# Sciatica
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sciatica/749987
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [March 23, 2016, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sciatica/749987 "2016-03-23T23:02:09Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)
#### Post date: [March 25, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sciatica/749987/21 "2016-03-25T22:49:05Z")
My sciatica is disk related and I stumbled on a very helpful bit of advice last go around, placing a pillow under thighs and knees when sitting and lying takes a lot of the pain out of those positions. Support the upper leg if a side sleeper.
Nerve pain is horrendous, I would give almost anything for a guarantee it would never strike again. Losing half my bodyweight and becoming stronger than most people wasn’t enough.
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2016, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sciatica/749987/22 "2016-03-26T00:49:00Z")
> [@Merneith](#):
>
> John, can you elaborate on the exercises your PT had you do? I had a bout with this a couple months ago that I only survived because I have the opposite of addict face.
Very hard to describe, and I’m going form memory from about 10 years ago… One is that, while standing, put one ankle on the opposite knee. Then bend at the waste. Another one is to lie on your back, tuck in one leg and bring it up towards your chest. Then twist it to the side while keeping your back straight.
It takes some practice to get to where you are actually stretching the muscles/tendon area affected. And often the problem is not isolated just to the sciatica, but to the lower back, glutes, etc. (Knee bone connected to the leg bone, leg bone connected to the…).
Best to actually go to a PT and have them demonstrate how to do the stretches. They are not easy to do correctly-- at least they weren’t for me.
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### Author:  [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2016, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sciatica/749987/23 "2016-03-26T01:06:59Z")
It used to drive me nuts, the shooting pain all the way down to below my left knee. I finally figured out what to do - I moved my wallet from my back pocket to the front. When I wasn’t sitting sideways all the time, it cleared up for good.
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### Author:  [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sciatica/749987/24 "2016-03-26T17:23:34Z")
> [@Biggirl](#):
>
> If you’re gonna hurt this much you should be doing some kind of damage, don’t you think? No, you’re just useless pain. Useless, agonizing, debilitating goddamned whorecunting Trump supporting nerve fuck. Fuck you you piece of shit fucking literal pain in my ass.
>
> Fuck fuck fuck.
>
> I’ll go drag my leg away and cry now.
There are a number of sciatica related videos on YouTube. I had a fairly bad (for me, but your’s sounds worse) case during the power outage in 2012 after Sandy. I was hauling around wood most of the day and the lifting made me progressively more sore as the cold days wore on.
After I got power back and could use my computer I found a simple exercise on YouTube that worked for me. I tried several before trying the one that worked. To this day I use it every night before going to bed. I still have pain some days, but not nearly as bad as it was in 2012. Try different things. People (and their nerve pinches) vary.
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### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sciatica/749987/25 "2016-03-26T17:37:52Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> Very hard to describe, and I’m going form memory from about 10 years ago… One is that, while standing, put one ankle on the opposite knee. Then bend at the waste. .
This ‘sounds’ like a piriformis stretch, was it something like [this](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/e7/99/99/e79999c0bf4f598d7470421cdfded29e.jpg)
Personally I use a piri-stretcher to do the [pigeon pose](https://trythaiyogamassage.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/reclined-pigeon-pose.jpg) when my sciatica acts up (luckily I have a very mild case).
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### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sciatica/749987/26 "2016-03-26T17:39:35Z")
> [@Thylacine](#):
>
> My sciatica is disk related and I stumbled on a very helpful bit of advice last go around, placing a pillow under thighs and knees when sitting and lying takes a lot of the pain out of those positions. Support the upper leg if a side sleeper.
>
> Nerve pain is horrendous, I would give almost anything for a guarantee it would never strike again. Losing half my bodyweight and becoming stronger than most people wasn’t enough.
A [coccyx cushion](http://www.amazon.com/Coccyx-Seat-Cushion-Maximum-Sciatica/dp/B00K0ZI1YW) is good too. It’ll take pressure off your spine and put it on your buttocks instead.
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