchair with MS. OK, so there's nothing she could have done about it as MS is incurable, but she could have probably made more of her life.

In reply to Toerag: totally agree on getting a good diagnosis. That said MS is a long way down the list of likely diagnoses of causes of sciatica and would characteristically affect other muscles first.