Siatica and cures

[Terry08]

I have had Siatica problems for months and wonder if any of you brew dogs have a cure. I have tried rubs, Pain killers, A "Tens/Ems Machine" Massage and an infra red lamp. All soothing but no fix. The best tempory cure I have at the moment is Two glasses of brew, Two measures of Scotch, a glug of Cider and one or three glasses of a good Aussie red.

Present result ahh! who cares till the morning. I have never tried smoking that unmentionable. Maybe I should grow the stuff get caught and get looked after in detention.

Anyway to more serious stuff and although off topic.Again what of it.

MOD EDIT: No distilling talk.

I do not often drink as much but when I do I invent things or come up with idea's to create programs for. If you do not believe me visit http://inkmon.org
there are others.

Alcohol does not necessary render one in capable it effects people in strange ways. One such session gave me a way to launder a dogs bean bag. Ever tried that. I sold the patent.

It is suprising what Siatica can do for a guy like me but if I had a chance I am prepared to pass it on. "Free to a good home".

So I will now crawl into bed and get some sleep before tne nerves once again get control. We are definatly not the masters of our bodies.

The definition of good health if you wanted to know.
" If you are not aware of your body you are in good health" Who needs a Doctor to tell you that.

Beddy byes for me and to you lot I wish you a very good night.

Terry

 

[AnOldUR]

Nice ramble there! :cross:




. . . but, I've had luck with an inversion table.

 

[broadbill]

I'm sure you've been told about not keeping your wallet in your back-pocket, right?

 

[carrotmalt]

I've had and still sometimes deal with siatica issues. I tried chiropractors, pain pills, massage, etc., but finally somewhat conquered it with physical therapy. There were a handful of stretches they had me do that really targeted that area. They did some massage too, but eventually they had me doing more yoga type moves to get the blood moving and the muscles limber. Now that I'm not constantly dealing with it, I try to do some yoga here and there just to keep the flexibility and keep those muscles loose. Normally it takes a bit of discomfort to remind me to do it, but if I could make myself do it regularly as a preventative measure, I'd probably never feel it anymore.

You might look online for some very mild yoga moves targeting that area. Take it slow, and I hope you get past it soon. I feel your pain.

 

[passedpawn]

Short of surgery, I think traction (or spinal decompression) are the best remedies. Inversion tables are a form of traction using the body's own weight as the traction force. You probably are aware that your sciatica is an effect from a compression in lower lumbar vertebrae (almost always L4/l5 or L5/S1). As such, any exercise that strengthens your core muscles (i.e., abs) will help your sciatica as well as prevent further back-related pain.

Traction tables are medieval-looking, the modern day "rack". They definitely produce instant relief. The ability for them to heal the back has been in debate for a long time, but I've seen a lot of back and neck patients dramatically healed by these machines. Talk to a chiro. There's very little fluid flow around the vertebral disks so, when traction devices pull that area apart, the resulting wash of fluids is thought to stimulate healing of the area (degenerative disks, herniations, and bulges).

 

[HickoryMike]

I have been fighting the Sciatica for years now. I find that when the beer belly gets out of control and I stop working out, the pain flames up. When I commit to some kind of workout regiment that keeps my core strong, I'm fine.

 

[bniesen]

I may be of some assistance. I have been through 3 cases of sciatica in the last year, I am going through the third one now as a result of a herniated disc which requires surgery next month (I actually can't wait). what I recommend is ICE ICE and more ICE.

Are you sure it is coming from your back? The first time I had sciatica it was from one of my hip flexors. I had strained it doing some exercises (eliptical actually) and caused it to pinch the nerve. Locate where the pain is coming from, either lower back or the butt region, and apply ice; some say heat works better for them but ice always worked for me. No more lifting anything more than 10 lbs, restrict your bending over, if you have to bend over bend at the hip. Physical therapy works good too, there are a lot of lower back/lower abdominals exercises on the net. Traction only works if you actually have a herniated disc, what you want is one of those Yoga balls, the really big inflatable kind. Lay across one of those but take it easy. If you do see a doctor, ask about Gabapentin. I take 2 of those and 2 advil and it does alot more for pain than any other narcotic they threw at me. Cyclobenzaprine (muscle relaxer) really helped too especially when it came to sleep.
Good luck.

 

[lurker18]

I am very active in sports and have dealt with siatica issues almost every year for the past few years. It seems that once you injure this part of the body, it becomes more prone to re injury. For me, I found that stretching and regular trips to a GOOD chiropractor are the best and only treatment. It took me about 5 years and several changes to get a good chiropractor, but once you find the person, keep him or her.

 

[bniesen]

+1 on streches and building a solid "core".

My herniated disc is so large that it buldged out the side and right into the nerve root canal (nerve root for right leg). Every doctor that has seen my MRI has told me that they never seen a buldge that large. Thankfully, I have plenty of disc left for cusioning. I could let it go and let my own body eat it away over year or more but I have a life to live and kids to keep up with, so surgery for me.

If it doesn't improve in a couple of weeks or it gets worse, see a doctor. Nerves in that area are nothing to ignore.

Heres to you and a speedy recovery!!

 

[pjj2ba]

Another vote for stretching. Mine has gotten much better. When I wash my hair in the shower, I use that time to stretch my back. I bend backwards to put my hair under the shower head as opposed to facing the shower head. The backwards stretching seems to help.

Also, switch from a belt to suspenders (or no belt). I remember reading an article about TPS syndrome in men and women. Many of the symptoms are similar to sciatica. TPS = tight pants syndrome.

 

[Butcher]

http://http://www.westside-barbell.com/reverse-hyper/

Reverse hypers are great for lower back health. There is a therapy hyper that was designed for light duty use by rehab patients that is way more affordable. Call a few local gyms and see if they have one, I doubt they will though. Worst comes to worst, its not hard to figure out how to do the movement without the machine.

 

[Terry08]

Wow! I am not alone. With me scans showed an impacted disc. So thanks for advice I will look into it.

 

[DaleKOB]

Hello! New to the forum (and to brewing) and I saw this post and thought 'sweet! I can actually weigh in on something here...!'

I have had disc problems for the past 11 years now - Sciatica on BOTH sides and surgery on the right side before (now dealing with the left side). The good news is that they won't even do surgery anymore unless you have exhausted all other options - when I did surgery it was almost like a knee-jerk reaction. I was going to write an article on 'the 6 fool-proof ways to control back pain' a while ago, but still haven't:
1: Stretching (blah blah blah, we have all heard that to no end)
2: Chiropractic care - but have your chiro recommend a back & neck pain clinic. I went to one for probably 3 months (2x a week) and didn't have ANY pain for probably 2 years. Those specialty clinics are usually Rx only.
3: Aleve - 2 tablets in the morning, 1 around noon, and one in the afternoon/eve
4: Inversion therapy - I have my own inversion table and I probably do it 2x a day - its just an amazing feeling either way - you feel like Michael Jordan when you get off it! I swear you get 3" taller just for using it for 3 minutes!
5: Dr's will usually tell you heat is better than ice, but ice is better than nothing.
6: THE BIGGIE - go to your reg doctor and have him/her evaluate you for an epidural disc injection shot. You have to go to a specialty clinic to get the shot (there plenty around in another major/mid city) - they relieve the pain for 3-4 months and it it AMAZING. The doc that does mine swears that patients will only come back for 1-2 years and he never sees them again because the pain is gone for good. They will only give you 3-4 shots a year, but that should be all you need. If that doesn't take (and PT doesn't do it) then they start looking at surgery or spinal implants....)

So, uh, thats my 2 cents! Back to reading about moving from Mr Beer to real equipment!
Enjoy!
drd

 

[DaleKOB]

OH! And Pilates and Yoga! That should be tied into point #1 up there.

 

[sledhead]

Read the book "Treat Your own Back" by Robin McKenzie of New Zealand. I received a copy from my physiotherapist when i was suffering from Sciatica due to a herniated disc (too much Jagermeister at a Christmas Party coupled with a wrestling match with an old British Army vet).

For me, the solution to preventing the pain is maintaining a strong core which ensures correct skeletal and muscular alingment of the body. This book provides the necessary instruction to build and maintain a strong body.

 

[DromJohn]

All of the above, but a certified yoga instructor is about as valuable of the good chiropractor. Also, a good lumbar pillow is helpful, particularly in the car.

 

[bniesen]

I tried the injection, they could not go through with the precedure cause I was in such severe pain from the injections. Surgeon's exact words were "We have to abort this, it would be inhumane to continue". My case is probably a rare case though. If it works/will work for others, great, awsome. It just didn't work out for me.

 

[DevilsCreekBrewing]

I started getting sciatica after being bumped by a fork truck years ago. My L4/ L5 look like they have been sandblasted, not pretty. For me the solution was core exercise, massage therapy to deal with trigger points, and anti-inflammatories when I started to notice the 'twinge'.

As an aside, having muscle trigger points dealt with in the lower back while dealing with a sciatic flare up is hell. I'm not sure if I have experienced anything worse in my life.

 

[bniesen]

I'll post after my S1/L5 surgery on Oct. 4

 

[Terry08]

I may investigate a inversion table. I do not believe I am that bad yet and do not want to hide the pain and then injure myself more. I have had this for about 6 months and luckily only down one leg. It can be a bit sore of a night sometimes and wakes me up. Trying to find a comfortable position can be hard.

I am going to try an egg shell matress my wife used once and see if that helps.
My doctor says at my age (68) it is to be expected. He is in his early 30's. I only hope I am around when he reaches my age.

I have been lucky with no back problems even lugging 40kg cement bags when I built walls and garden beds at home. So I guess it is catching up with me at last.
I do have a referal for a epidural under cat scan but I will wait as there is a 15% chance it can paralyse. What! I would never be able to brew beer again.

I do appreciate all the comments this has raised and I sympathise with those of you that have lost more than I have over it. I am exercising and although painful I do a 1 km walk with my little dog twice a week. I have to rest for a day after as I am buggered after that. Takes a day to get over the walk. But I believe if you do not use it you lose it.

I have found that a couple of glasses of best bitter does as good as pain killers, at least it improves my dispersition.

What can I say, I wish you all good health

 

[pnj]

Bikram yoga worked for me. It took me six weeks, going 4 times a week but it gave me my life back.

Bikram is a form of hot yoga. The eye candy is nice too....

 

[bniesen]

I had the surgery yesterday. I'm up and walking around already. Looking to return to work by the end of the week. The doctor said the buldge he removed was 4 cm and that the nerve root moved right back into place after the removal. Even he was greatful I had the surgery.
Good luck to all!

 

[Denny330]

Congrats on getting better. I must strongly oppose the recommendation of gabapentin. That stuff is hell. It will only provide temp relief, and the addiction level of that drug is super high. My dr was close to putting me in addiction clinic to come off of it. Stay far far away.

 

[bniesen]

I still think its better/safer than a narcotic such as Oxy or vicodin. but either way, I am no fan of taking pills unless absolutely necessary

 

[lurker18]

I am a pain relief pill popper, but have found that the body tends to build up immunity to each pill. I started off on the Robaxacets, now they are like smarties to me, even the ones that you have to ask for with the heavy dose of codine. Tylenol 3 don't do much, just gives me a raw gut. Moved onto Alieve, which seems to be helping right now, and I am only using them when necessary to try to keep the immunity away for a while.
If I had know that I would build up a tollerance to these drugs, I might have cut back the heavy doses years ago.