# Looking for sciatica pain relief suggestions. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 10, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579 "2013-11-10T15:55:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Anise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anise/32/21721_2.png) [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/41 "2013-12-08T06:15:38Z")
I am a massage therapist, and I’ve been trained in neuromuscular therapy with Doug Nelson. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE try to find a therapist trained in this technique. It’s based on classic trigger point therapy (Dr.Travell and Simmons.) I would be in a wheelchair right now from sciatica and back problems without this. It’s the only thing, and I mean the ONLY thing, that will help. The only problem is that it can be hard to find these therapists… the best self-help resource I’ve ever found is [Clair Davies’ Trigger Point Therapy Workbook.](http://www.amazon.com/Trigger-Point-Therapy-Workbook-Self-Treatment/dp/1608824942/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386483262&sr=8-1&keywords=clair+davies) [Doug’s main site is here.](http://www.nmtmidwest.com/Doug.html) Please take this seriously. These therapies have saved me from constant pain and immobility when nothing else worked. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/42 "2013-12-08T06:27:34Z")
No offense and YMMV, but trigger therapy can suck a bag of dicks. I went to a highly recommended person in Chicago and all they managed to do is completely fuck up my piriformis muscle. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/43 "2013-12-09T06:00:07Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Got the MRI report back. Highlights: > > “left paracentral herniation extending into proximal left foramen displacing left S1 nerve root posteriorly”. > > “moderate central canal stenosis and mild to moderate left foraminal stenosis” > > “mild right foraminal stenosis and mild facet hypertrophy” > > “chronic endplate reactive change” > > Impression: left paracentral herniation at L5-S1 I hope this works for you. The electricity where I live has been fluctuating for the last 20 minutes: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcTYLp-vshs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcTYLp-vshs) I have similar back problems, and epidurals were wonderful until they quit working. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/44 "2013-12-09T09:48:51Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Had my epidural early this morning. IT went pretty smoothly, propofol knocks you out fast! Still hurting but I’ve got the next two days off so I am hoping to see some improvement. I’m quite familiar with propofol (colonoscopy frequent flier) but why do they need that to administer an epidural? In fairness, I’ve only had them when giving birth (and those simply do not work for me, which can be… unpleasant), so I imagine there are nuances involved in their use for your kind of pain. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/45 "2013-12-09T15:37:31Z")
Thanks for the link, rysdad! Very helpful in visualizing the issue. Mama, they said they use propofol because they are sticking a big ass needle into my spine and don’t want me squirming around:) plus you come out of it a lot clearer than versed or other anaesthetics. Feeling somewhat better this morning but thankfully this is my day of work so I’m gonna rest as much as possible. Been using a heating pad, might switch to a nice pack and see if it helps. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/46 "2013-12-09T20:43:11Z")
It sounds like you have more serious issues than I do, but let me put in my usual word for physical therapy. Even if you have an underlying problem they can’t fix (I have some degeneration in my S-I joint from an old injury), they can work wonders lending support to the problem area, making sure it’s as flexible as it should be, but also as strong as it should be. My husband and I both have problems with fascia and muscles kind of getting stuck. We both tend to the inflexible side, and when we have pain and start guarding (clenching the muscles around the painful area and avoiding certain movements), everything can get really tight and bound up. Then no amount of stretching will do a damn thing until a therapist digs her Fingers of Doom into the bound up area and releases it. I even have some suction cups I’m supposed to use to pull my tissue up off my spine! Anyway, doctors are wonderful, but they often don’t know all the fine nuances of treatment a good PT can figure out. Sometimes a person’s neck can hurt because of the way their foot tilts when they walk, for instance. A doctor will probably prescribe meds and neck stretches, but a physical therapist can ferret out the stride issue that’s causing the whole skeleton to be out of whack. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/47 "2013-12-09T23:49:57Z")
I’ve had physical therapists send patients like **MikeG** to me, saying “I think he needs and epidural injection, not PT.” I work closely with a LOT of physical therapists. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2013, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/48 "2013-12-10T00:40:32Z")
Update: I just sneezed without agonizing pain! Lately sneezes have been the most painful thing to happen to me. I’m taking that as progress:) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/49 "2013-12-11T06:10:24Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > … > Mama, they said they use propofol because they are sticking a big ass needle into my spine and **don’t want me squirming around** … (bolding mine) Ah yeah, that makes sense. And yes, propofol is good stuff - I have had numerous procedures using that. ---
**Author:** ![Kable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/50 "2013-12-13T03:47:14Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > I have not tried Kinesiology Tape. Honestly it seems a bit woo to me. I’d expect it to work as well as a copper bracelet. > [@](#): > > Got the MRI report back. Highlights: > > “left paracentral herniation extending into proximal left foramen displacing left S1 nerve root posteriorly”. > > “moderate central canal stenosis and mild to moderate left foraminal stenosis” > > “mild right foraminal stenosis and mild facet hypertrophy” > > “chronic endplate reactive change” > > Impression: left paracentral herniation at L5-S1 > > …Now, I’m a pretty smart guy but DAMN that’s some obtuse shit there. > > Any Docs or MRI diagnosticians wanna break that down into less than 3 syllable words? Lumbar spine discs are kind of like a jelly donut. Sounds to me like the jelly in the donut between your 5th lumbar and your 1st sacral vertebra is squished out the back side and is pinching the spinal cord in the center and on the left sides where your nerves exit the spinal cord. This is generally from bending foward at your waist too much and/or sitting with your spine rounded forward with poor low back support (sacral sitting) Also sounds like part of the jelly has gone up the top and/or bottom of the donut into the lumbar and/or sacral vertebra itself through the endplates (the top and bottom junction between the discs and the vertebral body bone above and below), all of which results in a donut that more or less deflated such that the facet joints (behind the donut and the vertebra) are banging together getting beat up (the mild facet hypertrophy). I’ve see the epidural cause near miracle like relief and I have seen them do nothing at all. Probably what you want to do is think about what caused you to blow out that disc in the first place and remove that stress from your life. Even if the epidural works great if you still have the same habits you will get the same problem again. General advice I would give for your problem is to sit straight, keeping the spine “neutral” with good lumbar support, ALWAYS. Improve your lifting, bending and sit to stand dynamics so you get your movement from your hips rather than at your spine, and improve strength and endurance of your core and LE muscles to allow you to do all that. Stretching your hips and hamstrings may help a little. Stretching your knees to your chest and twisting at the waist might feel good on tight muscles but the former is the exact stress that causes posterior disc herniation in the first place, and the latter helps it a long, and would likely irritate your already hypertrophied facet joints, thus MAKING YOU WORSE IN THE LONG RUN. Extension (backwards) stretches of the spine are are unlikely to help at this point since the jelly has left the donut and would likely just further irritate your facet joints. Everyone’s a bit different but that’s how I generally treat it. If you correct your posture your body should reabsorb the jelly that squished back into the spine and the pain should lessen or go away completely, but your donut will always be a little flat so you will always want to be extra careful how you sit and lift. Think of it as a lifestyle change. Once you get your “awareness” up with regards to what are bad positions you should be able to avoid bad positions without thinking about it, but you will probably have to think about it a lot in the near term. Stuart McGill material is really good if you want to learn more about spine mechanics, not IMO terribly technical but not all for laymen either. [http://backfitpro.com/](http://backfitpro.com/) I can go on and on but I’ll stop there. ---
**Author:** ![Kable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/51 "2013-12-13T11:18:33Z")
> [@astro](#): > > If the nerve is pinched between two discs and stretching helps to pull it out of that pinch (which it demonstrably does in many cases) why would it not be a useful therapy? If by stretching you mean flexing the spine, rounding the back or otherwise increasing tension on the rear of the disc while at the same time increasing compression on the front the reason is because that’s generally the exact motion that causes the disc herniation and the “pinch” in the first place. This model displays it really well: [http://www.dynamicdiscdesigns.com/shop/classic-lxh-lumbar-herniating-disc/](http://www.dynamicdiscdesigns.com/shop/classic-lxh-lumbar-herniating-disc/) Just play the 1 minute video. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/52 "2013-12-14T14:22:22Z")
Thanks for another great video and the info, Kable! They really help. I agree that the stretching might do more harm but what position would you suggest to relieve the pressure on the disc? ---
**Author:** ![Kable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/53 "2013-12-14T16:05:38Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Thanks for another great video and the info, Kable! They really help. > > I agree that the stretching might do more harm but what position would you suggest to relieve the pressure on the disc? I just did a google search and this image looks about right: [http://www.decubic.com/prototype/archikids/beta/fckediktor/photo/pice2.jpg](http://www.decubic.com/prototype/archikids/beta/fckediktor/photo/pice2.jpg) It’s hard to beat just laying down to lessen stress, and standing erect is better most positions. Sleeping at night however causes the discs to hydrate and get thicker, making them more prone to injury in the first hour of the morning. IIRC if you stay in bed 2 days they continue to hydrate beyond normal and that might be why continued bed rest would do more harm than good. Also in general people who stay active in spite of the pain tend to recover better, I think so long as that activity does not include a lot of bending forward at the waist. Also I think contributing to activity being better, is that when people lounge around the house while in pain they do so in chairs and couches that have no lumbar support and let the spine flex. Sitting isn’t really so bad so long as you support the low back, and standard throw pillows do a good job, you can just pile them up until it looks and feels right (generally where the pain is least with the low back slight to moderately concave. This is a pretty good intro on low back pain with a couple staring exercises that have been shown to start improving core muscle strength and endurance while putting minimal stress through the spine. The ball exercise he shows is a bit more advanced though. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/033ogPH6NNE/hqdefault.jpg "Waterloo's Dr. Spine, Stuart McGill") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=033ogPH6NNE) ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/54 "2014-01-07T22:59:03Z")
Just to add a note…I’ve had several epidurals, and I’ve never had any anesthesia (other than numbing the skin at the injection site). I’ve assisted the radiologists on many epis, but the hospital where I worked almost never used any sedation. The only times we did use it were when the patient took a mild oral sedative beforehand. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/55 "2014-01-07T23:51:09Z")
Could it be the type of epidural that necessitates the drugs? I had a transforaminal epidural. Eta: still feeling slowly better. I have good days. Still using 1/2-1 Vicodin per day. I am suffering from a lot of leg cramps though. Trying to hydrate more and take potassium. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/56 "2014-01-08T00:30:14Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > I obtained sudden relief like that from dangling upside down from a chairlift in my living room while stretching. Although not complete relief, things went from severe pain, numbness and weakness to some pain, some numbness and less weakness, which then improved over a few months thanks to meds and physio. Not that I’m advocating inversion therapy for anyone (wouldn’t want to make things worse) – just pointing out that it made a big difference for me given my particular matter. This. Hanging upside down was a regular part of my physiotherapy when I had the exact same situation (although I went to a physiotherapist where they had a special board they strapped my feel to and then inverted). Luckily, due to where I live, Oxycontin and an operation were never a question of cost. Good luck to you mate, I hate to think how it is feeling. But you need to build up those muscles too. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/57 "2018-04-07T02:42:06Z")
Aaaannnd it’s back. Twisted my back at work about 8 weeks ago. For some reason I got it in my head that it was piriformis this time so I worked on stretches for that. I think either sprained or tore it asnif severe pain in my left butt. Found a pain dr from a friend. Got meds, an mri and a steroid shot Cutting a bunch of text Pain is back but unbearable first thing in the am. I’m getting up and taking meds 2 hrs early so can hobble to bathroom with a walker. Left ass feels like constant spasm. As norco and flexeril and gabapentn and naproxen start to kick in I can stand and limp to work. It gets progressively better throughout the day but when I get home I’m exhausted and want to sit or lie down. BIG MISTAKE. Within ten minutes I feel the muscles starting to clench and pain returns Waiting for dr to answer calls hope to get another shot of cortisone. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/58 "2018-04-07T03:00:10Z")
> [@astro](#): > > I had crippling sciatica to the point I was walking with a cane about 15 years ago. The docs gave me some pain killers but they really didn’t help all that much. The pain was utterly debilitating. It was like a river of fire running up my leg. Was getting ready to go the x-rays and surgery route when one evening I needed to move a large piece of furniture. I live by myself so this involved hoisting and moving the entire piece by myself. > > After doing this a miracle happened and my pain simply washed away. It was as close to a religious experience as I have ever had. I’m in real estate and I told a martial arts client this a few months alter and he told me “you adjusted yourself like a chiropractor would”. Hmm… interesting good to know. > > Ok so three years later pain comes back getting worse so I go to chiropractor and pay lots of money and he takes X-rays, does electro stimulation, “adjusts” me so my back cracks and it was all just a useless, ineffective pile. > > But… because I went to him I found the answer. He left me alone in a room for a while as he attended to another patient. In that room was small life sized model of a section of the spine with the nerves running through it and I studied it. It showed sciatic pinching where the nerves get clamped between two discs. It was obvious now what I had done in moving the furniture and twisting to re-position the furniture was to pull those nerves back out of the pinch. > > But how was I going to get the perfect movement to un pinch the nerve? Did I just get lucky before? I’m pretty flexible for a man and I’m guessing you may be as well as that flexibility or ligament looseness may have contributed to the nerves slopping around and moving in the first place. What I did to mimic that movement and what worked was super intensive stretching exercises on my back on a mat in my living room while trying to pull my legs back over my head one at a time, both at once, making a bridge with my back with a ball underneath etc. The point was to try and pull the sciatic nerve back out of the pinch. > > And just so we’re clear I’m not talking about workout warm up type stretching. I’m talking about pushing yourself so hard you are bent in two like a pretzel or your leg is practically back past your head and you scream and yell. About 10 or so minutes at a shot of this stretching was all I could stand. After 3-5 sessions over the course of a week of this the sciatic pain started to subside and finally went away. I had moved the nerve back out of the pinch. > > I’m not saying this is a cure all but it worked for me in moving the nerve back out of the pinch. Weightlifting and back and core strengthening exercises have worked to keep it out. I’ve had to do this twice since over the years and the exercises have worked every time. I’ve found I’m much more prone to it happening if I’m not exercising. Thats interesting. Has nobody listed those exercises in a book, did you just come up with them yourself? ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/59 "2018-04-07T03:55:18Z")
I tried a variety of PT and drugs but only got significant relief from spine surgery. I wish I had done it earlier. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2018, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579/60 "2018-04-07T04:02:20Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > I tried a variety of PT and drugs but only got significant relief from spine surgery. I wish I had done it earlier. That’s really interesting. I’ve spoken to well over a hundred people who have had lower back surgery and you are the third one that had anything positive to say about it! Did you have fusion, a microdiscectomy, or something else? How long was recovery? Sorry if I’m asking a lot but I’m really hoping I don’t have to go that route. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-sciatica-pain-relief-suggestions/673579.md?page=4)