totally of the topic of horses but has any of you had sciatica?

Mine is a dull ache that works its way from my right 'bum cheek'
blush.gif
down my leg to my foot.
When it reaches my foot, it then turns to pins and needles then numbness.
The only thing to stop it is to move, so it's worse on long car journeys especially if I'm the driver.
 
ive never had pain like this before ,,, i certainly in the night can go through the ceiling ,...,
i went back and they prescribed me some stronger pain killers and they seem to work
 
I get pain in the lower right hand part of my back then my right foot goes numb... Sometimes its painful then other times more numb and uncomfortable. Riding more and being more active seems to help as long as its not too hardcore.

I would get physio but Orkan has cost me hundreds with his back lol. So I will get mine sorted later
grin.gif
 
Yes, but not in the most common way.
I ruptured a disc and bulged the 3 above it leaving me with permanent sciatica and other problems for about 18 months. I had all the injections, physio etc, nothing worked so I was given 2 options, wait and see what happens or operate. I waited and it took a good 18 months on very strong painkillers. I still get the pain occasionally now and I still have problems with my discs but I am ignoring it as my only option now is an operation and I don't want that.
 
My dad has it really badly atm. He gets pain in his back and down his legs. He looks like an 80 year old when he gets up to walk, all hunched up with a limp! (he's only 58). Not much that can be done about it just annoys us all with his moaning!
 
thank you for all your replies ...
not sure as to what else they will do .. i will just carry on with the tablets and see how i get on ...
the only thing that is grinding me is no alcohol .. arghh not even one . with all the tablets ..
so my hubby is very pleased as he doesnt have to pay for a taxi ... hes got me free lol
 
i have it - its a pinching of the nerve in your back - can be aggravated by being motionless (standing or sitting) or weight gain or over use! its a nightmare. VERY painful. i get numb legs, numb bum and electric shocks that sometimes floor me completely!! my physio says the motion of horse riding can elevate it
smile.gif
 
I used to - all down left buttock left leg as far as bottom of my calf, then a bit numb below that. Couldn't get out of bed without rolling and walking a bit oddly for the first few steps as I really couldn't feel my left foot till I got going. Also couldn't sit in same place for more than 10-15 mins without being really being uncomfortable.

Cured by falling off horse - as I went I was thinking 'Now, Dubsie you do not want broken bones you must relax and bounce' So I did : bum, back, then head hit the deck with plenty of bounce. (and much to amusement of daughter's RI
blush.gif
blush.gif
blush.gif
) Got up and whole of left leg felt like the 'after' of pins and needles feeling. Got back on horse and thought no more of it other than 'phew, that didn't hurt too much and no broken bones'. Wasn't till a day or so later I realised my sciatica had completely disappeared. Kept waiting for the pain when I got up.
 
oh i hurts so bad goes right down the back of my left leg starting at my lower back. thankfully dont sufer from it to often. pain killers, heat pad and heat cream all help. x
 
I get it pretty much constantly.. sharp shooting pains down my leg nothing works so pretty annoyed and had it since I was 14 when a horse fell on me
 
Hi Dezzie,
I used to treat people with sciatica (in one of my previous lives!), so will try to explain how i understand it.

It's basically a problem which stems from the lower back, which affects the sciatic nerve (from whatever cause). The sciatic is a huge nerve, with branches coming out of the lower spine, across the lower back, through the bum, and down the legs. Areas of pain vary, especially in the leg, according to which nerve branch is 'kicking off'.

A simple, short-term back strain can give sciatica (if the inflammation causes pressure on the sciatic nerve), as can disc problems, or arthritis in the spine, or any other problem in the area which affects the nerve.

'Sciatica' just means a condition which has affected the sciatic nerve, from whatever cause, giving pain down the leg, as a result. I hope i've helped, + no doubt other forum friends will continue to do so, but it could be worth Googling it, for more detailed medical information + links?

My personal recommendation for sciatica treatment would be acupuncture (from a British Acupuncture Council practitioner), and/or an osteopath. Wishing you + all sciatica sufferers well, BS x
 
I have had a lower back muscle go in to spasm and trap the sciatic nerve. The 1st time I was on the floor in the living room, and I was trapped there for about 30 mins until it relaxed enough to get to my feet.

The cause was having a 1-1 with an equipilates expert who had spent most of the session focussing on the area that went in to spasm. I was off work for a week.
 
I suffer from it although ive never worked out what triggers it. I get really bad pains in my left bum cheek and walk with a limp. Everyone at work laughs at me as im only 24!
grin.gif


A friend of mine has acupuncture on a regular basis and swears by it.
 
I had a ruptured disc that pressed on the sciatic nerve, the pain went down across buttocks and down the side of both legs, left to just below the knee and right to the front of my ankle where is caused a constant stabbing pain. The sciatica was far more wearing than the back pain and the only thing that helped was to take a muscle relaxant (or 3) with my painkillers. I had surgery and they found that the ruptured disc had actually tethered itself to the sciatic nerve. Ask your doctor for a muscle relaxant!
 
Hi Dubsie
Sounds a bit like what an osteopath would do, but he/she'd be a lot more gentle + lot less scary!! So glad you're ok now x.

I think Broken_Arrow's warning about specific exercises is something we should all heed, also, if there is a weakness in the back area. (I remember what my old aerobics teacher told me, bless her!)

Best wishes to all sciatica sufferers. BS x (PS: Don't forget acupuncture + osteopathy as treatments!)
 
My Dad is just recovering from the surgery to sort this, it had started six months ago and thought was sciatica, went for physio and to osteopath it wasn't getting any better so went back to doctors who did x-ray and then said it was arthritis and could only give more pain killers... by this point he could only walk 20m before having to rest it and my Dad is pretty active, does loads of walking, bike riding and plays golf.

Evertually went for MRI and turns out was prolasped disc which has now been operated on and he is recovering really well - it's been 3 weeks and he's now walking about 2/3 miles a day with no pain apart from the actual wound, he has to take it very steady but so relieved it's worked.

My advice, don't always be fobbed off by Doctors, it was only when he went private and saw a specialist that it was properly diagnosed and corrected.
 
I suffer with it and i hate it, my mum also suffers with it she has not been able to walk since october, she is on very strong pain killers, she gets very bad groin pain as well.

good luck
 
had sciatica 4 yrs ago on right side so bad i lost feeling up to my knee - with physio went - then 2008 came back on left side - just cried and cried for days in pain. no sleep, pain all way down leg to toe, lost feeling top of foot - had operation to remove disc between L4 and L5 as was herinated and had come out pressing on nerve - no riding for 4 months. but pain gone. op worked fantastic was left with no feeling on top of foot and down side of calf as nerves too badly damaged - but all good (touch wood) i know that 2 other discs are prolasped but not impinging on nerves so just praying they dont do anything - and doing pilates to strengthen core muscles to support back.
 
I get it from sitting on a hard surface like the floor, or kneeling down.

Always get dull ache/tingling/pins and needles down my left side - bum, left leg - not the right. Also trapped nerve in left shoulder blade that gives me gyp.

It's sorted every time by a McTimoney Chiropractor. If I ever get a twinge, I go and see him and the pain sort of drifts off over the course of several days.

I only have it very mildly though. I know other poor people are crippled by it.
 
I had it really bad, had prolapsed discs and the sciatica was so painfull, i had it right down my leg to my foot. I was offered the op but have a brill Dr in harley st, the treatment I got was excellent, 2 injections and pain free (they are not the injections you get on nhs)
pm me if you want more info on the Dr
 
Yup - starts at the top of my bum and goes down my right leg
frown.gif

I find that some of the stretches from my pilates class really help - they seem to relieve the pressure on the nerve.
I go from downward facing dog, drop my knees so that my bum is on my heels with arms flat on the floor palms down (can't remember the name of that one) then a cat pose - on all fours, hands and knees on the ground and arch back as much as possible.
 
My mum had this for 13 very long months, stabbing pain in her bum and down her legs, tingling feet. It turned her from an active old lady into someone who could only move with 2 walking sticks, bent double. She could only was about 10 feet and that could take 15 minutes. There we're times when she couldn't get into or out of bed the pain was so bad.

She had injections, HUGE numbers of pain killers, patches, physio, hydrotherapy and visits to pain clinics, neurosurgeons. Nothing worked and eventually the wonderful medical profession told they couldn't do any more and she needed to think about moving into a home as she couldn't look after herself. She told me she just didn't want to go on. It was a terrible time.

The turning point was when I read about the bowen technique and convinced her to try it. 1st treatment she told me it was a waste of time, 2nd one not much change, but by the 4th she was pain free! It does strart up if she leaves it too long between treatments, but as long as she goes about once a month its worked.

Needless to say I am a fan! Of course I realise it won't work for everyone, and there are many causes of it, buts it definitely worth a try
 
wow . alot of people who suffer or who have suffered ,
im not sure as to what they are going to do next .,
they have put me on diclofenic 3 times a day . with paracetamol in between.
and 2 muscle relaxants at night.
i dont really get the lower back pain or buttock ache.
its the awful pain down my left leg . awful as it sounds it feels like someone is tugging at my veins.. yukk ,
its very very painful ,
i asked the doctor if it was DVT . they said no .
that was my fear as im at that age all of 38 and not really supposed to be on the girly pill .
im waiting for a physio appointment and another one but im not sure as to what that one will be .
i hope that it doesnt go as far as surgery as many of the posts have written , sounds awfully scary ..
if the riding will help ease or maybe cure it then thats certainly worth a try . /. when this dreadful snow goes away .
i cant believe its fallen again in the night.
i remember how ever last year i did go back to the doctors with a lower back pain but i never followed it up due to it feeling much better.
i wonder if that was the start of it and ive not noticed as much .

well i would like to thank you all for the posts its helped me alot reading peoples different stories .
i will keep you updated with my progress
thanks once again
dona xx
 
I had really bad Sciatica 4 years ago due to a prolapsed disc, was bedridden for a month and could only lie in the recovery position! not fun!! when I saw a specialist he took me in straight away for an op and although it took six months for the nerve damage to heal in my leg as I couldn't walk at the worst stage ,I was driving 4 weeks after op and riding 6 weeks later. Never want to go through that again would have shot myself because of pain it was that bad, leg just in permenent cramps and twitching. ahhhh pethidine my best friend for weeks!!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top