Sciatica

[yeky83]

Feels bad guys. Woke up with a mild left side lower back pain yesterday. I stretched it out did some warm ups, and it felt good so I felt motivated to exercise. A couple explosive movements and a pain shot down my left hip and hamstring. It got progressively worse as the day went on, and at night I couldn’t walk, sit, or lie down, nothing. The only position with manageable pain was on my hands and knees.

So I’ve been kneeling in front of my couch with my torso splayed on it for the past 12 hours. Ibuprofen and acetaminophen helped none even with overdosing. Got Meloxicam prescribed, it's helping just the tiniest bit, and I also got muscle relaxers for the night. I feel crippled and it's only gotten worse so far, pain is down to my left outer calf now. I think @chris had a similar thing and it was chronic? I can't even poop cus pushing makes my hip hurt too much.

Don't want to go to the hospital cus of the virus... Geez bad time to get hurt. Feel like a bad husband and father, and can't even lie down and play guitar. Once a year or so, I'd get this bad tweak in my left side lower back. But this is something else entirely. Uh, any tips anyone?

 

[BBN]

Ibuprofen and ice are the only things that work for me (without going for medical help).
Likely some piece of a disc is pushing into a nerve. Need to take down any swelling.

 

[chris]

yeah this is similar if not the same to what i experience. i think mine comes mostly from lack of strength in my lower back muscles, but vertebra is definitely out of place and needs to continually be put back. i don't always have the sciatica with the back pain, but often i do.

from my experience, i think you might just need to wait it out a bit. it really sucks literally not being able to move. sorry this is happening.

i think it's mostly swelling of the sciatic nerve touching the spine/vertebrae, so slight movements can touch it and make it feel like 50 out of 10 pain.

if you can try to find a way to lie down so you aren't holding yourself up, that'd be great. but yeah, my upper body was so tired from dragging myself around.

definitely drink as much water as you can, though that means making it to the bathroom but it's so important as it can help stop the swelling and flush toxins out from the stress and pain.

i've also been doing intermittent fasting for a while since the pain got so bad. being empty reduces bathroom trips, and takes pressure off the back if your stomach/intestines are empty. we definitely don't need to eat 3x a day! a lot of that is habit and desire. i typically do 1 small healthy meal a day, and often try to go every other day. i always feel great, crave only healthy things, and my pain is reduced.

i didn't have health care for my last major episode, so i could only go to a urgent care clinic. i'm sure they thought i was faking pain like many do for drugs. but they gave me Prednisone and something else... i don't remember. both basically to reduce swelling. nothing for pain which sucked.

careful with that Ibuprofin. i definitely became Dr. House with it, but it can rip up your stomach lining if you take too much.

i hope this gets better for you. i definitely know what it feels like and it's absolute hell. gotta rest let the bones reset, let the swelling reduce.

 

[BBN]

I should have added - it used to happen to me a lot. Days on the floor, crawl to the bathroom. Brutal.
Nothing worse than when you can't do anything. Not even life a plate of food.
The best is when it would happen at a gig.

I changed 3 things in my life and one of them (or maybe a combination) made a huge difference for me:
1) I stopped doing squats at the gym
2) I bought a temperpedic bed
3) I got cortisone shots in my facet joints (I probably spelled that wrong).

I had previously gotten cortisone shots in my discs, and that would provide temporary relief....but the issue always came back.

I had massive pain and would have 'episodes' like you mentioned, for a period of like 5 years.
After making the changes I mentioned above - the pain went away after a couple of months, and only returns when I do something really stupid (like try to lift up the ass end of my Harley to move it).

My doctor allowed me 800mg of Ibuprofin, 3 times a day. Until I was back to normal-ish.

 

[yeky83]

Thanks for the perspectives guys. But damn, how did you guys deal with multiple episodes of this? It's debilitating. Is that what’s in store for me too, this things gonna be around for me now?

So how many days was it for you for it to peak and start to get better? I just want to be able to lie down on my back at this point, my knees are taking a beating.

I know I have a big left-right imbalance in strength and flexibility with my hips. Right hip is strong and inflexible while the left is weak and flexible, and that probably messed up my lower back. Or vice versa, spine's messed up and that ingrained bad movement in my hips? Dunno. I hurt my lower back in early childhood by falling off a tall fence, that’s probably relevant.

When I squat the right butt is lower than the left by an inch, and I'd inevitably tweak my back so I stopped barbell squats a year ago. Is it best if I don’t do any weighted compound lower body exercises from now on? Damn. Funny thing is I’ve been focusing on strengthening my left hip/posterior-chain lately, and I’m thinking that probably aggravated it... so what can I do in the future, no way to self-correct? Do I gotta go to a chiropractor? Much too often too quack-y for my liking...

 

[chris]

Thanks for the perspectives guys. But damn, how did you guys deal with multiple episodes of this? It's debilitating. Is that what’s in store for me too, this things gonna be around for me now?

So how many days was it for you for it to peak and start to get better? I just want to be able to lie down on my back at this point, my knees are taking a beating.

I know I have a big left-right imbalance in strength and flexibility with my hips. Right hip is strong and inflexible while the left is weak and flexible, and that probably messed up my lower back. Or vice versa, spine's messed up and that ingrained bad movement in my hips? Dunno. I hurt my lower back in early childhood by falling off a tall fence, that’s probably relevant.

When I squat the right butt is lower than the left by an inch, and I'd inevitably tweak my back so I stopped barbell squats a year ago. Is it best if I don’t do any weighted compound lower body exercises from now on? Damn. Funny thing is I’ve been focusing on strengthening my left hip/posterior-chain lately, and I’m thinking that probably aggravated it... so what can I do in the future, no way to self-correct? Do I gotta go to a chiropractor? Much too often too quack-y for my liking...

you may need a chiropractic adjustment. get the bones set straight once you're out of this major pain. then follow up maybe every 2 or 3 days at first till it learns to stay in place. then maybe once a week, then eventually once a month maybe?

the more i learn about it, we're strung together so our back and spine is almost like a string puppet with the different muscles. working on my right shoulder helps my left hip, etc. i mean it's not that simple but just as a quick example.

my last bad episode that i posted about lasted 5 days maybe more... smaller ones take me out usually for a full day.

you gotta get to a lying position at some point so you can sleep. actually just thought do you have a low stool or ottoman or something you might be able to put your torso on?

 

[NeoSound]

Feels bad guys. Woke up with a mild left side lower back pain yesterday. I stretched it out did some warm ups, and it felt good so I felt motivated to exercise. A couple explosive movements and a pain shot down my left hip and hamstring. It got progressively worse as the day went on, and at night I couldn’t walk, sit, or lie down, nothing. The only position with manageable pain was on my hands and knees.

So I’ve been kneeling in front of my couch with my torso splayed on it for the past 12 hours. Ibuprofen and acetaminophen helped none even with overdosing. Got Meloxicam prescribed, it's helping just the tiniest bit, and I also got muscle relaxers for the night. I feel crippled and it's only gotten worse so far, pain is down to my left outer calf now. I think @chris had a similar thing and it was chronic? I can't even poop cus pushing makes my hip hurt too much.

Don't want to go to the hospital cus of the virus... Geez bad time to get hurt. Feel like a bad husband and father, and can't even lie down and play guitar. Once a year or so, I'd get this bad tweak in my left side lower back. But this is something else entirely. Uh, any tips anyone?

I've been through a similar thing about 3 times (and many mini episodes) - first time around 40 for about two weeks (I'm 54 now) and I thought I would have to quit work it was so bad. No doctors! so I bought an inversion bench at k-mart and used it about 5 minutes a day for a week and it fixed me. I'm always lifting and doing physical stuff at work, if I over do it I'll start the bench again for 3 to 5 minutes a day and I'm fixed after a few days.
My dad passed away from cancer in 2016 at 73 but he had a lot of lower back issues from doing years of masonry work etc... I bought him one of the benches for his birthday and he said it was the only thing that really helped him. It doesn't help with upper back or neck but I believe your your weight pulling the opposite direction on your spine from what it's used to allows everything to re-align.

Also, I highly recommend staying away from ibuprofen. I took otc version for many, many years and quit using it about 3 years ago, it absolutely destroys your joints.

 

[yeky83]

you may need a chiropractic adjustment. get the bones set straight once you're out of this major pain. then follow up maybe every 2 or 3 days at first till it learns to stay in place. then maybe once a week, then eventually once a month maybe?

the more i learn about it, we're strung together so our back and spine is almost like a string puppet with the different muscles. working on my right shoulder helps my left hip, etc. i mean it's not that simple but just as a quick example.

my last bad episode that i posted about lasted 5 days maybe more... smaller ones take me out usually for a full day.

you gotta get to a lying position at some point so you can sleep. actually just thought do you have a low stool or ottoman or something you might be able to put your torso on?

So that’s 5 days of being immobile, then it started to get better? Damn it.

My torso’s lying down on a deep sofa, but my knees are on the ground with a cushion so it’s still taking a beating. One position is ok for a while then it starts hurting for 5-10 minutes, shift around to find a new position, etc.

 

[yeky83]

I've been through a similar thing about 3 times (and many mini episodes) - first time around 40 for about two weeks (I'm 54 now) and I thought I would have to quit work it was so bad. No doctors! so I bought an inversion bench at k-mart and used it about 5 minutes a day for a week and it fixed me. I'm always lifting and doing physical stuff at work, if I over do it I'll start the bench again for 3 to 5 minutes a day and I'm fixed after a few days.
My dad passed away from cancer in 2016 at 73 but he had a lot of lower back issues from doing years of masonry work etc... I bought him one of the benches for his birthday and he said it was the only thing that really helped him. It doesn't help with upper back or neck but I believe your your weight pulling the opposite direction on your spine from what it's used to allows everything to re-align.

Also, I highly recommend staying away from ibuprofen. I took otc version for many, many years and quit using it about 3 years ago, it absolutely destroys your joints.

I’ll get one and try it out after this episode is done with. Thanks!

 

[Mr Bach]

Google Dr Stuart McGill and as soon as you can get started on the McGill Big 3, add Stir The Pot exercise with a gym ball when you are able.
15 to 20 mins every day for 6-7 months and sciatica is gone.
Before I started the McGill exercises a squat or deadlift with even the empty bar had me crying in agony with sciatic pain down my leg, at one point the pain in the lower leg was so bad I was convinced my fibula must have been broken. Using the McGill exercises to strengthen my core and protect my back has been a transformation - 400lbs on the bar feels good now.
Stay away from sit-ups and toe-touch stretches they just aggravate disc problems which impact the nerve.

 

[AndyOrr]

Get an MRI. If the results show you’re a good candidate for a laminectomy, do it. I had it done in 2008 after trying to manage it for 6 months with chiropractic, massage, muscle relaxers, etc., My chiropractor, of course, was imploring me to wait. I shouldn’t have waited. 8 weeks to the day after my laminectomy, I was in the desert riding mountain bikes and felt great!!! It’s been a non issue ever since.

My neighbor started suffering from it a few months ago. I gave him the same advice. His cross fit trainer tried to convince him otherwise. He finally gave in, had the laminectomy done and is back at cross fit better than ever.

Laminectomy is an outpatient procedure. It is usually done in an ortho surgery center, not a hospital. Ortho and neuro surgeons generally aren’t engaged in the CV fight. You won’t be taxing resources. They put you under, you wake up and go home. You’ll be walking a mile the next day.