Re: Sciatica..

sfnative · ‎03-10-2010

So happy to hear you've gotten the ball rolling with your physician. The expression of spinal stenosis on your upcoming MRI will be of great interest to your physician, for sure.

I wish you the best, in having discontinued Lipitor, and looking forward to what outcomes may be per the MRI. Please do keep us in the loop.

XXX

sweetee2 · ‎06-21-2015

I have never had really bad sciatica but I've had a really bad pulled muscle in my back. The chiropractor explained to me that with sciatica 2 components are involved. 1st is the swelling that comes from where the nerve is pinched . It makes everything in that area swell, mussel and tissue. You have to use ice in that area to get the swelling down to allow the nerve to releace. 2nd lay on your back, raise your right knee as far as you can to your chest. Count to 10. Next do the same with your left knee. Rotate back and forth 3 times on each leg. Do this both morning and night. If I fill any pain with sciatica I'll do this and it gone.

My best friend had sciatica so bad she was getting shots in her hip. After doing this exercising she said it help her.

Nightowlz · ‎03-11-2010

@labloverrr wrote:
@Nightowlz A friend has sciatica pain, she said her chiropractor told her to get a tennis ball, place it under her thigh/butt area, she said it helped. Nightowlz'' post sounds pretty much similar since a ball is used. Good luck to all in finding relief from the pain, I don't have sciatica pain but my dad does and I see the pain it causes him ☹️

@labloverrr

It does help. I like the Goosebump better than the tennis ball so I can press in on the area.

Image result for goosebumps massage balls

Foxxee · ‎10-03-2014

Walking always worked best for me. It's not fun walking with pain, but I tolerate the pain knowing it works. I also take OTC pain medication and a heating pad.

Sciatica occurs when I sit too much.

cherry · ‎03-09-2010

@Trinity11 my husband's cousin only take his statin once or twice a week, to eleiminate pain issues..You might want to give that a try

I must tell you with the pain I experienced from statins, it took months for the burning pain to leave my arm..I tried taking it once again ,with something else ,and in a few days it came right back..I am done with them forever

Since we starting walking a few years ago, my cholesterol is now below 200..so if you can't take them, there are other ways of lowering it

I wish you good luck. I hope things look brighter soon, and the pain goes away

Nightowlz · ‎03-11-2010

@ThinkOutsidetheBox wrote:
While most people do not want to hear this, daily stretching, often several times throughout the day, is extremely effective in relieving back pain and sciatica in particular. Stretching to the point of discomfort but not shooting or burning pain, and then holding it, will often alleviate pressure put on the sciatic nerve by tight or atrophied muscles and connective tissues. Here is a link to one stretch in particular that is very helpful:
Piriformis stretch with towel
The above stretch can also be done on the go while standing. Just Google standing piriformis stretch for videos for that.
Additionally, if you do NOT have an addictive personality, and you can find a reliable source online, AND do not mind some constipation, Kratom is an herb that is a Godsend. I use Kratom about three to four times per month if my symptoms get out of hand from over-exertion. This is an herb that you must learn about before ever trying it though. Do your research before you purchase it, do not buy it in a local herb shop unless you know for a fact that it is a non-adulterated product, and buy only the whole herb, not something that has had an extract added to it to make it more potent. This is a controversial topic for many, so I only mention it in case you are not aware of it. I have had great success with it, but I never rely on it. The herb has even seemed to provide long-lasting benefits for me for some reason. Since I first tried it about two years ago, my pain has improved on its own, even without daily use of the herb (which I do not recommend simply because of the constipation...sorry if TMI). I did not have this long-term benefit with any other medication provided by a doctor...not from injections, not from other treatments, and not from medicines.
Since we never know what will cause some people to be addicts while others are not, and since all substances that remove pain and make you feel better seem to be able to trigger certain people to become addicts, I mention this herb with reservations, but also with the hope that it will help somebody else as it has me. Many people just do not know about it. I order mine online from one source, and I have never had anything but great results with them. I do not think I can post that source here because I do not want to get into trouble or deleted. I am not on here often enough to know if we can PM each other. If so, send me a message if you need to know where I order mine from, and I will respond IF you have a long history on these boards. I hesitate to provide info to people with no long-term history here for various reasons.
Take care and good luck!
P.S. I am editing this because I read further in the post and saw the OP mention heart attack. Of course, no one can take anything herbal unless they themselves are educated in the use and contraindications of those herbs or unless their doctor can clear them for such use (most docs have no clue on this topic though). So, I leave the Kratom info here for anyone else who may be interested in researching the topic more, but OP, I cannot recommend any herb for you due to your conditions and any medications you currently take. Stick with the stretches!

@ThinkOutsidetheBox

I ran across The Health Wyze Report that lists several potent natural pain killers that are legal. I kept the link in case I need to turn to it some day. Wish I had known about it when I had Shingles. Their site recommends buying Kratom from Coastline Kratom but I don't know anything about them. I have not researched the different pain killers they have listed on their site. You can mention where you buy it if you want to but you cannot post a link as it would be deleted.

Guess I need to research them so when I need it I know what to do.

KentuckyWoman · ‎03-13-2010

I have sciatica pain frequently. I refuse to go on pain meds. My doctor sent me to a physical therapist. She worked with me for several weeks putting together a series of exercises that work miracles for my pain. I don't know if you have been this route or not, but a good PT for me was a wonderful thing. Talk to your doctor.

hckynut · ‎03-10-2010

@sfnative wrote:
@Trinity11

So happy to hear you've gotten the ball rolling with your physician. The expression of spinal stenosis on your upcoming MRI will be of great interest to your physician, for sure.

I wish you the best, in having discontinued Lipitor, and looking forward to what outcomes may be per the MRI. Please do keep us in the loop.

XXX

Hi @sfnative,

I have been taking Lipitor/ Atorvastatin since my 1st heart attack in 2003. After my 2nd one, Plavix was added. I took that until my major Colon Bleeds started in 2008.

Anyways, were it not for my avid stretching and flexibility exercising, my range of motion would be pretty much about 20%. I know the Statins greatly effect muscle contractions and without countering those contractions with Extensions, many suffer from little flexibility along with many muscle spasms.

I unknowingly even tore my left quadriceps muscle and the only way I can think of that caused it, was me over stretching that leg. Quads are primarily the muscles used for ice skating, and this never caused any pain or effect in my skating.

When I was seeing my Foot Specialist Orthopod for my left big toe issue(needed surgery to remove the nail and small, piece of my toe), I had him look at this lump in my left quad. He said to get an MRI, which I did. I was shocked when he showed me the extent of that quad tear.

That Is when I really tried to figure out when and how I did this. Since I know it didn't effect my skating, I cannot fathom that I could have unknowingly tore it skating. That led me to the conclusion that the only way I could have done this was by stretching.

Since on Statins stretching has to be a little more of a stretch, or I found my muscle did not test respond. Thus I have to add some pain for my quad stretches to be effective. Same with my spinal muscles and my hamstrings, especially my right leg, which was effected by my ruptured L-5/S-1 surgery.

As usual a long post. Just wanted to acknowledge the effect of Statins on the muscles and what it takes for me to keep my 80 year old flexibility. Not painless, but I have lost very little over my many decades, in spite of these danged Statins, which my Cardiologist advised me not to quit.

Your long time friend,

JOhn(hckynut)

hckynut(john)

GSPgirl · ‎01-03-2012

Physical therapy and walking. Best exercise for Sciatica. My best friend was my PT and she told me the worst thing to do is sit. Get your body moving.

henderson · ‎03-18-2010

I took Tramadol when I had a bad flare up of sciatica. It didn't make me sleepy or did I become addicted to it. It really helped me.

@Trinity11 wrote:
@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.