Have you experienced sciatica? What kind of treatments worked for you?

My brother has. A heating pad helped him.

My mom did for quite awhile. She actually discovered that sitting on the couch with her laptop of her lap was very irritating to her back, and when she stopped doing that, it went away completely. Not likely your cause too but figured I’d throw it out there just in case.

Physical therapy.

I had acupuncture, but I don’t think that really helped at all. I found a physiotherapist who had me stretching and exercising things and that helped most of all. I can not make any recommendations because I don’t know your body shape, exercise history or cause of the injury. Having a pinched nerve that runs down your leg is tricky. It can feel like sciatica but it might be coming from your lower back. Don’t stop until you find the cause and a therapy that helps. I’ve known people who have had hip joins replace needlessly because they were diagnosed with the wrong pain. Be very cautious and avoid eager and zealous orthopaedic surgeons.

@cazzie now that is frightening! I am pretty sure that this was caused by a hip injury and I am hoping to find out Friday – so the part about needless hip joint replacements freaks me out a bit!

@SuperMouse I don’t want to scare you, sweetie… I just think you need to know. Take the physiotherapy and work HARD with it. Avoid cortisone shots. The best thing for my hip joints right now is that I walk up a hill about 2km at least once a week. I also walk loads and bike in the summertime. Keeping my core muscle, balance strong as well as my legs, I manage to keep the pain away, for the most part.

I had it years ago due to a ruptured disk (since repaired) and it was some of the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. Bed rest helped but not for long. So on my doctor’s recommendation, I went to a pain clinic for a series of spinal shots, cortisone, I think. Even after one session, I was able to walk without much pain or crutches, and when the series was finished, the pain never returned. The shots weren’t fun, but I still swear by their efficacy.

I’m not sure what the proper name is, but a sort of prone backwards leg-lift really helps. You lie facedown and lift the entire leg. The corresponding butt-cheek will complain at first, but your sciatic nerve will ultimately thank you!

@Pachyderm_In_The_Room you were lucky that that the shots helped. Most of the people I know, they did/do not. Or at least not anywhere near a permanent solution.

@SuperMouse if you are capable of taking the physical, exercise option, please do that. I do not know what to recommend if you are relatively inactive and have a BMI over 25. Look into yoga or pilates.

@cazzie I am active and fairly certain my BMI is below 25. I would like to go with the least invasive treatments first for sure. The main thing I want at this point is to be able to drive without excruciating pain.

Well, first thing is first… they need to be sure you don’t have a prolapse or swollen disk that might be pinching a nerve in your lower back. Is this on your right side? Have you ever had problems with the right side of you neck or right arm?

It is on the left and I injured my left hip a while back (plus I was born with hip dysplasia) and since I didn’t have insurance and couldn’t afford to, I didn’t see a doctor. I really think that is what this is from. I have also had lower back stuff going on as long as I can remember so it could be that too.

I had it for years after a car accident.

Physical Therapy, a Chiropractor, and Advil did nothing (except irritate my stomach).

Years later, I tried acupuncture and it worked beautifully. I rarely get it now.

We are all different but a chiropractor helped me out.

I had a couple of sciatica flare-ups. A chiropractor made a spine adjustment and it was instant and long-lasting relief. One time I had a full marathon scheduled on the next Sunday and the sciatica pain was so great that I couldn’t even jog 2 blocks without walking. The chiropractor made an adjustment to my spine just two days before the full marathon and I jogged it pain-free and had fun doing it.

I only had it once in my life but it was really severe. Honestly it felt as if there were a razor blade embedded in my hip. Even lying down hardly helped since I couldn’t find a comfortable position no matter what. Anytime I moved in any direction it was awful. In some positions even breathing was painful.

A friend of mine in the medical field recommended a good orthopedic guy. He took x-rays and a thorough history (a few days prior I had foolishly attempted to carry 40 pounds of kitty litter in one hand and 25 pounds of cat litter in the other down the long alleyway leading to my apt.)

So he sent me to a fantastic guy at the local hospital for the spinal shot. He was a board-certified anesthesiologist who had also been trained as an acupuncturist before coming to the US for medical school. So his aim with that needle was spot on (which is critical for that procedure). He said I might have to return in 7–10 days for a repeat, but fortunately that one did the trick.

It wasn’t an instantaneous miracle but about a 10–15 % improvement each day so at the end of the week I was almost back to normal. Needless to say, my first subsequent purchase was one of those foldup wheeled luggage carts which I continually use for heavy items because I sure don’t want to go through that ever again. It was the worst pain I’ve ever been through.

But, I would never consider getting those spinal shots by someone of lesser qualifications than a board certified anesthesiologist. That’s risky territory.

If you can find relief from something less then go for it. I realize in retrospect how fortunate I was to get such a good result as many people don’t.

I went to physical therapy and I did several things. They taught me some stretching exercises that involved my legs. I exercised my arms on a machine. I layed on my stomach and they put a pad on me that felt like ants crawling (but not icky) that felt like it penetrated the skin. I had a back brace to wear and I could not wear heels. I also was given an order by my doctor not to lift more than 10 pounds.

But, what I think really worked the most, what really cured me, was living with my MIL for three months and she did everything for me. All my laundry, all the cleaning, and all the cooking. I think it is important to keep moving with things like this so muscles don’t atrophe much, but also I think it is important to let the muscle rest so it stops swelling and cramping.

Exercise, if I skip running or some sort of lower body exercise for more than a day or two, it will act up terribly. As long as I keep moving, it stays under control. It’s a great motivator!

A close friend of mine had bad sciatica. He is a weight lifter, and thought yoga was a joke, but he gave it a try and says he felt some relief from the very first practice, and it continued to improve with regular practice.

FWIW , my ex had it pretty bad. He claims his doctor told him driving back and forth from Texas where he has a home to Colorado where he has a second home was too hard on his back and that if he switched to flying instead of driving he might get better. He lies frequently, always has, but this is his story of how to cure slipped discs. I know; it’s insane. Personally, I haven’t had sciatica but he said it was excruciating to the point that last time I saw him he was limping somewhat.

Thanks for all the answers. I thought this would be a relatively simple fix, now it seems there are as many treatments as there are cases of sciatica.

My problem lasted 9 months. During that time I had some excrutiating days. Once better I have never had a severe reoccurance. It happend about 17 years ago. Once in a while I feel some pain or a pull, but within a couple days I am better.

I forgot to mention you can also take ibuprofen, at least 600mg up to 4 times a day, always take with a glass of water and a little food. That is not just for pain relief it actually relaxes the muscle and reduces inflammation. Personally I wouldn’t take the meds long term, but use them for times of accute pain.

I wrote this second post mainly to say I consider myself completely better after a really really bad bout of it.

Oh, also, make sure not to twist when you get up out of your bed or chairs. When you swing your legs around to the side of the bed or chair make sure your entire body is moving with your legs. One place people really forget this is getting out of the car. Always lift with your knees bent (you should not be lifting much of anything when the sciatica is bad) and hold what you live close to your body, no reaching.

Lastly, deep water water aerobics would be my suggestion for exercise at least initially. It uses a lot of core, doesn’t put pressure on joints or have you in positions that might uncomfortable. Someone suggested yoga, which also can be great for core strength. I personally don’t like yoga and have a lot of trouble doing it so I wanted to give an alternative. When I had sciatica it was hard for me to stand, sit or lie straight. The water also relieves gravity pulling on your spine. I know people say no pain no gain, but my attitude with this sort of thing is if it hurts don’t do it.

For me, nothing helps. I don’t mean to be Debbie Downer, but seriously. NOTHING. Not heat, not cold. Not standing, not sitting, not lying down. Not flat, not curled, not anything.

Well, no, that’s not entirely true. Every case is different, and I never know what helps until I try it and it feels better. Sometimes stretching down to my toes helps. Sometimes bending over helps. Sometimes NOT bending helps. Do you see what I mean?

The best way to help is to figure out what causes it and avoid it. Lifting laundry baskets up the stairs was one for me, so I started using laundry bags instead. I know I can’t carry big heavy bags of groceries, or a lot of bags that aren’t heavy, so I carry some and my fiance carries the rest.

But as you can see, everyone’s sciatica is different.

I hope you get some relief.

Turns out it wasn’t sciatica, it is bursitis in my hip. I am going through physical therapy and it seems to be working. Thanks for all the great info!

That’s great and I’m glad to hear you found some relief.

My sister ended up with bursitis in her shoulder at a really young age.

It turn out that it came from her constantly lifting her toddler son and carrying him whenever he refused to walk on the daily trips across the courtyard of their apt. complex.

Mind you, he was perfectly capable of walking on his own quite steadily. He just preferred being carried :)

And she spoiled him way too much to begin with in all kinds of ways. But this one came to an end FAST. He pitched a few screaming temper tantrums in protest but finally realized she had her mind made up. So the little prince finally walked on his own two feet and her bursitis soon went away of its own accord when she decided that listening to him scream hurt far less than giving in to his demands and carrying him.