Sciatica/trapped nerve

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I too have had sciatica. I eventually had to have my lower disc removed but have been left with some numbness in the leg and foot. A few weeks after the operation I was able to start physio. It’s anout 12 years since my operation and I still get sciatica. Keeping mobile is the best thing for sciatica. I too cannot sit for very long and I find lying flat does help. However exercise is the best thing you can do to prevent further pain. Do either ask your doctor refer you for physio therapy as they will give the right exercises for your condition. In my area I can refer myself for physio so check it out with your surgery. My physiotheripist also said I should do Pilates as it helps to strengthen the core muscles which helps with sciatica pain. I too take Mirtazapine for anxiety. It is not classed as addictive but it should not be stopped without your GP’s advice. Mindfulness is also good to help with pain. But keeping active and not sitting for too long is best for sciatica pain.

My poor DD who is almost 40 weeks pregnant is suffering terribly with this just now. I do hope it’s just the baby pressing on a nerve in which case it will ease after the birth. Not sure she’s fit to push a car at the moment.

I found a 20 minute exercise routine on YouTube for sciatic pain relief. Did it every day for a month or more and the pain gradually subsided.

Physiotherapy, stretching the muscles and a machine called novosonic therapy which cost about £100 helped me, after 10 months of suffering it gradually went, I would’ve paid anything

Hi you could try Pilates? Pilates is really good for helping people with sciatica. Depending on where you are you should be able to find a local Pilates instructor, and if you are in the South West you could try www.southdevonpilates.co.uk/

You should request a scan to establish the cause of your sciatica. My daughter was in agonising pain and virtually crippled for around 2 years until spinal stenosis was diagnosed - putting it very simply, the sciatic nerve was adhering to the "lining" of several lumbar vertebrae.
The answer was complex neuro surgery which took place last September to free the nerve and fuse the affected vertebrae together. She's no longer in pain but the recovery is long and slow and her bending and lifting abilities are still very restricted. However, both she and her consultant are reasonably optimistic about a virtually full recovery over the next year or two.

I sincerely hope the OP's condition is nothing like so complex but my point is to get it properly diagnosed. If Daughter hadn't been persistent about not being fobbed off with ever more powerful but less effective analgesia, she would still be in agony.
Get well soon.

One of the simplest exercise to help sciatica in the lower back is to lie on you back on a firm but not hard surface. Pull your knees up as far as you can go (so that you are in a sort of foetal position and rock gently back and forward on your back. It massages the back and improves the blood flow as will as sort of unhinging the vertebrae. That being said anyone with lower back pain does need to check it out to make sure its 'only' sciatica.

During the fifth month of pregnancy, my DS positioned himself against my sciatic nerve and refused to budge.
Strangely enough, as soon as he was born.....pain gone!
However, he seems to have caused some damage as I have had recurring bouts of sciatica ever since.
I got so fed up, taking painkillers constantly, eventually I booked a course of acupuncture, and it worked wonders.
It's a very relaxing experience, in fact I've dozed off on several occasions, despite having a back full of needles!
Ask your GP if they offer acupuncture, it's worth a try!

Sciatica is a horribly painful ailment. Every morning I wake up and lie in bed dreading the moment I have to get up. Some days I have pins and needles with slight, manageable pain, but most days the pain is almost too much to bear. I found a really good stretching exercise on google that does, eventually, help, but is very painful to do - then I alternate taking ibuprofen and paracetamol until I can cope again.

Ps I am on the lookout for a Pilates instructor too.

It has taken nearly a year for me to get over a nasty bout of Sciatica. After reading advice from Gransnet, I went privately to an osteopath for several sessions. I found the exercises and manipulation to be invaluable. I do have occasional bouts of pain, but I now avoid heavy lifting which seems to aggravate the nerve. I do take prescribed medication and I am able to walk longer distances and only
limp after a mile. I am aiming for three miles in the next
few months. Any one out there who is in the initial stage of sciatica has my sympathy. The pain can be excruciating.

Sciatica is more a symptom of something than an actual condition. I had it on and off and then later 3 episodes of what's generally known as 'slipped disc'. I had a referral to a specialist and once the initial pain subsides its all about getting moving and getting fitter. There are lots of exercises and activities that improve core strength and mobility and I recommend finding something that suits you. Since I've become much more proactive about my back I've had very little trouble with it ....touch wood.

EllanVannin my friend's husband could not move with sciatica, but still went to his golf - typical man! Anyway, going round the course he slipped down a wet grassy bank and momentarily feared what the outcome would be, (as he has hip problems too). When he got up....the sciatica had miraculously gone instantly!!

Just once did I suffer sciatica--and I mean suffer ! I was working at the time and it was a week before Christmas. The hospital needed me ! I lay on the bedroom floor putting my tights on and how I ever got to work that day I'll never know.
So much pain and difficulty walking and then sitting on one side of my bottom.

Come the end of the day, thick ice and snow, my friend gave me a lift to the nearest station when suddenly her car decided to die at the lights just after we'd left the hospital.
Because there was a pub on that corner and a car-park we got out and with all our might pushed the car into the car park. I was cold and in pain too.
Believe it or not but my sciatica went after we'd got that car off the road ! I couldn't believe it after suffering all day.

So anyone who has sciatica-----push a car hahahahaha.

1. Can we reverse sciatica pain using exercises alone?
2. If sciatica pain comes due to bulging disc, how to resolve it using natural stretch exercises?

I saw a sports physio he found the place immediately and I needed about three appointments of massaging and pummelling The muscles go into spasm and need encouraging out
Good luck next week

Nanos
I can't agree more with goldengirl Re Pilates. I've spent £1000s on chiropractors and osteopaths, exercising under the NHS, but none of these helped anywhere near Pilates has.
For my sins I was someone who associated Pilates with navel gazing and chanting ooooom how wrong I was, and yes, I eat my words.
Not one of those chiropractor etc instructed me in how to physically relieve the pain.
It's a shame you don't live near me (or maybe you do) because I could come round and show you some very simple stretches.

try Acti Patch ,you wear it 24/7 and it lasts a month.My D used it for Fibromyalgia and got a great result with it.Its available in Boots and Gordons and online.You can read reviews online and on their FB page

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experiences of Sciatica and trapped nerves. I do have a physio appointment next week, which involves sitting in the car to get there which is near impossible. But I’ll worry about that next week. I don’t feel quite so alone since you all got in touch. Really appreciate your help.

My husband has had this on and off for the last couple of years but at the moment it's really bad. He's ok when he's sitting/lying down but when walking he starts with pins and needles in his foot which quickly progresses to intense pain up his leg and into his back and we have to quickly find somewhere for him to sit down till it's gone off again. Makes doing the weekly shop difficult as it often comes on in the supermarket! He really needs to go to the doctor but being a man 'can't find the time'

Physiotherapy is the answer. It certainly helped me.

Commiserations ?I have had a couple of episodes of sciatica and it is horrible. I found that lying on the floor was tolerable while the painkillers took effect. I position myself so that I can watch the telly. Also, my yoga teacher gave me some stretching and twisting poses that help to release the trapped nerve. Once I can move again I walk it off. Rest is certainly part of the treatment so don’t feel at all guilty. I lay on the floor for a whole day.

Traction did the trick for me and helped me to avoid surgery. I do know how miserable it is and hope the pain will ease soon.

Poor you - sciatica is the most awful thing. I have suffered 2 bouts of it and found like others that painkillers and excercise (when I could) helped. I now know how to recognise the onset of it and am able to nip it in the bud before it starts.
In my case it starts with pins and needles in a leg. As soon as it starts I wriggle and move my back and waist. It looks like a very very bad dose of granny dancing. In my brain I am trying to un-stick a nerve which has got itself stuck somewhere. Whether that is right or not I really don't care as my method works. I don't think my sciatica will ever disappear completely but I am able to keep it under control and not let it ruin my life again.
I wish all sufferers some respite and an end to the nightmare.