The FastDay Forum

I have a 4wd ute, so there is a bit of a step up. Instead of using the side step to get in. Dodgy knees dont like it.

I was putting my left leg in and just landing my rump in the driving seat. I can see now that it was not great for my lower spine. I was taking care of my knees doing this.

I am supposed to go walking waterfalls tomorrow and I do know that sitting is so bad for back pain. But I do have bad pain walking down steps and there are steps many at waterfalls.

Some of the pain is running down my leg. Do you lovely folks know if gently exercise or manipulation is ideal this early in the pain. I walked around the gardens at the lake today, and only gentle walking was ok.

I love waterfalls and its going to be oh so sunny, 2 weeks till the end of winter, yay. I see blossoms. yay I dont know what to do.

[wildmissus]

The last time I had sciatic it was so bad I went to the doctors and he told me to walk. I forced myself into doing my usual one hour brisk walks. When I went out at first I was almost in tears with the pain but by the time I got home I felt so much better - that walk did however take more that the usual hour! I also spoke to my pilates instructor who gave me some exercises and that made a huge difference. Google exercises for sciatica but make sure you do them gently, don't rush it, the pain won't go away over night!

Not sure about walking waterfalls but it sounds so lovely that I'd be tempted to take painkillers, put on a heat pad and do it anyway, just a little slower and more careful than normal.

If you can get yourself to a chiropractor, you will feel benefits immediately, but ferl a bit bruised tomorrow.
When my lower sacroiliac joint goes out I get sciatica. Sometimes it helps to lie on the sore side on the floor, hips stacked on top of each other. Then bring the upper leg to the floor, creating a spinal twisting stretch. (I should probably say that I am not medically trained, that's just what helps me.)

It also can help to have a small child sit and wiggle on my spine as I am lying face down on the floor.

Sounds like a fun day @zamale! Hope you get to enjoy it.

May I just add the judicious help of a walking stick on steep inclines while it's bad gives you another place to put your weight without pain. My dodgy hip comes and goes so if it's pulling and we're out adventuring I take my stick, it's a light carbon fibre with soft neoprene handle. Also ibuprofen is my drug of choice.

Well, I have sciatica that in the past was bad enough that it led to my leg going numb up to my knee. I declined surgery because people in my family had a history of failed back sugery, and have learned to live with my back over the past 17 years. Much of the time it is fine. Sometimes it acts up and it takes a while to calm down. But I am in MUCH better shape than my peers who had the surgery.

1. Avoid the chiropractor! The one I saw milked me for as much money as possible, while the treatments she applied made my back worse and worse. When I was in severe pain after the last treatment, she decided she had earned enough and informed me that she had done all she could and dismissed me. It took me literally months to recover from the damage she had caused.

2. Mine was caused by a severely ruptured disc, clearly visible on MRI, and walking uphill on uneven ground made it much worse. What made it better was time.

3. There are lots of other causes of sciatica, including the nerve being squeezed between muscles in your butt (Piriformis syndrome.) The causes are different, so the treatments should be different. Doing what worked for your friend is often a mistake. Carefully try things, in moderation, to see what works for you. If there is any possibility that you have ruptured a disc, see the doctor and have them do some tests which can help decide this.

4. Some people find physical therapy helpful, others don't.

5. If your pain comes from compressed nerves Tylenol (paracetamol in the UK) is very helpful. I just read a big study that claimed this isn't true, but they were talking "back pain" in general, which includes muscle pain which causes most back pain. Tylenol is only effective for nerve pain. It is the only drug that helps me, and it helps dramatically. I use it in the very lowest dose that works.

So Sorry to hear this @zamale..i have sciatica too,and i know how painful it is..
Mine is getting worse..goes right down my leg to my ankle now,used to only go to mid-thigh, then to knee..
but the upside is, it comes and goes...i often get long painfree times
Like yours,it comes on when i do some random movement that seems to knock something out of place..or sometimes if ive walked too long.
Like@peebles said,its different strokes for different folks..i like the exercise @scubachick recommends,and tho i haventgot a walking stick, i feel that may be very useful for you,like@AzureBluesaid.
The waterfall walk sounds gorgeous - i hope you can go xx and hey! Don't be modest,youre entitled to lots of NannaBoasting now! Let us know how yr little bundle of joy is getting on,and how are the new parents enjoying the big magical change in their lives? X

Sciatica is excruciatingly painful, my osteopath advised me to lie on my tummy with a couple of pillows under my chest which does help, and not to cross one leg over the other when sitting. My neighbour was advised to do the 'cobra' yoga position which is similar. An osteopath seems to be far better than a chiropractor from what I've heard but as Peebles says the treatments should be different for different causes. I tried everything at first, pain killers, physio, acupuncture etc.etc. even a faith healer, nothing worked and I had to have a year off work it was so bad. Someone recommended that I see an osteomyologist and I had to go to the next county to find one but he really helped me. I still occasionally get the sciatic pain but that's my own fault because I stopped doing the exercises.

And now I'm going to add my bit - I had 10+ years of sciatica and numbness in my leg which ended with surgery for a prolapsed disc pressing on my spinal cord (which got rid of the leg pain but I still have to watch it) I'd say that gentle exercise which doesn't make the pain worse (and go farther down your leg) is the thing; if at any time the walking makes the pain worse then it's your body's way of telling you something so heed it! Also I disagree with the idea of paracetamol for back pain - I think the best thing is ibuprofen or another NSAID if you can take them. They have anti inflammatory properties which will help. Also ice is really good too. I'm not setting myself up as an 'expert' please note - it's just what has always worked best for me - ice, nurofen, gentle mobilisation asap and if an activity makes the pain worse then don't do it! And it'll probably get a bit worse before it gets better. Hope it improves soon.

@loversghost,

The NSAID that was prescribed for me when I ruptured my disc left me with permanent tinnitus (ringing in the ears.) A total nightmare I have had to deal with ever since.

My acupuncturist told me I was not the first patient he had encountered who had experienced this with NSAIDS, even though the doctor acted like it was an extremely unusual occurrence.

As far as the paracetamol and nerve pain goes, I learned that from a book written by a neurologist. Of couse you must NOT drink alcohol if you take it, which might limit its use in the UK.

As I said, I was only saying what works for me - and I've never found paracetamol any use for back or leg pain. And that's the first time I've read about paracetamol as a form of pain relief for nerve pain (generally one of the hardest sorts of pain to control). If it works for you then great.....

As peebles and others have said, sciatica has several different causes. Therefore, the cause needs to be found in order to use an appropriate treatment.

In my case, I have Piriformis Syndrome http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/gu ... treatments As this article states, it's not easily diagnosed. The first hint I had was that stretching the piriformis provided some relief.

I get relief and prevent a lot of pain by doing piriformis stretches each morning and evening: https://www.google.com/search?q=pirifor ... 22&bih=640

To prevent undue pressure on the sciatic nerve it's important to sit with the hips higher than the knees--difficult to do without a wedge-shaped cushion. I use this one (and combine it with a lumbar support cushion for my lower back pain problem) but there are many other choices: http://www.optp.com/Mulligan-Seating-Co ... -9h_vldX95

Zamale, I hope that you find some answer soon and that you can enjoy your trip.

I am allergic to paracetamol :0( I get large itchy bumps all over me, so ibuprofen it is, but only when really needed.

@wildmissus I did go to the waterfalls but was in a lot of pain, dosed up with ibuprofen, was so exhausted but the waterfalls were breathtaking. I never tire of it. I opted out of two more waterfalls, too painful. I would have been in the same pain, sitting at home and sitting does make it worse.

Glad you sought relief for your sciatica.

@scubachick Thanks for your advice, I took to the stretch you put up. It feels good, but only when I was out of most of the pain. Unsure if I had true sciatic, it only radiated a bit down my leg, most pain was in the last part of my spine and bit off to the side. Its already Monday and am out of most pain.

May I just add the judicious help of a walking stick on steep inclines while it's bad gives you another place to put your weight without pain. My dodgy hip comes and goes so if it's pulling and we're out adventuring I take my stick, it's a light carbon fibre with soft neoprene handle. Also ibuprofen is my drug of choice.

I've seen people with these sticks, looks like the skiing stick. I just used the rails at the waterfalls and lots of ibubofen. It spaces me a bit. Is that normal for ibuprofen to do that?