Posted on 08/29/2015 7:18:38 PM PDT by Maine Mariner
I think you meant this excellent reply for the OP. :)
I empathize with your pain as I have been through what you are dealing with many many times. There has already been some very good advice given. The Ma Roller can work wonders and requires minimal effort to use. The very best stretch you can do some others have described and I’ll give my version. If you are unable to do it yourself you can ask another to help you do it. Lay flat on your back with your arms outstretched at your sides. Pull up one knee at a time and when that one knee is up as high as you can get it, pivot/roll that raised knee to the opposite side of your body, keeping the shoulder blades flat on the ground, and just hold it there. It will hurt, but that is because you are stretching the tightened muscles that need to relax. After you have done one side, do the other. Repeat this a few times and do it a few times a day. Like I said, ask someone to help hold your knee up as you roll it over.
Be careful with the Tylenol. It can and will damage your kidneys and liver at those doses for any prolonged length of time. Naproxen works FAR better. I also suggest a Valium to relax and if the pain is bad enough get some oxycodone. Both are highly addictive, but they work! Being in pain is NOT conducive to healing. Just make sure to quit taking them ASAP!!! (Or you will either lose everything, or end up in some sort of recovery program) best of luck, and ask God for healing. I’ll pray for you as well!
Sciatica is basically nerve-pinching, and has more to do with discs not quite being lined up or along those lines. It is a literally mechanical problem.
My spine is falling apart so have dealt with sciatic for about 12 years. At times it gets so bad I can barely walk. I take Tramadol daily but it still hurts. This may sound crazy but find a good therapy masseuse. A lot of chiropractors offices have them now. I have at least 1 sciatic massage a month. My gal works wonders on me.
And Ibuprofen can kill your kidneys, NO more than recommended!
I had sciatica years ago. The local doctor told me that it was caused by the back muscles being stronger than the belly muscles and pinching a nerve.
He told me to do a series of sit ups to strengthen my stomach muscles.
IT WORKED! I have been free from sciatic pain for 40 years!
My chiropractor has a masseuse with her as well.
Biofreeze.
And oh yeah. I finally quit even trying PT. when they were done with me I couldn’t walk at all. Didn’t do a bit of good. The cortisone shots may help you. They did me for about 3 times then they quit working.
Seriously, try a sciatic massage from someone who knows what they’re doing.
Many years ago I had sciatica from a pinched nerve in my spine. About a dozen trips to the chiro helped. About a month ago I had similar pain but it was in my butt down my leg to the ankle. This time it is a condition called, piriformis syndrome which involves the piriformis muscle pressing on that sciatica nerve. The two are very similar. Here again I made a few trips to the chiro. Stretching that muscle has helped a lot and for the most part the leg/ankle pain thing went away., just some mild pain in that muscle. Google that syndrome for some good stretches. Good luck.
I developed a sciatica earlier this year and it was excruciating. A week or so into it, I found my way into the hot tub. Its weird but the second my body was fully immersed, all the pain vanished. No idea why but the hot water and the suspension of weight stopped all pain instantly. This was a real life saver. The first night, I actually slept in the hot tub, sort of. At least I was out of the pain. From thereon every time it got bad, I got into the hot water. This also allowed me to do full stretches which sped up my rehab. It was also crucial to visit a competent physical therapist. The man twisted me into a pretzel, but eventually the pain subsided and I got over it.
They key is the hot water. Not just a hot water bottle, get into a full tub and if at all possible, a hot tub where you can completely move around.
I don’t pretend to know anything :) but the nutrition route is worth a try. I was a care giver to my Mom and Dad for many years and I wish I knew then what I know now. My poor Dad was taking everything until we started weaning him off of the dangerous meds. Both passed away in 2013. Both WWII Vets. My best friends. Mom was very nutritious conscious. Anyway here is an interesting list. Again. . .not advocating or prescribing. http://george-eby-research.com/html/wallach.html
I’ll also add to my post that I fully agree with what OilLineRebel said about sciatica being a mechanical problem. It’s nerve pinching. That’s why the proper stretches and the Ma Roller can and will help line everything back up and give you the relief you seek. What DIDN’T work for me were chiropractors, acupuncture, or steroidal shots. I’ve avoided all recommend further surgeries and have maintained a healthy back (despite my fused vertebrae) by most importantly and simple, just maintaining good posture! Sit up straight! Healthy eating habits, proper weight, and daily exercise are paramount, but just maintaining good posture will almost positively prevent further episodes of sciatica! It is so simple that it’s easy to forget, and then the slouching starts, and the cycle repeats.
John Sarno’s book is stupendous. I have no idea why I read that book; had no back pain, or any pain for that matter but something about that book called to me. I even did some of the writing exercises. Very impressive book. Thanks for mentioning it. I had forgotten about it.
2 words, Mariner- Heating. Pad. I’m one of those people who has to feel like I’ve got a brain tumor to take a Tylenol, but I would be immobile without mine. And it’s gotten to the point- after years and years, that I can go for weeks without it.
Hope this abates for you soon!
Prayer list ping
Try walking it out. I had a horrible case of this in 1989 after a very serious fall breaking two vertebra’s. The pain was almost impossible to endure. Now, other than the aches and pains of getting older I no longer have it.
I would avoid at all costs having anyone manipulating your back. That only exacerbated the problem. After I quit that quackery, it eventually abated and I no longer have the problem.
Believe me, I feel your pain. I really do.
Don’t do anything you have read here until you have an MRI done on your lumbar vertabrae and the images read by a neurologist. I tried the other route and after going to a chiropractor at the insistence of the workmen’s compensation people, I could not get off the floor for a month. Then we did the steroid shots and PT. The entire time my right leg just did not work and for the first 2 months felt like somebody had hollowed it out and poured hot charcoals in it.
A year after the injury I finally got approval to see a neurosurgeon. 3 hours after surgery I was walking around with tolerable pain and a leg that actually worked. But because the ruptured disc had impinged on the sciatic nerve for so long it screwed up some of the circuits. For instance, the outer layer of my leg has no feeling at all from knee down. Now that’s no biggie but it could have been avoided by an earlier surgery.
Surgery isn’t for everybody and they told me 1 in 500 people return to work with the surgery and rupture I had. Well I have been back to work for 5 years now and I pay the price if I am doing heavy lifting or ladder work but meds take care of that and it beats the hell out of living on the living room floor. :-)
The only thing worse is a gout attack. I’ve had both (not at the same time!).
Got it!
Prayer warrior ping for relief of this extreme pain!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.