Sciatica .... Help!

Silly me, saw a very useful thread further down, ignore me! Silly old coot

I do suffer from it and if I sit in my chair and bend forward as much as possible (be gentle at first). That, over time, eases it.
If you can have a hot shower and bend a little, straight-legged, with hot water on your back, that too helps because it stretches the hamstring muscles.
So does bending, gently, when you're warm from a bath.

Sciatic, my doctor explained, is a shortening of the hamstring muscle which can trap a nerve, thus bending like this helps to untrap it.

Painkillers didn't do any good for me but stretching did.
Good luck

The best exercise is this - lie down on the bed. Lift up the bent affected leg, holding it by the knee and then pulling it towards the middle , and then even further if you can. Hold it in that position for about 30 sec if possible, then let the leg relax. Do it a few times every night - I find it very helpful.

Get a wheeled walking frame for the "bad days", ,a walker is very useful to take the pressure off the affected leg.

I also take Lyrica ( drug name Pregabalin) which is also very effective for the pain.

Good luck !

Fellow sufferer here. I hope you were given some decent painkillers while waiting to return to the GP.

A heat pad was very soothing.

I found an excellent oestopath. He listened attentively, asked questions and was immensely helpful. He gave me good exercises to do and also did some gentle manipulation. I honestly found it to be the best thing.

As well as lying flat and pulling your knee to your chest. Stand and slowly squat. Stand hold onto a chair bend the affected leg and rotate your hip as if your drawing a large circle with your foot.
These excersises helped DH

I suffer with an inflamed nerve in my shoulder, caused by muscle tension. Heat helps plus a massage with a mixture of lavender and chamomile oils mixed in evening primrose oil.

I went to a physio and had acupuncture followed by exercises. Worked for me. Now make sure I do stretches most days.

I had traction - it worked - to my amazement!

Luckygirl that was the recognised hospital treatment 50 years ago.

The old ones are the best ones!

I gave my DH turmeric which seemed to reduce the inflammation. Then I took him to an osteopath who told him he had damaged the lower back vertebrae as he walks badly. He has given him inserts in his shoes to correct his walking and is now going to work on his core muscles.
When he was really bad he could not take anti-inflammatories due to other medication so the doctor gave him amitriptyline and that helped the nerve pain.

I attend a Pilates class specialising in sourcing the root of the problem and then offers suitable exercises. It's worked a treat for me and I don't get it now - just the odd twinge if I sit incorrectly. It's taken a long time though but well worth it.

I have a herniated disc with sciatica as a side effect.My doctor told me weight loss along with exercise would help.I lost two and a half stone over last summer and have been doing pilates daily .No pain..well unless I've been stupid and moved furniture in my own ,which I'm known for .I've very happy with the result

Well done on the weight loss Paddyann, it does make a difference to your body when you lose just a few pounds but over 30 pounds is amazing.

It has been amazing the difference jane43 and I have no intention of putting any of that weight back on ..ever .I couldn't go back to the pain that caused such bone wearying fatigue and sleepless nights .I feel like my old self again and its great

Hi guys,

You have all mentioned some great ways to ease the pain of sciatica, and I want to give a few tips on what I have done to help eliminate the pain I have been experiencing for a while.

I've found active stretching to be a very effective way to reduce the pain of sciatica. Spasticity of the prominent muscle of the buttocks as the piriformis muscle can irritate the sciatic nerve.

Lying on one side of the back and rolling the trunk muscles towards the unaffected side stretches the muscle in the affected area. You can even place a tennis ball just under the tight muscle and bearing weight for about sixty seconds which releases the contracting piriformis.

Also, a treatment that we all should know about is getting good bed rest and using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen or narcotics like codeine.

Hope this helps everyone and don't be afraid to go out of your way to try and ease the horrible pain of sciatica because we all know how the pain feels and it will only get worse if we don't try to get rid of as soon as possible.

Some good basic exercises here on this NHS site -

www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/exercises-for-sciatica/

I found acupuncture helps. Daily exercises and swimming help me too. Sciatica is excruciatingly painful!

Hi I've had sciatica for over 2 months now. Compared to a few weeks ago it is better. I can drive, sit ok, sleeping is fine and everyone says I am walking more upright but I still can't stand for more than a few minutes or walk very far so to me it's not better. GP gave me gabapentin which I think helps but apart from that they weren't interested. Just said Gps can't refer you for scans. Could refer me to MSK service 'If I liked' but didn't. I have been going to an osteopath who explained everything well and has helped. Does it go eventually? So want to go back to walking again and to book a holiday. Have missed doing the school run for the grandchildren too.

I have had acupuncture on a couple of occasions when I got sciatica and it definitely worked for me.

It will eventually become less painful although I have to be careful as mine does still sometimes twinge, I’ve had half a dozen flare ups over 30 yrs. I do a series of stretching excercise that do help, you can find plenty of videos online as long as you do them very gently.

The osteopath can help. After a session with her I use my ice pack which works more effectively than a hot compress. My pain does ease eventually . My GP also suffers and she recommended the osteopath.
It's a horrible thing though especially as it's invisible.

Had sciatica for 3 months now. Seriously frustrated/worried it is not getting any better. I have been doing the exercises my osteopath suggested and trying to walk as much as possible but it is no better than a month ago and so painful when I walk! Can't go for walks like we used to, it's the Easter holidays and can't take the grandchildren out, haven't been round a shop since before it started having to buy everything on line. Should I now be trying to get my GP to investigate it further or wait a bit longer? Not that I can get an appointment and hard to get much help on the phone! Never experienced anything like this before.

I commented on this on another thread but my husband was crippled up with sciatica for months - he couldn't walk more than a few yards without having to go and sit down. I read about turmeric and bought him some online - he was very sceptical but did take them every morning and exactly two weeks later the pain just went. Might be worth a try.

*Kazzi7 *please go see your gp.It is one of the worst pains ever and goes on for such a long time.I ended up have MRI scan which revelled i had three discs pressing on the nerve!!It was treated with s spinal nerve block injection which was amazing in that it stopped that pain, but i also have arthritis in my spine which is causing issues now, it is affecting both hips and one side of my back but it isnt sciatia that is a totally different pain!!! The last 2years have been a nightmare, so many different drugs, x rays, exercises, acupunture, gym and swim classes but i am afraid once the arthritis kicks in there is not much you can do. I really hope you get to the source of yours and get some relief.