Anyone here ever have sciatica.?

[mynameiscd (Andy)]

Hi all,
Its been 3 weeks of hell here and not too sure what to do.
I work as s stone mason and for the last year ive been doing a large restoration job with some very heavy stones to lift.
3 weeks ago i felt something ping in my lower back and thought nothing of it as ive had this before and at worst 2 to 3 days and all good.
My lower back pain seemed to get worse and then the leg pain started.
I have never felt this type of pain before. Its like my shin has been smashed with a iron bar over and over and i have to look at my leg to convince myself that there is no real damage.
After CT scans ive got a bulging disc between L3 and L4 and thats whats causing my sciatica.
The pain is relentless, 24 hous a day and i cant find a position which to get the pain to stop other than Tramadol, anc Panadine forte which takes the edge off.
Ive tried a chiropractor with gentle manipulation which is ok for a bit but it still comes back.
I've been told I can get cortisone injections directly into my spine.
This sounds a bit drastic but at the moment if someone told me that eating used kitty litter would take the pain away I'm all for it!!!!
Every night lately has been really clear but there's no way i can even lift my heq5 outside let alone get on my knees to do a PA.
Any advise is greatly appreciated
Cheers
Andy

[The Mekon (John Briggs)]

Yep, had it real bad 15 years ago - I was 48 then. Noticed it first when riding motorcycles, but no great pain and carried on as normal. Then when dirt riding, I had to kick start a cantankerous high compression bike. In hospital the next day unable to move.
No amount of physio had any effect. Pain was tremendous and I would be up three times a night to slowly walk around to ease the pain.
Consulted doctors, physios, and chiros. What cured me in the end after three months of agony was the Chiro - not in his consulting rooms (some of the stuff was just hocus-pocus), but an simple exercise he gave me to do.

Stand back against wall - pull one knee up to chest and hold for 5 seconds, pull up with arms a few times. Do same for other knee.
Repeat for around 3 minutes.
Alternatively, lie flat on floor and draw knee up to chest and hold.

After doing these exercises for around 4 weeks I was completely cured, and the sciatica has never returned.

[mynameiscd (Andy)]

Thanks John B,
Its the nights that get to me. I go from bed, to chair, to couch, to bed, to couch, then walk, then bed, to chair more pain killers, hot pack cold pack then bed, then chair and then its sunrise and probably 1 to 2 hours "sleep".
I'm about to give the exercises a go right now.
I sort of do this now in bed but no real regime.
Cheers
Andy

[speach (Simon)]

yep; had the operation to relive it the recuperation from the op was horrendous and then five years later did it again, made the call that I'd live with the pain rather than go through the op again. Now 30 years later it only troubles me about 2 or 3 times a month so win win.

[Imme (Jon)]

Hi Andy....I’m not a chiropractor but work in the health/fitness field.

My advice for what it is worth is you need to open the spine up gently, stretch the disc spacing (that’s what he kness to the chest is doing).

...another good one if you’re flexible is bending forward over a bench.....just need to gently stretch to get the discs separated so everything has a chance to slip back in place

[Wilso]

+1 for the stretching . Carpenter by trade.
I've had a compressed or bulging disc in the same area, spent about a week on my stomach in bed.
I've got a good Physio and he gave me a series of exercises to do to open up the spine and to help get the spine back into normal position.
A week or so later all good!

[MattT]

Suffered from it as a hazard of what I do for a living.

My cure was the bicycle....very similar movement to the stretches John mentioned. Most cyclists do that stretch daily too.

Of course many other benefits flow on from riding.

[el_draco (Rom)]

I heard a back specialist on the radio a few days back basically saying 90% of treatments for back pain are pointless and can make the condition worse. Avoid invasive procedures like the plague and they recommend using it as soon as possible to stop pathways being set up.

I screwed my back after several bad smashes on bikes and got it scanned. I had a degenerative condition for 15 years with knowing it and it end my manual lifting pretty damn quick.

Spent two years staggering around on dual sticks popping Di-gesics like lollies with little relief and was pretty well crippled for a decade after that. I slipped a disk just after I met a nurse type about 17 years ago. She did a thing called "Bowen Therapy" on me and a cried like a baby for an hour after. Then I stood up and dropped a tree. 95% less pain from then on... Suffice to say, I married her!!

Bowen is non-invasive, retrains muscles to support your spine better. Hurts like a shot gun blast first time but keeps me walking now. It does not necessarily work for everyone but after I get one, my body temp jumps five degrees plus and my back feels like its on fire for half an hour. Try that before you try anything else.

[mynameiscd (Andy)]

Thanks
Simon
Jon
Darren
Matthew
Rom,
I'm going to therpepist in Adelaide on Monday to get a guy who has worked on a few friends of mine.
He does Bowen and also does a Nural Organization Technique thing that is supposed to reset the nuralogy which has caused the problem in the first place.
Ill give it a go.
Going to keep on with the stretches and rest and im also looking for a full time worker who would like to trash their back as well.
Requirements are that you can lift really heavy rocks (up to 120 kg) onto scaffold and then lift up mud, tools, water up on the scaff.
Then lift up the rocks again and put them where they fit normally manhandled a few times to modify the shape a bit.
Do this for about a year and then go to the next job.
Hmmm no wonder im not getting many takers....
Just to top it off now the power is off so our internet booster is not working and this tablet is going flat
Cheers all
Andy

[multiweb (Marc)]

Everyone at some at some stage experiences pinched nerves or pin and needles. The consensus seems to be exercise. Core muscle training is low impact, easy to do and maintain. Planking is good for you as long as you keep breathing. Look for muscle imbalance as well. If you do push you need to equally pull. If you do crunches then you need to work your back as in rowing for example, etc... vary your routine, cycle, run or walk within reason. Exercise will sort out 99% of your problems.

[luka]

Andy, a bit of advice for the time after you get better. Most of those spinal injuries happen because of the weak back and stomach muscles that are not supporting the spine enough. See a physio, get some back and core stretching and strengthening exercises and just make them a part of your routine. It will solve 99% of your problems (unless the injury is already gone too far).

Also there are particular movements that cause the problem. Learn them and avoid them. The spine can take lots of load when straight but not so much when bent. You probably know that bending your knees when lifting will keep the spine straight. So will rolling to your side before getting out of the bed. Don't cross your legs when you are sitting down. A family member used to get sciatica pain every few weeks while putting socks on in the morning until they started to lay down on their backs to put the socks on. Those little habits may sound trivial but help in the long run.

[casstony]

Stay away from any lifting until the back is better and see if you can find some type of hydraulic or electric lift for the heavy blocks.

Spending as much time as possible laying down will give the disc bulge its best chance of receding and taking pressure off the nerve.

If you end up having to see a surgeon it's best to have private health to get access to the best medical people.

[mynameiscd (Andy)]

Power back on

Thanks
Marc
Luka
Tony
Ive been resting as much as possible as ive now worked out that the more time on my feet, the more pain it is at night.
At 52 its all catching up with me. Considering the work i do especially in winter I've been pretty slack with warm up stretching etc. Its going to be part of my daily routine as soon I get better.
Sometimes you need a wake up call!
Time to get fit again!
As with lifting the Ironstone i use a front end loader to get the stones up to the scaff but you still get them to the wall.
There's a few ways using planks and levers to get the rocks in place but its still awkward weight with twisting and that's why my back is under pressure.
No wonder most of these stone structures were built when Australia was a penal colony.
Cheers
Andy

[OldOz (John)]

Something positive?
Had a really bad attack of sciatica about 10 years ago. Absolute agony, had to use crutches (+codeine) for 2 months. Had just taken home the papers to apply for disabled sticker, when I thought 'this thing doesn't seem so bad today?...
Two hours later, no pain whatsoever. And never came back, either.
Good Luck!

[ngcles]

Hi Andy,

Was something I endured for at least a couple of decades -- the last few years (2003-2006) in almost constant, moderate to severe pain. Yes I understand your pain -- sciatic pain is the absolute pits. My former wife once admitted to me (grudgingly -- after she succumbed) that it was probably as bad as childbirth.
I would recommend you go and see a reputable physio for treatment.
In the end, my long-standing problem at the same joint L3-L4 was finally solved by surgery 12 years ago -- I had the disc removed (it was in five pieces so there was no use keeping it) and a laminectomy widened-out the canals the nerves run through. The result was fantastic. Most people don't need to go down this drastic track -- good care by an experienced physio will look after the problem.
If an operation is in the end necessary (and it probably won't be), I would very, very strongly suggest having it done by a neuro-surgeon as opposed to an ortho. The instruments are far, far more delicate and recovery is much quicker and success rates are much higher. When I had my operation (by a neuro-surgeon), I was out of hospital in four days and almost pain free. In fact, I was in less pain straight after the operation than I was before I went in. A fellow in the next room, who had his operation three days earlier than mine was still using a walking frame and obviously still in considerable pain when I left.

Best of luck with it!

Best,

L.

[Nikolas (Nik)]

I lost 18 kg's and no back issues since

[Gundary5 (Shane)]

I don’t think I had it as bad as you describe, but I found a targeted massage did wonders. It’s a bit personal though, thumb jammed hard into the spot where your butt ends and the legs start. Instant relief though.

[Wavytone]

Andy I'm another, L4/L5 bulging disk due to years of sailing (I used to race on keelboats) and ballroom dancing - lifting partners.

As with you the pain never stopped day or night and just got worse, eventually excruciating. Persevered to the point I had to use all fours to climb stairs and couldn't step over a curb. Keyhole surgery fixed it successfully, in 2000. 18 years later... no pain, my back is 95% but lifting anything >15kg is forbidden.

[mynameiscd (Andy)]

Thanks
John
Ngcles
Nik
Gundary
Wavytone

Thanks to all that have replied. It really helps that there is some light at the end of this tunnel.
Had a bad night last night but today is a new day and can only look forward.
Going to Adelaide to see the Bowen, N.O.T. guy and also organizing physio as well.
Thanks for all the support.
Cant wait to have a sleepless night for the real reason esp when we've had so many clear nights.
cheers
Andy

[Kunama]

Hope you get some relief for that soon Andy, there is light at the end of the tunnel....
I suffered a 'pars defect', which is a stress fracture in the L5 pars interarticularis, this gave me years of lower back pain so severe at times that I passed out with the sudden onset of pain.

After the initial healing period I got back into cycling, swimming, scuba and XC skiing to strengthen the muscles around that area and have had almost no recurrences in 20 years.....