Sciatic nerve damaged - any advice?

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Countrygirl

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Managed to come off the lovely pony on Sunday. It wasn't his fault at all. Thought I was just battered and bruised but by Monday morning it was obviously a bit more.
I have never been in pain like it. So off to a&e for me, luckily nothing broken but have damaged sciatic nerve and got a lot of soft tissue damage - ouch!!
Anyway painkillers and anti inflamatories etc not giving a lot of relief, cannot have a bath (would not be able to get in or out).
Was told to take 48 hrs complete rest - done but still hurting like hell.
Any ideas or advice please, I'm getting really frustrated.
Hats off to the OH too, he is an absolute star.
 
Poor you :(

Sciatica is incredibly unpleasant and I am afraid I can't offer anything more than sympathy, I will be watching this thread though in case anyone else comes up with a soultion. I suffer from sciatica on and off myself and have yet to find a practical way to get rid of it other than waiting it out.

Not reccomending this as such esp if you are on strong pain killers but one thing that helped somewhat with a bad back for me was half a bottle of wine. It relaxed the muscles enough to get some movement back and ease the stiffness.
 
Tiny Fluffy Coblet said:
Poor you :(

Not reccomending this as such esp if you are on strong pain killers but one thing that helped somewhat with a bad back for me was half a bottle of wine. It relaxed the muscles enough to get some movement back and ease the stiffness.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a splendid idea to me!! lol Probably best for me not to try that yet though.

Lets hope for both of us someone comes back with a wondercure!!
 
Rest it as much as possible, alternate between ice packs and heat pads (i.e. use ice one day, heat the next) for the pain/inflammation, stretch as much as you can bear to.

Be careful when you're walking as you can drag the bad leg and trip yourself up!
 
oh no !! Poor you !! Ive had sciatic nerve damage for 3 years and although I can live with it now, it is unlikely to ever resolve itself. I can fully recommend diclofenic as a pain reliever, hot water bottles and a nice hot shower !!

Sorry not to be any more positive !! Its a long road to recovery....
 
OHH i do feel for you , i have suffered Sciatica for years now, its so bad that my leg just gives way and i fall over .... most attractive lol .

hot water bottle , and stretches ,

good luck x
 
I get sciatic nerve damage quite a lot. I used to think it would stop me riding until one day I said ' sod it' and rode. Stopped the pain. I think it is to do with the fact you have to relax and each hoofbeat sort of masages the back, Works for me.

Jane
 
Yep me too!
Been 8wks now.
Can't walk, sit, lie down without pain!
Can't muck out , fill hay nets, cook or clean my Oh has been doing it all, fortunatly we run a Wedding catering business from home and are quiet at the moment.
After two weeks I went for accupuncture for pain relief in my buttock and it gave me one good day between treatments.
GP gave me dicolfex 1 x3 a day,
co-codamol 30/500gr which made me do-lally but I could still feel pain, I am so used to them now I don't feel do-lally but if I try to cut down from say 2x4 times aday to 2x2 aday I feel on edge (addiction) so I have been drinking a btl of wine each night!!
He also gave me diasapam as I couldn't sleep for the pain on turning over but I only took them for about one week.
No accupunture treatment between xmas and New Year and I was beside myself with pain so it showed how much it was helping me.
In that time the pain moved down my leg from my buttock to behind my knee and ankle and lots of pins and needles in foot.
After New year I went back and asked him if he had a gun?
He told me that it sounded like time for MRI scan as it could be a slipped disc.
GP sent me to an oeastopath(sp) have been manlipulated x 4 now and starting to slowly have less pain.
So at present I have 2 x manlipulations a week and 2x accupuncture sessions,
Started with 2x needles in bum but now 3x lower back, 1x buttock, 1x thigh, 1x back of knee,1x shin,
Think my insurance have paid out over £1,000 so far and still not right!
I miss my horse, my life and my sanity but thanks to my OH who has been so good to me!
Hope all fellow sufferers get well soon x
 
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alison247 said:
He told me that it sounded like time for MRI scan as it could be a slipped disc.
Click to expand...

Have you had the MRI? Worth it, even to find if there is nothing wrong as delaying treatment for a prolapsed disc can mean that more risky and invasive surgery will be needed.

My mum had an MRI and then steroid treatment for a double and single prolapse last year, and is much better now.
 
Get MRI - I fell off two years ago and finally had MRI last week - turns out that the sparodic pain i was encountering was actually a massively prolaspsed disc.

Having an op in 2 weeks to cut prolasped disc out and will be off games for 4 weeks.

More than anything I wish I had sorted this out at the time. Would have saved a lot of pain.

Finally, get help getting in a hot bath - it does help as does a VERY LARGE GIN!
 
OK so now I am even more depressed, I thought I would be over the worst by now and i'm only 3 days in. I had planned to ride tomorrow but the swelling still the size of half a football slapped on beneath my hip down to my thigh.
Pain still bad, will ring GP in the morning and see about changing painkillers, no relief at all from the ones the hospital have given me.
Already had xrays etc as there was worries about my pelvis etc, but they were all clear.
I didn't realise how drastic the damage can be. I feel for all of you.
I am hoping the swelling will go down enough so I can pay a visit to a Chiropracter(McTimmoney) as soon as possible.
If anyone has a miracle cure it would be worth a fortune, I would not wish this amount of pain on anyone.

PS Lobeilia I take it you are speaking from experience I have already managed to do that!! Learnt my lesson now.
 
Hey

You MUST put ice on your back, you will have a big inflammatory response going on (inflammation = heat), to get clear this as quickly as you can you need ICE. 15 mins, AT LEAST 3 times a day with an hour between applications. Avoid soft sofas/unsupported sitting posture. Best to potter about, or lie on your back with knees bent. If you have true nerve damage then this will take time to heal.

Your glut medius muscle can also give leg pain which is referred and mimics "sciatica". If you have an active spasm in this muscle it will feel like raging leg pain. True "sciatica" means you will be suffering from pins and needles, sharp shooting electrical type pain, numbness and weakness. There are specific patterns to true sciatic pain in the leg and the pain that muscles can give. Also referrd pain from the sacro-iliac and lower lumbars can feel like "sciatica". Be patient, this will probably take a few days to clear. Be nice to your body and let it heal, don't over do anything for the time being.
 
God I know hoe you are feeling!! I fell off last Friday onto my bum/lower back OMG the pain was the worset I ever had! Took myself off to a&e when I kept gettting shooting pains in leg no xrays as doc's didnt see it was nesscury strong painkillers and rest. Im just about moving around now had to take a day off work due to it!! Havnt ridden since Im missing it!!

I now have been using a heat pad at every option!! Even at work i've been wearing it don't care that it makes my bum look's big!!! The funny look's I got off from my boss lol!!

hope you feel better soon!! It's the little things like going to the loo is so painfull!!!
 
Ice not heat.
Ice takes inflammation down.

I had sciatica on and off for years til i could no longer walk and feel anything below the knee. Had Mri and disc was herniated - had it removed - it was in shreds. off horse for 3 months and lots physio. It took me a while to get back into it and touch wood 3 yrs on my back is fine. Still have no feeling on top of left foot and down side of left calf.
 
Thank you everyone.
Managed to get out of bed in 20 minutes this morning!! Hooray.
Looks like I have been lucky in a way as I have only had problems to half way down my thigh muscle. Mind you the burning pain I had Sunday and Monday was pain like I had never had before and I nearly passed out on quite a few occasions after having episodes where I was dripping with sweat and everything going blury for a few minutes and then getting freezing cold and shaking.
On Sunday I thought I would be back in the saddle today - I have admitted defeat, partly because I cannot even get in a vehicle let alone get on!! Oh well such is life.

Emmachiro - I can only sit on the sofa as the swelling on my backside means that anything harder and I would end up going through the roof!! I am making sure I get up to have a shuffle as often as I can though.

Bojangles - I sympathise, I came off Sunday and went to a&e Monday. Let me know how you are getting on and we can compare notes!!!!
 
Ask your doctor for muscle relaxants, they were the only thing that took off the sciatic pain whilst I was waiting for surgery, take them with the pain killers and you should get some relief.
 
Well I really am depressed now. Spoke to Drs today to see if I could up the painkillers for a few days, which they were fab about. Then I got told it could take 4-6weeks to heal - I was originally aiming to ride today but with a hell of a lot of swelling still thought I would wait till Sunday - what are the chances of that now??!!! Not a lot.
Patience is something that does not come easily to me.
 
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