topic Re: Sciatica.. in Wellness

Sciatica..

Trinity11 — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 15:51:07 GMT

Has anyone found some relief from sciatica? Found a way to lessen the pain without resorting to powerful pain killers? Any particular exercise or tips to be able to sleep at night with it? It's been about 3 weeks and nothing so far is really making a difference. Thanks....

Re: Sciatica..

cherry — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 15:52:41 GMT

I don't have any tips, but I know how painful that can be..feel better

Re: Sciatica..

Trinity11 — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 15:54:07 GMT

@cherry wrote:
I don't have any tips, but I know how painful that can be..feel better

Thanks @cherry . I was prescribed Tramadol but I am afraid to take it. I worry about dependency and what I would do if I ran out of it. So I just use Tylenol.

Re: Sciatica..

Janey2 — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 15:56:58 GMT

Acupuncture

Re: Sciatica..

vsm — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 15:57:49 GMT

So sorry to hear you're suffering with this, @Trinity11 . The only thing that worked for me was two lumbar epidurals, several weeks apart, plus physical therapy. My orthopedist referred me to a neurosurgeon for this, although the procedure is not surgical but interventional.

Re: Sciatica..

KathyM23 — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 15:59:05 GMT

@Trinity11 My advice is a Chiropractor. When I first started having back issues I wish I had known to go to a Chiro instead of my doctor. That is a whole nother sad story. I am strictly Chiro for these kind of issues now.

Your physician if you are so inclined will possibly precribe an antiflammatory medicine.

Lay on your back and pull your knee to your chest to stretch out. This may also help.

Re: Sciatica..

cherry — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 15:59:51 GMT

@Trinity11 I have read some people use medical MJ to help with pain. I have never used pot in my life, but, if I was suffering I would try it

Re: Sciatica..

KathyM23 — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 16:03:20 GMT

@Trinity11 It's me again! I just saw in your post your doctor prescribed Tramadol. That is a very powerful pain med. It was given to me in the hospital after a surgery. It did put me to sleep but when woke hours later, I literally could not force my eyes to open - very scary feeling. My doctor told me not to take it at home.

Re: Sciatica..

cherry — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 16:07:13 GMT

Marijuana May Bring Relief to Those Suffering Sciatica

Neuroscience NewsSeptember 9, 2018
FeaturedNeurologypain5 min read

Summary: Researchers report THC oil may be beneficial in providing pain relief for those suffering radicular pain, such as sciatica. The study reports marijuana reduces connections between areas of the brain that process sensory signals and emotions.

Source: AAN.

When medical marijuana is taken for chronic nerve pain, it may provide pain relief by reducing connections between the areas of the brain that process emotions and sensory signals, according to a study published in the September 5, 2018, online issue of Neurology. The study looked specifically at radicular pain, a type of nerve pain that radiates from the spine into the legs. Sciatica is a common form of radicular pain.

The component of marijuana examined in this study was tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of many cannabinoids found in marijuana and the one most commonly associated with producing a high.

“Pain is a complex experience that involves both the senses and emotions,” said study author Haggai Sharon, MD, of the Sagol Brain Institute, Tel Aviv Medical Center in Israel. “Our study results link pain relief from THC with a reduction in the connections between areas of the brain otherwise heavily connected, suggesting that THC may alleviate pain by disrupting signals between these pain processing pathways.”

The study involved 15 men with chronic radicular nerve pain with an average age of 33. Women were excluded since hormone fluctuations during menstruation may affect pain sensitivity. All participants had medium to high radicular pain for over six months.

Before treatment, participants rated their pain levels and had brain scans with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look at the connections between various areas of the brain. Participants were then given treatment with THC.

For the first visit, nine participants were given an average of 15 milligrams of THC oil placed under the tongue and six were given placebo oil. One hour after treatment, participants were questioned again, and had another brain scan approximately two hours after treatment.

At least one week later, participants returned for a second visit and those who had the placebo now received the treatment, and vice versa.

Researchers found that THC reduces a person’s pain when compared to placebo. On a scale of zero to 100, before taking medication, on average participants rated their pain levels at 53. After taking THC oil, they rated their pain levels at an average of 35 compared to an average of 43 for those who were given the placebo.

In addition, the more pain relief a person experienced, the greater the reduction of connections between the areas of the brain involved in processing pain.

Researchers found that THC reduces a person’s pain when compared to placebo. NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.

“Interestingly, our results also show that the more connected the areas of the brain that process emotion and sensory prior to treatment, the greater the pain relief experienced when taking THC,” said Sharon. “Larger studies are needed to confirm our findings.”

Limitations of the study are that women were excluded and the number of participants was small. Also, this study looked only at THC. Future studies are needed to examine how other components of the marijuana plant, like cannabidiol, may be useful in relieving pain in combination with THC.

About this neuroscience research article
Funding: The study was funded by the Yahel Foundation and the Israeli Ministry of Science, Technology and Space.

Re: Sciatica..

MUNCHIE — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 16:09:21 GMT

Hi, I totally agree with KATHY M23 as for seeing a Chiropractor. That helped a lot. First I went in therapy,,they showed me exercises,,stretches that work..Still to this day if I feel something I go back to those exercises.. Had seen a doctor for shots to begin with..However shots do not last long and only mask the problem,,plus some are dangerous. I go with therapy and chiropractor to keep things aligned.

Re: Sciatica..

Trinity11 — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 16:14:23 GMT

@cherry wrote:
@Trinity11 I have read some people use medical MJ to help with pain. I have never used pot in my life, but, if I was suffering I would try it

@cherry...it is not legal in my state. I wouldn't even know where to get it.

I really think if narcotics for pain are so frowned upon than doctors should have more ways of treating severe pain. Marijuana (Like yourself I am probably the last of my generation who never even tried it) should be made available with a prescription.

Re: Sciatica..

Trinity11 — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 16:16:38 GMT

@KathyM23 wrote:
@Trinity11 It's me again! I just saw in your post your doctor prescribed Tramadol. That is a very powerful pain med. It was given to me in the hospital after a surgery. It did put me to sleep but when woke hours later, I literally could not force my eyes to open - very scary feeling. My doctor told me not to take it at home.

@KathyM23... I have never needed a strong pain killer except with my 2 heart attacks. This is a first for me and I am limited in what I can take because NASAID's are contra-indicated because of my heart disease and meds for Type 1 diabetes.

Thanks for you assessment of Tramadol. It helps to hear other people's experiences and I appreciate it.

Re: Sciatica..

nada54 — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 16:16:41 GMT

My husband and I have an inversion table. He works in Construction and suffers from sciatica , you don't need an expensive one, we ordered ours thru Amazon. He does 3 times a day for about 5 minutes. I also use it. It really works.

Re: Sciatica..

Trinity11 — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 16:19:57 GMT

@nada54 wrote:
My husband and I have an inversion table. He works in Construction and suffers from sciatica , you don't need an expensive one, we ordered ours thru Amazon. He does 3 times a day for about 5 minutes. I also use it. It really works.

@nada54, I asked my doctor about it and due to hypertension and heart disease it was contraindicated. I wish I could use one, though.

Thanks, though, for your suggestion. I am glad that your husband has gotten some relief.

Re: Sciatica..

gtx — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 16:20:24 GMT

I was having sciatica pain so bad and couldn't sleep. A friend gave me the "Pain Free" book by Pete Egoscue. There are some simple movements that move the pressure off the nerves. It was a miracle for me.

The first one that I did was pllow squeezes. Sit upright on a chair with a pllow between knees. Squeeze knees together 10 times. Do 3 reps of this. Wait a while and you will notice the pain lessen. There are other moves but you can start with this. Do it only once a day. Your pain will come back some but eventully it will go away and stay away.

I highly recommend you find a copy of his book and study it. I took some dangerous drugs and they didn't help.

Blessings to you for renewed health.

Re: Sciatica..

hckynut — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 16:25:37 GMT

Hello @Trinity11

Sorry to hear you are having this type of pain. Wish I had something to suggest for this terrible type of pain. Since it is the biggest nerve in the human body the pain pretty much matches it size.

I went through this for a few years back in the early 1970's. Between playing hockey and the heavy lifting job I had at the time, I finally ended up in the hospital, pretty unable to move my lower body.

Spent 3+ weeks in the hospital, in traction, having Physical Therapy Treatments done twice every day. Also was getting Demerol injections every 4 hours. Confined to the bed during most of this long stay.

My Orthopod finally decided surgery was my only option. He removed both my ruptured L-5 and S-1 spinal discs. He told me much of my sciatic nerve was so damaged that I may not have full sensory feeling in my right leg again.

As you know I returned to all the things I loved to do, and also to that same job at the then, Western Electric Plant. There are still times when ice skating that I lose sensation that leg, which is pretty much the same feeling as when you have an arm or hand "fall asleep" on you.

I no longer have any sciatica, but am left with the occasional thigh biceps(hamstring muscle spasms) when I make quick contraction movements of those specific muscles. Keep those pretty much at bay with my regular lower leg stretching program.

For me surgery was the only way I ended up with relief from the very painful sciatic that I was suffering. I hope you can find some way to lessen your pain.

hckynut(john)

Re: Sciatica..

Trinity11 — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 16:25:38 GMT

@gtx wrote:
I was having sciatica pain so bad and couldn't sleep. A friend gave me the "Pain Free" book by Pete Egoscue. There are some simple movements that move the pressure off the nerves. It was a miracle for me.
The first one that I did was pllow squeezes. Sit upright on a chair with a pllow between knees. Squeeze knees together 10 times. Do 3 reps of this. Wait a while and you will notice the pain lessen. There are other moves but you can start with this. Do it only once a day. Your pain will come back some but eventully it will go away and stay away.
I highly recommend you find a copy of his book and study it. I took some dangerous drugs and they didn't help.
Blessings to you for renewed health.

Thank you so much @gtx . I will most definitely find the book.

Re: Sciatica..

Trinity11 — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 16:29:08 GMT

@hckynut wrote:

Hello @Trinity11

Sorry to hear you are having this type of pain. Wish I had something to suggest for this terrible type of pain. Since it is the biggest nerve in the human body the pain pretty much matches it size.

I went through this for a few years back in the early 1970's. Between playing hockey and the heavy lifting job I had at the time, I finally ended up in the hospital, pretty unable to move my lower body.

Spent 3+ weeks in the hospital, in traction, having Physical Therapy Treatments done twice every day. Also was getting Demerol injections every 4 hours. Confined to the bed during most of this long stay.

My Orthopod finally decided surgery was my only option. He removed both my ruptured L-5 and S-1 spinal discs. He told me much of my sciatic nerve was so damaged that I may not have full sensory feeling in my right leg again.

As you know I returned to all the things I loved to do, and also to that same job at the then, Western Electric Plant. There are still times when ice skating that I lose sensation that leg, which is pretty much the same feeling as when you have an arm or hand "fall asleep" on you.

I no longer have any sciatica, but am left with the occasional thigh biceps(hamstring muscle spasms) when I make quick contraction movements of those specific muscles. Keep those pretty much at bay with my regular lower leg stretching program.

For me surgery was the only way I ended up with relief from the very painful sciatic that I was suffering. I hope you can find some way to lessen your pain.

hckynut(john)

Thank you so much @hckynut . Surgery would be difficult because my cardiologist wants me to stay with the Plavix. I do have a prescription for physical therapy but I can barely walk at this point.

I remember your posts about sleeping in a recliner. My husband is waiting for me to come with him to the Lazy Boy store and purchase a new one. I am really hoping it will work!

As always, thanks for all the info. I truly appreciate it!

Re: Sciatica..

hckynut — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 16:30:45 GMT

@MUNCHIE wrote:
Hi, I totally agree with KATHY M23 as for seeing a Chiropractor. That helped a lot. First I went in therapy,,they showed me exercises,,stretches that work..Still to this day if I feel something I go back to those exercises.. Had seen a doctor for shots to begin with..However shots do not last long and only mask the problem,,plus some are dangerous. I go with therapy and chiropractor to keep things aligned.

@MUNCHIE

Why did you/do you quit doing those exercises?

hckynut

Re: Sciatica..

Havarti — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 17:46:03 GMT

I feel your pain!

When I had it it was so bad I could barely walk to the bathroom. I had neuropathy down the right leg all the way to the toes. I tried everything and the only thing that helped me was physical therapy. They had the right exercises that allowed the numbness to work its way back up the leg until it was gone. The most important part was to stop bending - which is very difficult to do because so many things require bending in a normal daily routine.

PT taught me to keep my back straight, bend only at the waist and fully extend one leg behind you (think like a ballerina) when ever I really needed to bend. I used that position frequently - especially for the washer & dryer. There was to be no sweeping, vacuuming, lifting (groceries, pets, kids or grand kids, etc.) for 6 to 8 weeks. I could not bend to shave my legs in the shower, or trim my toenails, or put polish on them. I had to change my purse to a small crossover bag and give up my shoulder strap bag with everything I thought I needed. Now is the time to buy a new purse, hire a cleaning lady, have your groceries delivered (if you have no one to help you) and treat yourself to pedicures.

You can Google exercises for sciatica - nothing was very hard. The key is to strengthen your core and by not bending you are allowing the part of your spine that is swollen/inflamed to rest and restore itself the best it can. The doctor told me to think of the discs in my spine as being like Oreo cookies; the stuffing in the middle is what cushions each disc and mine had the stuffing puffed up and spilling out, leaving the hard dry cookie parts rubbing together and pinching the filling and pushing it out. It all needs time to settle back into place.

The exercises that helped me most were things like: while reclining, elevate one leg about 6 to 8 inches and count to 20, then do the other leg hold it straight. Repeat 10 times for each leg and do that 4 times per day. Another one was to stand on the very edge of something like a very low step, or the edge of your patio/driveway or a brick, with your heel elevated and your toes lower (sort of at the angle of very high heeled shoes. Just stand and hold that position for a few minutes to stretch the leg muscle. This helped me so much and made me fell better so I actually bought a "slant block" like the PT uses. They also had me walk through sand a lot (barefoot) to get a more rolling motion (verses a solid flooring) and that worked different muscles. I spent time on a treadmill, too, but it is nice outside so even short walks that build a small amount of distance could be beneficial.

I know how bad the pain can be, and I was also worried about the pain killers, but I found I needed them occasionally. I would cut the pill into quarters and take only 1/4 or 1/2 (if the pain was really bad) - just enough to take the edge off the pain to make it more bearable while the PT process worked on my body. It took about 6 weeks for it to work its way totally back up my leg and be gone.

I hope this helps in some way and that you find relief soon. Once you do, keep up the exercises for the rest of your life because it can easily come back if you don't.