HI Belle

sounds like pira forma syndrome - almost sciatica.

google "piraforma stretches.

do not work out while in pain - causing the wrong sort of influence.

get doctors help it you can

chiropractor is not correct doctor

ice the lower back 15 minutes on and 2 hours off.

you need to stretch the pira forma muscle - google methods with videos

put ben gay on the buttt and back of the calfs down as far as it hurts

take aleve and tylenol - should help a lot - do not over dose.

do not use heat - you are increasing the inflamation

sleep with a pillow under your knees to take stress off

hope these help a little

hugs, raoul

Thank you so much for your response :)

I just researched the difference- I had heard of piriformis syndrome, but hadn't really looked into it. I came across a video showing how to tell the difference- the man said if you stick your hurt leg straight up then bend the toes toward you, if you get a shock of pain, then it is true sciatica.

Then he said to bring the knee up and toward the opposite shoulder. If that hurt, then it was piriformis syndrome.

The first part felt like a shockwave hit my leg. The second exercise barely hurt, so I am pretty sure it is sciatica rather than piriformis :(

Okay I will not work out while in pain. I found some gentle stretches that I am pretty sure I can do.. the problem is, I am in pain pretty much all the time. The only time I can completely relieve the pain is with opiate meds and laying down at a certain angle.

I can't do much about doctors right now with now insurance. I will try to get Medicaid here soon. I read somewhere that chiropractors can help with sciatic pain, but I don't want to risk it if it won't work.

I will try ice. I've only been trying heat because it feel sooo good, but I have read that it increases rather than decreases inflammation.

I am also buying a bunch of supplements tomorrow for natural reduction of inflammation.

Unfortunately, Aleve and Tylenol don't do much for my pain. I mean, they help, but it is still difficult to walk around at all :(

I will try the pillow trick tonight!

Thank you so much for your advice.. I really appreciate it.. especially about the bit about piriformis syndrome. I would prefer it was that, but doing the tests, it doesn't seem that it is... but I guess it is nice to have another confirmation of what I am suspecting.

With treatment, how much of the pain goes away? Right now I struggle walking to the bathroom. I want to get on with my life.. but I feel pretty worthless now. Also, does sciatica come on suddenly or gradually? I have been having slight back pains for a little over a year now, which spread down to my thigh and got worse. Within the past 2 months, it has spread to my calf and foot and is now excruciating. I really am hoping and praying it doesn't get worse than this.

*hugs* Thank you again!

Okay - Belle

okay - here are some helps - small pieces that add up:

If it is sciatica - you need to figure out exactly where it is. How about listing each of the locations where your pain is located and telling me whether the pain in each location is sharp, dull, or burning. for example - hutt - sharp/burning, back or calf burning/sharp. calf outside burning, etc - list each separately - perhaps I will be able to tell you whether it is really sciatica and where the problem is located.

1. Sleep on a memory foam topper. I use a 6 inch topper it helps. Sleep on your back with the rubberish pillow under your knees to take all stress off of the lower back. Sleep with a feather pillow under your head and shoulders - to reduce cervical spine stresses too. If you sleep on your side sleep with the rubber pillow between your knees to reduce stress on the lower back. Never sleep on your stomach According to the chiropractic association that is a no no.

2. You can ice the lower back 2 or 3 times a day 15 minutes on and 2 hours off. Should help reduce the pain.

3. You should try to get a shot of cortisone in the butt to help reduce the inflammation, That is called a depot shot of cortisone. This is true for most lumbar problems and maybe for some of the upper spine locations too. Limit cortisone injections to 4x per year.

4. Epidural injections of cortisone are also helpful but much more complicated.

5. definitely get some sort of meds for pain for when it gets really bad like right now for me. Ask your regular doctor - when you do not haveinsurance - you can call around to local doctors to see if one of them will see you for free. There are plenty of doctors who will help you without any fee. Also - you can contact the pharmaceutical companies to get on their coupon program - and you can get meds for practically nothing - if you have a true need - and it si a simple form you fill out - well worth the effort.


6. Getting up and walking around definitely will reduce the pain levels, but the first 10 to 20 steps could be a little more painful than some other times.

7. Use a cane to help you walk. It will increase your range, and help prevent falls. A fall now will make matter much worse. You can get a script form your doctor for the cane so that it will be paid for by your insurance. Canes are only 20$. But if the money is tight - you can go to the salvation army stores and pick up a good cane for 1$ . I personally picked up a great walker for 3$.

8. Make sure to check all meds with your pharmacist to make sure you are safe. And check using a complete list of all meds and over the counter items when you check.

9. Sitting in a soft chair can feel good for a while but will put a lot of stress on the lower back. A desk chair, with a right angle between the back and the bottom is preferable.

10 Automobile travel is very bad for sciatica. It will definitely irritate your condition. If you must travel, stop the car and get out and walk for at least 15 minutes after every hour of travel in the car. That will help.

11. Stretches the following stretches will help you a lot-
a. lower back
b. IT Band
c. Piraforma
d. Iliopsoas
e. core strength

If you ever want your back /spine problem to improve you need to do stretches.

You can find good descriptions and videos, and pictures of the stretches on the internet by googling , for example exercise lower back.

12. With as many problems as you and I have - a good physical therapy session is strongly recommended. They will help you to build up your core strength, and may even be able to help you to understand the nerve glide/slide stretches. Not sure if they would help you for free - however, local hospitals will definately help out if you contact them and ask about their free assistance programs for people in need.

Hope these help a little.
Big Hugs, Raoul

There is still a lot o f discussion needed about specific stretches - esp for your core muscles.

Hi Belle ~ DO NOT use HEAT on the leg. Use ICE and apply it for 20 minutes every 2 hours. Heat will make things worse. My neuro taught me this. Keep icing the area until the pain eases up. This WILL help. I know the heat feels good, but it adds to the inflammatiion and makes the swelling worse. the ice reduces swelling and inflammation.

Staying in bed is BAD -- the best thing to do is to WALK. If you can take a walk a couple of times a day, that's good for sciatica. Sitting and standing are BAD for sciatica. Either lay down, or walk.

I've had it for 26 years and I'll have it til the day I die. Mine was caused by 2 botched surgeries. The nerve is permanently damaged. I wish you the very best. Hugs, Lee

If this seems to have been a developing problem that has now excellerated I think it would be wise to to see a spine doctor and get an MRI. I worry about self diagnosing with nerve pain. Knowing what is causing the sciatica can help with the therapy. Are you near a teaching hospital? You may be able to be seen on a sliding scale. Calling the social services department where you went to the ER maybe helpful in finding programs that can help you get a clear picture of what is going on.
Good Luck.

Clarification - do not ice your legs - not the knees, not the hips, not the feet, not the calfs.

The pain is coming form the lower back - it is reflected pain.

The ice needs to go on the lower back, the lumbar spine and the butt .

And it is important to stretch the ham strings !!!!! You must stretch them or everything will get much worse. Google hamstring stretches.

hugs

Thanks so much for all the responses! Bear with me as I get back to all of you.

My pain is as follows

-lower back (mainly on right hand side): a dull ache- it isn't too bad at all and only happens every couple days or so.

-buttocks: I feel very little pain here unless I walk around for awhile, then I get a burning sensation

-upper thigh: no pain here

-lower thigh: pain on the sides mainly. I get a dull ache, but occasionally I will get shooting pain. If I walk for long periods of time, it starts to burn

-underneath the knee: I used to get a lot of pain in this area, but now I rarely do. It was a very intense dull ache for a couple of months

-calf: very painful, constant dull ache, I also get shooting pains here, and it burns like fire when I walk around for a long period of time

Also, when I walk without pain meds, I have to hunch over because the pain is way too intense when I straighten my back, so I guess that is the first sign to me that it is a back problem, not a leg issue.

My calf and foot also tingle slightly, especially when I get up and move around. No pain in my foot (yet)

Raoul, thank you so much for your responses. I already sleep on a pillow top, but I may get an extra one to put on top of that. I did try the pillow between the legs (I am a side sleeper) and it did help me get to sleep easier.

I am going to start icing my back tomorrow. I just had 2 teeth extracted yesterday, so I am recovering from that.

So should I do the stretches when I am not in pain?

The cortisone injections sound tempting (even though I have a needle phobia). How long do they last?

I will look into getting free or cheap help. I am just very weary because I have tried a cheap clinic... I had a kidney stone and a fever of 103.7 (of course I didn't know I had a stone)... I did a urine test and everything- and they just told me to go to the ER because they couldn't find out what was wrong. Turned out, the fever was because of a UTI. It pissed me off because they couldn't even diagnose me with a UTI- I bought a kit at Walmart afterwards that was a test for UTIs. Going to the ER was pointless, because they prescribed me with antibiotics and painkillers and told me to go pass the stone.. if the clinic would have diagnosed me with the UTI, it would've save me $2000.

I'm going to try to start walking. A few months ago, walking did help immensely (for the day at least, then I'd sleep and the pain would come back). Now, its far too painful. I will try though, if it really will help- I have found that I am in more pain the following days when I walk though. Perhaps a cane will help with that.

I am going to ask around.. there doesn't seem to be a lot of help around here from what I've seen, but I'm sure somethings out there.

Leeal, okay no more heat.. even though it feels amazing.. lol. I will start icing my back tomorrow.

I do usually sort of prop up when I'm in bed.. head and upper back elevated.. is that bad? As far as walking.. it seems to hurt more when I walk :( Will that get better over time? It just kills to walk.. and then after I finish walking, it takes an hour or so for my leg to stop hurting (very badly) when I lay down.

I am so sorry to hear about your sciatica.. if you don't mind me asking, do you work? How do you go about your day to day life?

1little- thanks for your reply. I am not sure what I'm near. I don't have a car, so that makes things even more complicated, but I'll figure something out. I'm not trying to self-diagnose.. believe me, if I could, I'd get an MRI right now to see what's wrong. I tried going to the ER and they wouldn't test me.. I just am trying to make sense of what I know. I tried the exercise to see if it is sciatica (lift one leg off of the ground and pull the toes toward you) and it was excruciating. I will do what I can, but for now, I don't think doing stretches, icing my back, and decreasing inflammation should hurt me.. right? :)

Hi Belle

The pain on the sides of the thigh is clearly the L4 and L5 locations - you have either a pinched nerve or some central canal stenosis. It is most likely a pinched nerve.

I assume the pain in the calf is also on the sides ! If not let us know.

The former pain in the butt and behind the knee is almost certainly pira forma syndrome.

Okay so - what PT stretches can you do to roll this problem back and even to reduce the cause of the problem:

you need to do -
1. core muscle stretches -
1.a. Tummy tucks
1.b. Tummy tuck - bridges

2. pira forma stretch
3. hamstring stretch

4. ball - legs on stretch
5. ball side stretch

6. McKenzie - sideways - for lightning pain
7. McKenzie extension

------

1.a (((tummy tucks)))
((abbreviation TT))

Laying down on back with knees up
Tuck back into matt (make as much of back as possible touch the matt)
Hold back tucked and tense stomach
Hold for count of 5
Repeat 20 times

1.b. (((Bridge)))

Lying on back with knees up
Tuck back into matt (make as much of back as possible touch the matt)
Raise butt up and hold
Hold for 20
Repeat 5 times

2. . (((Piraforma stretch)))
((for pain down the back of the legs))

Lying on back with knees up
Cross one leg over other
Pull crossed knee toward other side of body
Hold for 35
Repeat for both sides 4 times

3. . (((Ham stretch)))
>

Lying on back ; put a rope around one foot and hold rope in hand
Pull leg up and straight as possible
Hold for 35, then pull tighter for 10
Repeat 4 times for each leg

4. . (((ball on leg pull in)))
with big ball (52Cm dia) (or smaller initially0

while lying on back (preferably on a matt)
legs on ball roll ball (on far side of ball)
bring legs in toward self and hold for count of 5
repeat 20 times

5. ((ball side stretch)))
((this is difficult and may cause some discomfort later - so be careful))

While lying on back put Legs on ball
Rotate legs to side and hold for 5
Repeat on both sides 20 times

6. (((sidewise- for pain on right side)))
(this is to stop the lightning when it is caused by the stretching)
((The purpose is to push from the side that hurts toward the other side.))
(((exact opposite side for pain on left side)))
(((Called a side glide standing)))

Stand up . Place right hand on hip girdle. Place left hand on ribcage.
Push with right hand while resisting with left hand until a pressure and discomfort is felt.
Return to starting position.
Hold for count of 10. Repeat 5 times.

7. McKenzie Extension (Stretch) [Roll-up] for lower thoracic and lumbar
lie on stomach
Raise chest off surface by supporting weight on hands with arms straight
Lower chest to starting position
Ten reps, hold last three for 10 seconds, repeat 3 times per day
This stretch is most frequent and always the last stretch.

I hope these help you.

You do need to get some meds from your family doctor for your sciatica pain. Explain that you have sciatica and that you need some meds for break thru pain. I was able to get by with tyleol 3 for a very long time. Do not suggest the type of pain meds.

HUgs, Raoul

(I am not a doctor - these are just suggestions based on my personal experiences.)

Hi Bell, some things work for some when other things work differently for you. I recommend you try and get medicaid as soon as you can. Not sure what state you live in but some states offer medicaid for low income adults as well as children. I wish you the best with getting your insurance for that is the key to you getting proper help. The pain managment doctor that I go to is expensive if you have to pay out of pocket. He charges $235. a visit and I thank God that I found him and that I have insurance!
As out other friends have mentioned, do not use heat...I know that it seems to really help you at the time but what it does is causes more swelling at the sight of your injury. Use ice only, it reduces the swelling which naturally helps relieve some of the horrific pain that goes along with sciatica.
Keep us posted on your progress with gettting insurance and help. I will say a prayer for all of us who suffer from chronic pain. Just remember you are not alone and we all can kind of feel a little comfort in knowing we have others to talk to and get advice from.
I wish you the best and send you hugs!

Just be careful with the stretches. Some of them made me worse and I had to cut them for a while. If everything is very irritated the nerves hurt more. that's why the walking hurts the more you do it. Start with just a few gentle ones at first. Do less reps more often during the day. Build up. If it really hurts, stop and slow down for a day and try again the next day.

Ice is always good

Just remember none of us is a doctor, just other sufferers telling you what we know. Keep working at getting a good doctor. You won't be able to get injections wih out one. Good Luck

Right Belle

do not exercise when you are in pain.

But do exercise when you are not in pain.

In your case the piraforma stretch and the ham strin stretch are the most important . Do them much more than the other stretches.

And you can get some really great other stretches for these two conditions on the net - google for example (pira forma stretch video) or (hamstring stretch video).

Raoul

Hey guys.. just want to give a quick update. I started icing my back.. and what a Godsend!!! I am barely in any pain when walking. The only time it really hurts is when I sit back down after walking around... even then its not that bad. I am going to start stretches tonight. I literally cried when I was walking around with no pain because I was so happy. Thank you guys for helping me! I now feel like the pain is manageable and that I will be able to deal with it. Thanks again :) I'll write more in a bit :)