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Has any experienced this before. The pinch is being caused by the piriformis muscle on the right side. It's send pain down my leg into the calf/high ankle area. The pain is worst when I sit and considering that I have a desk job, work has been extremely painful.
Doctor has me doing stretches and using ice to start, if I don't notice any difference in the next few days, then I'll go back and discuss my next options. In the short term, does anyone have any suggestions on relieving the pain? Normal stuff (tylenol, ibuprofen etc) are having minimal impact.
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Sciatica. Lots of things you can do at home and an internet search will probably yield some good suggestions. There really are no "next options"...it just takes time to relax.
Do you carry your wallet in your back right pocket? If so, stop and move it to the front or in a shirt pocket. Or, better yet, take your wallet out of your pocket every time you sit down. Guys tend to get sciatica a lot from doing that and sitting on it. The wallet puts pressure right on the piriformis muscle and sciatic nerve. Then, BAM, pain.
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I have a ruptured disc in my next that pinches a nerve causing my upper left arm to throb on pain around the bicep, and my left fingers and thumb go numb.
They sent me to physical therapy and traction to help relieve the pressure and hope scar tissue would grow over the disc giving me relief, along with some neck and back strengthening exercises to help build up the muscles and help my posture.
I've been doing very well with no symptoms for a few months now, aside from aggravating it at xmas being dumb and not stretching and warming up before working out.
A friend at church has exactly what your describing and they are doing phys therapy for him as well, it isn't working as well for his injury as mine did, but he said it is improving, just at a much slower rate, but then lower back issues carry a lot more weight around than neck muscles.
but as Michelle said, don't carry anything in your back pockets, I also found that sitting with my legs tucked under my chair at work almost to where I'd be kneeling if slid forward off the chair helps relieve pressure in my lower back.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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What my husband's PT has him doing for his sciatica (he's got sciatica and 2 pinched disks in his spine too): Lay on back, put leg staight in air, put towel around your ankle and grab each end of the towel in each hand. Pull your leg toward your chest hold for 10 seconds, relax, repeat. Switch legs. Not sure if it'll work for you, but it's worth a try. If nothing else, it'll stretch your muscles for ya! 
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Quote:
Lay on back, put leg staight in air, put towel around your ankle and grab each end of the towel in each hand. Pull your leg toward your chest hold for 10 seconds, relax, repeat. Switch legs.
Is this giving him any relief? The stretch doesn't really get to the muscle causing the pressure on the sciatic nerve from the sounds of it is why I ask.
The one that seems to work the best, in my experience, is figure 18 on
this page. They don't show it in the drawing, but you want to GENTLY try to lower the raised knee toward the floor. (right leg would get lowered to the left, left leg to the right)
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He says it does...but it could just be giving him relief from the other stuff going on. It could also be just the stretching that's making him feel better, in general, as his whole body is stiff. Been that way all his life and got it from his stiff Dad. So, that could just be loosening muscles making him feel better.
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Good thinking...makes sense to me! Glad he's getting some relief! 
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Quote:
Quote:
Lay on back, put leg staight in air, put towel around your ankle and grab each end of the towel in each hand. Pull your leg toward your chest hold for 10 seconds, relax, repeat. Switch legs.
Is this giving him any relief? The stretch doesn't really get to the muscle causing the pressure on the sciatic nerve from the sounds of it is why I ask.
The one that seems to work the best, in my experience, is figure 18 on
this page. They don't show it in the drawing, but you want to GENTLY try to lower the raised knee toward the floor. (right leg would get lowered to the left, left leg to the right)
Thanks, I'll give that a try. Have been doing stretches in figure 17 and 19. Do ice or heat help? I carry my wallet in my left pocket. I'm been backtracking trying to think if there was something I did to cause this, but keep coming up blank.
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At this point, heat will be of greater benefit for you. Ice is usually used immediately following an injury to reduce swelling. Heat helps bring blood to tight muscles to nourish them. Another thing you can do is roll a tennis ball between you and a wall over the tight muscle. Don't do it long...maybe a minute...but do it several times a day. This often brings quick relief if you are having a spasm, but also helps stretch the muscle in general. And, you should always do both sides to keep your body "even"....with stretching, tennis balls, etc. Sciatica is funny...you may not have done anything to aggravate it. I've gotten it from getting up from a stool. Oddly enough, I was giving a massage at the time and just about fell over on to my client from the pain. Took a couple weeks to get it worked out, but it eventually eased and finally left completely. Wallet in left side = more likely to get the same thing on that side. 
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I feel your pain.
I wish I had a great suggestion that woud help. I did ice, heat, stretches, bought a back massage chair thing ......
Nothing worked for me, but my doc says that every back is different ...... so hopefully something will work for you.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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I have had success with massage therapy. A talented massage therapist will tailor a plan to your specific pain points. A recent episode with a pinched nerve in my left lat extending up my shoulder to my neck left me barely able to move and in severe pain. My masseur worked me like a piece of clay and 24 hours later I was 80% relieved and able to function again. Good luck, Squires.
[color:"red"]"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
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As Michelle said....stop sitting on your wallet.
I have found that a tennis ball relieves the pressure.
Take a tennis ball and lean on it at the source of the pain....the ball massages the area....this works great in a chair or car seat.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn. GM Strong ![[Linked Image]](http://www.dawgtalkers.net/uploads/small-gator-chomp.gif)
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well the pain has kept increasing over the past 2 weeks. Got an mri yesterday to find out i have a fragmented disc that is pressing against the nerve root. THe pain has got drastically worse in the past 2 days to the point where i can barely walk. I'm waiting for a call from a neurologist this morning to see what the next plan of action is.
I hope this is fixable, the stuff i was reading on this yesterday didn't look too promising.
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Which disc is it?
Mine was in the neck, C4/C5 Ruptured C5/C6 and C3/C4 bulging. Luckily I'm doing good, no problems for several months now, although I have started filling in for the drummer at church who has a lower back ruptured disc, and I've noticed tenseness and pain in my neck again after playing.
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I feel ya.
I'm on my 2nd round of epidurals. So far the only thing that have relieved is my wallet of about $5000.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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I assume that's the equivalent of thoracic 7/8 ... ?
There are no sacred cows.
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Quote:
I feel ya.
I'm on my 2nd round of epidurals.
Kind of contradictory isn't it?
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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Believe me ..... I wish I couldn't feel right about now.
I've been dealing with this for a year and a half now ..... and it keeps getting worse.
Then I get to deal withh the insurance and co-pays and such ...... as well as the idiotic disability insurance company.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Be patient, soon Obamacare will help you rectify it worry and money free.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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I'm holding my breath.
Tell them to make my checks out to "Mr Blue".
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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Well, I finally got some pain killers that work. 4th times a charm. The pills I have now are easing most of the pain to a point where I can function again to some extent. Have an appointment on Friday to see what is going to happen next.
If the doc suggests surgery, how many opinions should I get from other doctors?
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Decisions, decisions. I have one doctor advising that physical therapy or steroid injections won't do much good and thinks I should have surgery, the other saying I should at least try physical therapy.
Does a problem with a disk in the back ever heal on it's own?
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In my totally unprofessional opinion, I say physical therapy can't leave you any worse off. Surgery is invasive and expensive, and PT might just do the trick.
Or it might be a waste of time. I'm more willing to risk the latter than going with surgery right off the bat.
Just my perspective, though.
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
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Yes. Speaking from experience I burst the my L4, L5/S1 discs in an accident and delayed surgery to try physical therapy.
I couldn't get out of bed for about 2 months, then it gradually got better over the course of a year. Plenty of pain meds every day. I now am about 90% healed after 6 years or so but I always have to be aware not to do anything too crazy.
I do play full court basketball in two leagues and do just about everything I would ever want to.
I'd at least try physical therapy before electing to have surgery.
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I am 28 years old and had horrible sciatic pain in my left leg starting around Christmas of 2009. I went to a doc @ the Cleveland Clinic and he put me on painkillers. I'll tell you what, I took some nasty painkillers and they did NOTHING to alleviate nerve pain. I couldn't sleep more than 2 hours a night and wanted to punch a hole through the bedroom wall as I "walked off" the pain in the morning.
I finally found relief after a series of epidurals, which I did concurrently with physical therapy. It is not 100% better, but the pain level is about 2% of what it was before. I can still sense there is a weak spot in my S1 disc area, but I'm trying to build up my abs to take the pressure off my spine. I've also lost about 40 lbs, so that's definitely helped. The physical therapy I learned still helps loosen me up when I sense it getting tight again. One exercise, called "nerve flossing" is very effective for me. I'll look for a description of it online, but will post details tomorrow if I can't find one.
Hopefully this helps. I will pray for you. I wouldn't wish anyone to experience the pain you're going through right now. My pocketbook took a hit too. I hit the $1000 deductible on my insurance plan easily and I bought a bunch of random back relief equipment in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep. Needless to say, my "TEETER HANG-UPS" and back cushions are collecting dust already.
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I'm already at my $3000 out of pocket max, plus 25 or so office visits at $25 each ...... 3 pain prescriptions at a time ..... I'll probably wind up with $4500 out of pocket before the year is over.  Glad to hear that someone got help from epidurals. I did epidurals last year, and a 3 shot facet block series this year. I am so tired of getting stuff stuck in my back. Nothing is working for me. I am as frustrated as can be. I went to 3 stores today, and was practically crawling by the 3rd because of the pain.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
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L5/S1 is the same one I am having a problem with. Vicodin has been working as far as easing the pain, not completely, but it allows me to function. I'm hoping in the end I can get as close to 100% as possible in my physical activity.
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Quote:
I'm already at my $3000 out of pocket max, plus 25 or so office visits at $25 each ...... 3 pain prescriptions at a time .....
I'll probably wind up with $4500 out of pocket before the year is over.
Glad to hear that someone got help from epidurals. I did epidurals last year, and a 3 shot facet block series this year. I am so tired of getting stuff stuck in my back. Nothing is working for me. I am as frustrated as can be.
I went to 3 stores today, and was practically crawling by the 3rd because of the pain.
I guess I was lucky. Back in 1991 - it honestly took me 10 minutes to get out of bed. Then about 3 minutes to walk the 10 feet to the bathroom. At the time, I was divorced and had my son on weekends and for a month each summer, and I seriously worried about "if there's a fire, I can't get us out of here".
I got a new bed, and things were much better.
I now have a Sleep Number bed, and, knock on wood, my back never hurts in the morning. And I have what most would call a "physical" job. One hell of a lot of backwork.
I also have a bulging disc in my back - lower back. Damn thing sticks out actually.
I'm glad I haven't had to go through what you guys are going through. Hell, I've lost 30% of my hearing, my knees crack and groan, my hips give me trouble, and my peroneal (spelling?) tendon gives me crap daily - I don't need more problems.
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You sound really old. 
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You sound really old.
you should read him in the political threads  (ba dum dum)
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from my own personal experience. Injections helped for about 2 weeks then the pain returned. I tried pain killers but blah they just dont seem to do much for me. I did physical therapy and I really couldnt tell that it did much of anything either althought for some reason the ultrasound seemed to help more than anything else but again in 2 days the pain was back.
Finally i said screw it and slowly began working out trying to strengthen my back along with everything else. It also gave me a new focus after Danni passed. The results have really been amazing. I still get some slight backpain from time to time and also still have the numbness in feet and that dull pain which most know what i am talking about.
Anyway lifting weights and stretching exercises was the only thing that has truly helped me.
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You sound really old.
Imagine how I feel!
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Quote:
Quote:
You sound really old.
you should read him in the political threads (ba dum dum)
Easy now.........
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Mine was L4 and the PT really helped. I found that if I could kill the pain enough to keep moving I was much better than if I just laid around. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
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One thing I'd recommend that's easy to do is stretching your hamstrings every day. You'd be amazed the connection between tight hammies and an array of ower back problems.
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Quote:
One thing I'd recommend that's easy to do is stretching your hamstrings every day. You'd be amazed the connection between tight hammies and an array of ower back problems.
I agree.
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jc
Had surgery performed on Friday. Went well for the most part. Doctor said the disk was in a little worse shape than originally thought. But, surgery was fine, I'm home from the hospital, and he believes this this should heal up. Just need to take it easy for a while. Right now, most of the pain is from the incision. The hardest part is making sure I don't twist or bend when I move.
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