Sciatica Pain *Dont post if you dont know*

[16 cycles]

Has sleeping on the ground alleviated the pain?

[Skanky]

Like I said somewhere earlier.I damaged my back in the gym doing some relatively heavy deadlifts and now I am’ completely’ pain free for years.

All I did was lose my belly ( which wasn’t much to begin with) and completely pain free for years.
All the men I know with sciatica have big bellies and prefer to take meds for it. Not I.

It might flare up slightly for a few hours if I do lots of bending or lifting but generally I don’t know it’s there.
Not saying you fat but if you are overweight try losing the belly. Every person is different so what works for me may not work for you depending on the severity of your injury but you have nothing to lose.(if you do have a belly)

[88sins]

Building core abdominal strength does help with some forms of back pain, usually the ones caused by back muscles, that can come about from injury or even bad posture.

But take what I telling you, if a person have a real serious sciatica problem, sitting upright and staying still is a friggin challenge, lying down is pain, standing up ain't nuttn to look forward to either. Small stretches help release some of the muscle tension, for a moment, and is back to more pain. So the activities and exercises that they will have to do to develop their core, they probably won't be able to do.

[AlphaMan]

Building core abdominal strength does help with some forms of back pain, usually the ones caused by back muscles, that can come about from injury or even bad posture.

But take what I telling you, if a person have a real serious sciatica problem, sitting upright and staying still is a friggin challenge, lying down is pain, standing up ain't nuttn to look forward to either. Small stretches help release some of the muscle tension, for a moment, and is back to more pain. So the activities and exercises that they will have to do to develop their core, they probably won't be able to do.

Exactly. Everything is pain. Even walking.
I trying my best but dont know how to get out of this crap...

[pugboy]

tweak how you sleep

[88sins]

tweak how you sleep

dat does start off good.
then you make one bad unconscious move and daz it for you and sleep dey.

[timelapse]

When I had the slipped disc, sleeping in a car seat was my only option

[pugboy]

if you break ribs properly sleeping upright is the best option
real pain lying down

When I had the slipped disc, sleeping in a car seat was my only option

[timelapse]

I honestly pray that you guys don't have this pain anymore .I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.
Edit: Imbert could do with a slipped disc

[VexXx Dogg]

well, it start.
Last Sunday I woke up and suddenly felt a warm sensation running down the back of my thigh. Kept coming and going all week. It feels like a slight burn that comes and goes from my upper thigh to my Achilles heel.
Doc confirmed that it's a sciatica act up. No. root cause established, maybe an injury from cycling or running perhaps. I ramped up activity over the last couple weeks.

Gave me some lorezepam for a few days, we'll see how it goes.

[88sins]

well, it start.
Last Sunday I woke up and suddenly felt a warm sensation running down the back of my thigh. Kept coming and going all week. It feels like a slight burn that comes and goes from my upper thigh to my Achilles heel.
Doc confirmed that it's a sciatica act up. No. root cause established, maybe an injury from cycling or running perhaps. I ramped up activity over the last couple weeks.

Gave me some lorezepam for a few days, we'll see how it goes.

Sleep on your back, no other position, stretch your lower back muscles like is a fashion statement, every chance you get, and be mindful of your posture and avoid lifting heavy loads for awhile. Do these things, and you will be aight in a few weeks. Spinal decompression helps too.

Take what i telling you, you don't want to let it get away from you and out of your control. You may get the occasional twinge as time goes by, but it go be oh so so so much much worse if you don't take charge of it from now.

[VexXx Dogg]

My posture is horrible, and has been horrible since I was a teen. Maybe because I was always overweight.

I'll certainly take this advice, thanks!
Wife said I should probably join her in Yoga that it might help.

I'll see what stretches I can do.

[ProtonPowder]

Used to have sciatica on my right side. At that time I used to squat in the gym. Stopped both front and back squats, kept doing everything else including deadlifts. The pain stopped shortly after.

For decompression, for anyone that has a pull up bar at home, just hang on to that for a 1-3 minutes daily. Those are dead hangs. If you dont have one, try gripping onto a piece of I-beam if you have one outside in a shed or something.

Different stretches from a dead hang are very relaxing while you feel yourself decompressing. While hanging, try leaning back, puffing your chest up and out, engaging your lats tightly like the starting position of a pull up. Stay like that, upper body arched backward while the lower body is loose. Then, basically engage your pelvic floor, basically like a kegel. At that point, if you do it correctly, the lower part of your spine going down to the tailbone decompresses drammatically.

Slowly alternate between that and relaxing your back and shoulders completely while hanging. let your head and neck sink into your shoulders while hanging. Then, shrug upwards. Your neck and cervical spine might crack a little bit. Your traps might stretch a little.

These stretches helped me a lot.

[AlphaMan]

I visited the orthopedic doctor last week at the SFGH.
I was given a months supply of Mydocalm and Flamar MX to take together with an anti inflammatory gel called Nimulid transgel.
I still have some pain.
Next appointment at the hospital is in June..Thats too long.
Where is the cheapest place I can get an MRI?

[VexXx Dogg]

btw I also realized that my serta spinal care mattress is past EOL. Didn't even realize it crept up on 12 years :/


So a new mattress is in order.
Pricesmart has a couple gel foam based pillows for 240 that is good for the neck. I think they are locally made with gel foam scraps, but they seem pretty good.

[maj. tom]

Go in a place where you can try out the mattress. Don't just buy something that you will be spending 1/3 of the next 10 years on by just looking at it.

I went Fens last year and tried a few and I eventually chose the high density foam Lensyl which is a firm but comfortable lie down. No regrets yet, sleeping nice, easy to get up in the mornings.

[pugboy]

flammar is dicofenac mixed with panadol
you can call around the mri places

[DMan7]

Is this thing Genetic or lifestyle issue or both?

[88sins]

Go in a place where you can try out the mattress. Don't just buy something that you will be spending 1/3 of the next 10 years on by just looking at it.

I went Fens last year and tried a few and I eventually chose the high density foam Lensyl which is a firm but comfortable lie down. No regrets yet, sleeping nice, easy to get up in the mornings.

This

[matix]

Go in a place where you can try out the mattress. Don't just buy something that you will be spending 1/3 of the next 10 years on by just looking at it.

I went Fens last year and tried a few and I eventually chose the high density foam Lensyl which is a firm but comfortable lie down. No regrets yet, sleeping nice, easy to get up in the mornings.

How long you have that?

[maj. tom]

About 6 months now. I flip and rotate it every couple weeks. So far, so good, but I really can't tell you what 5 to 6 years from now if it will be the same.

It was this I had got:

[Chimera]

How much that cost? I feel it's time I get a new mattress

[matix]

About 6 months now. I flip and rotate it every couple weeks. So far, so good, but I really can't tell you what 5 to 6 years from now if it will be the same.

It was this I had got:

This is locally made in Macoya I believe. I went there to check it out, was around $3900 with discount.

[maj. tom]

I get the Queen size for $3200 at Fens. Yeh local don't mean it bad and Lensyl have a good rep.

[matix]

I get the Queen size for $3200 at Fens. Yeh local don't mean it bad and Lensyl have a good rep.

Indeed, it’s really good. That’s a good price, I was checking out the king size.

[pugboy]

I had that mattress but was too stiff, went and got slightly softer one with pillow top covering

[matix]

I had that mattress but was too stiff, went and got slightly softer one with pillow top covering

How long did you use it?

[MISHI]

This will be a long post as I'm gonna speak from my own XP of having spinal injury and having sciatica. In 2014 it got so bad one morning, it felt like someone took a large nail and sledge hammered it into the center of my spine, the. wrapped rope around my waist, tied it to that nail with a piece of wood and cranked on it, then took gas and threw it on my leg and lit it.


It was and still is a pain that I wish not even my enemy has. It brings you to tears. I couldn't sit, stand, lie down any direction, or anything for any time or at all. Some days I needed to get food or do business, I had to lay on the ground of businessplaces waiting in queue. I could sit in the driver's seat of some cars but passenger side in none without feeling like I was going to die from the pain. Sitting on the toilet to do anything was a challenge in angles and managing not to scream.

Nothing anyone else did worked: Valium spine injections, sports massage therapists, etc. The option being put forward to me was to do a spinal operation that had a 50-50 of walking or not.

Bit I found a doctor here in Tobago who advised to get at least an xray, as a MRI wasn't something I knew of here. He determined the issue and asked which exact areas of my leg were burning, and he determined my L4, L5 and S1 vertebrae were damaged (herniated).

His treatment consisted of a massage cream that got hot on contact with liquid, then massage the spine into line. Then he would put me on an inversion table for 20 mins, as in his words, the spine needs to open up to allow nutrients to get un and slowly heal... emphasis on SLOWLY.

It felt GOOD hung upside down until you had to put your weight back on. Then, the pain would return somewhat as it was sore... worse when the muscles spasm. He gave me a regiment of tablets to take before bed including:

B12 tablets
Painkiller (Zerodol P)
Muscle Relaxant tablets

and another I can't remember.

Did that for 3 months or so until I could walk better. But it was slow and some days it would go better then return. The same dr loaned me his portable Teeter/Lynx P3 Adjustable stretcher, which while wasn't as effective as the table, was still plenty good to assist. I have one now and glad I invested in it.

Eventually I found lil extra tricks to help:

If the pain on one side (eg left), sit in a chair and stretch the leg out in that direction (left). Then take your upper body and lean opposite way (right). Take the arm that is same side as the pain and reach away in that opposite direction (rigjt) something like a half superman pose. Do that a few.

Also, if you have a belt you could tie your foot to on something that won't move, wrap the belt to your ankle of the sciatic leg pain, and onto whatever immovable, lie on thr ground, then pull away while lying on your side with the sciatic leg on the top and stretch it. You WILL hurt, but it is effective.

As well as doing the "Muslim prayer" stance is a help as well. But a BIG effective thing is also getting a hot water bottle and placing it on your back area. As you take the medicine, you heat the back and stretch the leg in a chair for about 30 mins, then lie down (either on back or on side) and just work with it.

Over time or will ease. BUT I will warn you that it never goes away completely forever. It comes back because life is life.. and we have to live. Watch your weight, how you lift weight, bend, EVERYTHING. You can't do a lot of things as much as you would want to, especially as you get older it can be more frequent.

Eventually you will be back on track, but just know it will not fix quick. Spinal and sciatica is a different beast.

[pugboy]

a few months, go progressively worse

I had that mattress but was too stiff, went and got slightly softer one with pillow top covering

How long did you use it?

[AlphaMan]

20140820_230712.jpgThis will be a long post as I'm gonna speak from my own XP of having spinal injury and having sciatica. In 2014 it got so bad one morning, it felt like someone took a large nail and sledge hammered it into the center of my spine, the. wrapped rope around my waist, tied it to that nail with a piece of wood and cranked on it, then took gas and threw it on my leg and lit it.


It was and still is a pain that I wish not even my enemy has. It brings you to tears. I couldn't sit, stand, lie down any direction, or anything for any time or at all. Some days I needed to get food or do business, I had to lay on the ground of businessplaces waiting in queue. I could sit in the driver's seat of some cars but passenger side in none without feeling like I was going to die from the pain. Sitting on the toilet to do anything was a challenge in angles and managing not to scream.

Nothing anyone else did worked: Valium spine injections, sports massage therapists, etc. The option being put forward to me was to do a spinal operation that had a 50-50 of walking or not.

Bit I found a doctor here in Tobago who advised to get at least an xray, as a MRI wasn't something I knew of here. He determined the issue and asked which exact areas of my leg were burning, and he determined my L4, L5 and S1 vertebrae were damaged (herniated).
20140820_230648a.jpg
His treatment consisted of a massage cream that got hot on contact with liquid, then massage the spine into line. Then he would put me on an inversion table for 20 mins, as in his words, the spine needs to open up to allow nutrients to get un and slowly heal... emphasis on SLOWLY.

It felt GOOD hung upside down until you had to put your weight back on. Then, the pain would return somewhat as it was sore... worse when the muscles spasm. He gave me a regiment of tablets to take before bed including:

B12 tablets
Painkiller (Zerodol P)
Muscle Relaxant tablets

and another I can't remember.

Did that for 3 months or so until I could walk better. But it was slow and some days it would go better then return. The same dr loaned me his portable Teeter/Lynx P3 Adjustable stretcher, which while wasn't as effective as the table, was still plenty good to assist. I have one now and glad I invested in it.
20220813_155125-01.jpg

Eventually I found lil extra tricks to help:

If the pain on one side (eg left), sit in a chair and stretch the leg out in that direction (left). Then take your upper body and lean opposite way (right). Take the arm that is same side as the pain and reach away in that opposite direction (rigjt) something like a half superman pose. Do that a few.

Also, if you have a belt you could tie your foot to on something that won't move, wrap the belt to your ankle of the sciatic leg pain, and onto whatever immovable, lie on thr ground, then pull away while lying on your side with the sciatic leg on the top and stretch it. You WILL hurt, but it is effective.

As well as doing the "Muslim prayer" stance is a help as well. But a BIG effective thing is also getting a hot water bottle and placing it on your back area. As you take the medicine, you heat the back and stretch the leg in a chair for about 30 mins, then lie down (either on back or on side) and just work with it.

Over time or will ease. BUT I will warn you that it never goes away completely forever. It comes back because life is life.. and we have to live. Watch your weight, how you lift weight, bend, EVERYTHING. You can't do a lot of things as much as you would want to, especially as you get older it can be more frequent.

Eventually you will be back on track, but just know it will not fix quick. Spinal and sciatica is a different beast.

Thanks for sharing your story..
You are right in that it never goes away...You have to find a way to live with it...