My Experience With Sciatica

a reply to: TDawgRex

Hey, Aspirin is not the best thing for you. It causes intestine micro-bleedings and has other side effects.
Meadowsweet or Willow bark is on the contrary healing gastric wall. It kills pain as well as some nasty bacteria like Escherichia coli while granting you fair supply of acetylsalicylic acid.
What I think could heal the nerves and restore myelin sheath is Comfrey tincture. It's good on teeth and bones too. Some studies suggest that even schizophrenia is related to myelin sheath decrease. I'm testing it right now in 50% spirit on atopic dermatitis and it's healing the skin pretty good too. The skin is sucking it in in seconds.

a reply to: Snarl
The inversion therapy is sometimes called a gravity table. You lay on this apparatus and lock your feet in then slowly tilt back until you are reclining with your upper torso point ing down at an adjustable angle. The idea is to use your body weight to decompress your spin/vertebrae and take pressure off your disks and nerve cord. It seems to help some folks. I'm still doing more research before buying one!

a reply to: Snarl

Excellent thread Snarl i have learned more in 4 pages from members here than 5 years of going to the twat doctors who are just legal drug pushers with a 10 minute window to speak with you

a reply to: douglas5

Glad to give the subject a small push. I've read every comment. Some of them have left me scratching my head asking, "What if ...?" This site draws some very gifted and uniquely talented individuals ... and rarely lets them go. It's good to hear what they say when they step forward and share.

For my small contribution ... You're welcome.

a reply to: Snarl

I have tried the abdominal crunches & sit ups but it only made it worse as does walking more than a few miles or swimming ,cycling or driving are a no no for me now .

On Wednesday after a few hours work on scaffolding i came home like a old man that crapped himself flopped on the couch and never moved again .

It was a church i was doing out of the goodness of my heart so i thought the big guy upstairs might cut me a break but no luck .

When you talk about tablets that knocked you out for 23 hrs a day , a few come to mind Tramadol ? but if you remember pm me

a reply to: douglas5

When you talk about tablets that knocked you out for 23 hrs a day , a few come to mind Tramadol ? but if you remember pm me

I promise ... if I knew I wouldn't have held the name back from the boards. It's been a dozen years and all I can remember is I had never heard of that medication and that I saved the empty bottle only because the name was printed there. I suspect my wife threw it out so I wouldn't ever try and get it from another doc somewhere down the road.

I've taken my fair share of pain meds. This was not one of those ... with that woozy/fuzzy effect. It just put me down and kept me that way ... very still.

originally posted by: douglas5
a reply to: Snarl


When you talk about tablets that knocked you out for 23 hrs a day , a few come to mind Tramadol ? but if you remember pm me

Aah good old Tramadol. Great for my back and Ironically makes me last like a pr0n star in the sack!

a reply to: docnorton

I just get like a zombie on them , same with Valium /diazipam if i take one 10 mg pill it is star baby on the bed 5 minutes later snoring my head of , and the next day i struggle to keep my eyes open , yet with other strong pills i can take a bucket load and nothing

After working on a church roof on Friday fixing the guttering i came home very sore and on Saturday could hardly move , every inch of my lower half was sore i had to take 6 pills to kill the pain , that is the second time this week i have been unable to move the next day after working up a ladder or on a roof .

Sciatica sucks

I wish I had seen this thread earlier. I just took my third and final epidural steroid injection yesterday and I can barely move today. The doctor had me do an injection every two weeks for a total of six weeks now. Every injection has put me in significantly more pain for about four days afterward. And thusfar, they have provided me with no relief. I had read up on these injections beforehand and had hoped for at least a little temporary relief from them, as all the literature had said the injection would contain an anesthetic in addition to the steroid. I was dismayed when I went in for the first one and was told that our local hospital does the injection with only the steroid. So, no temporary relief even

I've had an MRI, and I've torn the disc between my L5 and S1. My doctor thinks there may also be some dysfunction in my SI joints, but it sure does feel like it's coming from by back and going down my left leg and sometimes the right side as well.

Regardless, I'm getting a second opinion on my treatment options tomorrow morning and this thread has given me so much for me to ask about tomorrow so THANK YOU! I'm particularly interested in this decompression therapy. It sounds like it would feel heavenly, as I have this constant smushed/pressure feeling down near the disc. So thank you again for all of the information and thanks to Snarl for creating the thread. Maybe I can find something that will work for me without having surgery or taking any more expensive - and thusfar useless - injections.

What's the point of masking the pain with non healing drugs?
My back pain only worsen when I overload my wiring or I half-sit/half-lay in one position many hours lurking the web
Sport is the best cure as it's the only way to move the lymphatic fluid. Except the help of Marigold oil maybe

After years of all kinds of back treatments and finally surgery I would definitely recommend against chiropractors and go straight to a good physical therapist first.

Few chiropractors included exercise in their treatments and good exercise treatments are best done by a physical therapist that have almost as much experience as a doctor for education and internships.

Manipulation and icing is best done by a massage therapist. Most chiropractors just have you come back for treatments regularly to line their wallets. One even charged me more because I was coming related to a car accident. When I asked her about this she stated plainly, "you'll get money from the insurance settlement".

Chiropratic cracking and/or massage is "passive" manipulation and does nothing to strengthen or stretch muscles that, when aggravated, can tighten and pull your body of alignment. Just by stretching alone you can allow your body to align.

Exercise is "active" manipulation. Unlike passive massaging or chiropractic touch you actively create your own stronger muscles to support your body which is important as we age. Stretching is also mandatory so your body mechanics are not over tightened or misaligned. When nerves and muscles are aggravated the body is pulled out of alignment. Through active exercise you can naturally align your own body and keep it aligned.

You may find a chiropractor that embraces exercise and massage therapy, and I've been to those, but your better served with more advanced treatments by innovative "active" exercises directed by physical therapist professionals. This has produced superior and more long lasting results than that from chiropractors.

Some physical therapists may also include "deep needling" and "acupuncture". I am just about to try that now and will report back on my experience.

For immediate pain relief i've found that Naproxen Sodium (brand name: Aleve) works better than Ibuprophen to release muscle tension and reduce swelling. Though Ibuprophen and Aleve can be a good combo to combat temporary severe pain. But, don't take these long term as they can have some effects on your liver, etc. Get to a physical therapist for chronic conditions.

Finally, a good back exercise book is very helpful and educational, but start out with a physical therapist who is trained to target your particular problem for maximum long term relief. After training in exercises for my condition, physical therapy has allowed me to help myself and address problems with increased exercises as needed.

Sorry for chiming in a bit late to the discussion, but I really feel like I need to add my 2 cents. You seem to be in a lot of trouble, mate!

I finally found something that works for my sciatica pain!

Registered an account only to say this:

Have you tried Sciatica SOS?

It's a comprehensive program in the form of an ebook that contains all you need to know about sciatica pain, from the causes to the various treatments possible for it.

I’ve used it before to help me get rid of my sciatica pain. In summary, these are what it has that will greatly benefit anyone with sciatica pain.

- Various home treatments that you can use to quickly relieve sciatica pain
- The correct way to sleep to avoid sciatica pain attack in your sleep
- Exercise regime to follow to relieve muscle spasm and strengthen your core muscles

I just did a quick Google search, here's a review I found: nomoresciatica.info...

Hope this helps! Good luck in your health journey, I wish you the best!

originally posted by: zazzafrazz
it sucks to the max.

everyones advice is great. I've been in the throws of it this last week since driving across country.
The T band needs releasing.
I get pain up to the shoulder blade that triggers the neck and then all the way down to my ankle.

Discovering the pressure point releases will save your life. Hurts like a b*tch to press on it, the ankle one can make you want to pass out, but it works.
Stretching works and when the inflammation goes you MUST do sit ups, crunches and stomach muscle work.
I notice I get i when I slack off and my back holds my spine up instead of my abs.

Hugs to all of you.

ETA Pressure Points. I do this myself.
You can do it yourself by rubbing your leg as below indicates and ankle if you cant get to a therapist.
Ankle pressure point release is the dark green bit outer ankle of the side leg you are in pain on. S1 nerve. Mine is just below the knuckle bit, believe me when you press around there and you yelp you'll find it! Dont push on it for more than a minute in the morning and the evening.
RUb the leg for as long as you need.

also press and rub as below.

Thank you for posting this! That is exactly where I treat my clients....anfd yes that ankle part hurts like hell....often use it to treat my own when it plays up!

Rainbows
Jane

I have experienced sciatica as well. I got it once in my twenties and once in my thirties. In my thirties was the worst and it reminded me a lot of labour pain in childbirth. I've given birth naturally 3 times, and yep, that lower back pain is a dead ringer for sciatica. Labour has other pains as well, like clenching around the stomach, contractions etc, but you can feel the compression in your lower back and on your nerves.

When I got sciatica the second time, I was basically paralysed from pain. It took me an hour to get out of bed. I was in agony. I got dressed and needed massage. I knew I needed massage. I booked into a physio's, but got no relief from that. I then visited one of those Asian massage places in shopping centres...probably not the best idea, but I remember sitting in my car in Winter and sweating buckets I was in so much pain. I was just covered in sweat. The pain in my back was so similar to what your back feels like in childbirth that I just used the techniques I'd learned to get myself out of the car and into the shops.

I told the young guy at the counter that I had really, really bad sciatica pain. I wasn't pregnant, and I needed massage. He took me inside and noticed how slowly I moved, how much pain I was in and how I struggled to take off my dress. Eventually this incredibly old Asian man came over with a bottle of something in his hand. All foreign language on the bottle with a picture of an old man on it. He told me to take off my bra and just lie down in my underwear.

I did as he told me to. I didn't care. I was crying in pain. He began this massage that haunts me to this day. For such a small man, he had a lot of force and he knew exactly when and how to apply it. He rubbed my back and this juice he had warmed my skin and muscles like nothing I'd ever felt before. He gave me at least 2 hours of massage as I laid there.

When it was over, I could get up. I could move. My back felt like a furnace and my lower back felt fluid and hot. That heat lasted on the area of my lower back intensely for 3 days, including through hot showers, and for 5 days total. The last 2 days felt just warm. But for the first 3 days, my lower back still felt hot. This stuff he used was like tiger balm on steroids times a billion, but it didn't burn me, just made heat sink right into my skin.

It was a healing process after that where I just babied my back and focused on strengthening my core. Not doing sit ups but mainly pilates.

I wish I knew what juice he used.