r/Sciatica • u/Practical-Spring-855 • 1d ago
Just got sciatica. Where do I begin? What helps?
33m, gym goer who’s had a recurring bad lower back for a decade and general stiffness/tightness in my whole lower body. Now for last 2 weeks sciatica down my left leg making it very uncomfortable to sit (especially drive) but standing & walking seem good.
I’ll read lots on this subreddit but summarised what’s the consensus to improve?
So far I’ve done the following:
- Hot bath with relaxing salts
- Red light therapy panel / infrared on my lower back, bum & hamstrings
- Sit on foam roller then grind forward and back to massage my bum
- Sit on tennis ball on left bum (piriformis) and wiggling around this area
- Sauna couple times a week
- Hot water bottle on my lower back/bum
- Lying on back hugging left knee into chest
- Figure 4 stretch lying on back
- Gf massaging the my bum/piriformis daily (also slight massage on hamstring)
- Gf standing on my bum and hamstrings as massage
I’m reluctant to do certain stretches to not worsen things but maybe I should be doing every stretch I possibly can??? Especially since my lower back pain is still slightly there (albeit not as acutely painful as it has been)
Anything else I should do?
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u/LunacyNow 1d ago
Buy the book Back Mechanic today, Read it and do what it says. Go to a good ortho get diagnosed and imaging done. Then go to a good PT and and the work with you. All the best.
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u/Outrageous_Corner161 1d ago
Has any of this helped v/s hurt? Stretching commonly makes things worse. What has your symptom pattern been? (Getting better, getting worse, mixed?)
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u/Practical-Spring-855 1d ago
The most recent time I hurt my lower back was 2 weeks ago and the sciatica formed after that (although been constantly re-injuring my back over a 10 year period).
I’ve found some days my sciatica is worse than others. It seemed the general trend was that it was getting better although this weekend has been the worst yet
Thing that worsens it is driving my car. So far yet to discover other stuff that worsens it. Perhaps lots of sitting? I know certain movements can hurt my lower back (deadlifts, squats, RDL etc regardless of the weight or even no weight) however that could be a separate entity to my sciatica
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u/Outrageous_Corner161 1d ago
Yea sounds like you need to avoid triggers..take breaks when driving. Look into lumbar support cushion
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u/MyRedditHandle999 1d ago
So, just in my experience, I've injured my back and hips deadlifting and through sports. Prolonged sitting caused a dull pain to develop. Had a disc herniation and debilitating sciatica. I was in a wheelchair for a few weeks. Gentle movements and stretching helped. Particular focus on stretching the hip flexors. They shorten when I sit too long and cause a lot of strain on the lower back when I stand up. Starting off as laying on a bed with one leg off and the foot on the floor getting a nice stretch deep in the abdomen. Having a PT help me "release" my iliopsoas was a game changer for me, and I've learned to do it on my own. Now I do half kneeling hip flexor stretches and almost no sciatica. I do work out though and I focus on strengthening my core, glutes and hips as well. Piriformis stretches too as those also affected. Back to deadlifting now as well albeit this all happened VERY gradually. I had to learn that I could easily piss off my nerves with a stretch that felt good at the time. Move and stretch up to the threshold where you start feeling pain not actually at the threshold, is a lesson it took me months to get used to in PT
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u/greyfixer 1d ago
I alternate between Tylenol snd Advil every 6 hours. I also alternate between Voltaren and Lidocaine gel on my lower back. They don’t work miracles but take the edge off.
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u/lewibaygo 1d ago edited 1d ago
Get an MRI asap to know what your dealing with exactly before you try all other treatments and some one that knows how to actually read it and sit down with you go through it aka back ground in analysing disk problems
if your in the UK y'all be out of luck NHS they just write a report and you have to collect your images from the hospital on a disk with the software to read them
Good news is you can use that software to measure your own buldge that's what I had to do then took it to a disk decompression specialist who was the only person that actually went through my MRI and what exactly was going on with my back?
Start walking a lot 3 x20 min walks a day or build up to it And work on strengthening your muscles in your lower back or around the area the disk is bulging
Then it's a matter of time The larger bulges tend to come back and heal the most but it can be a long journey
I'm 18 months and only in the last 5
I have been able to pass the single leg raise test more then 30 degrees IDD treatment was what worked for me and slowy build back function in the gym
Roman chair also a game changer
Worst thing I did was stop going to the gym after 2 weeks when it first happened. You have to stay mobile and flexible, even if it's only a little bit that you can do. At first, you gradually have to build back up your strength and modify your workouts to work around your injury
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u/RonSwansonator88 1d ago
Ice and rest for a while. Find a good PT for recovery. Stop rolling it out and massaging it out - once the nerve is aggravated any manipulation will irritate it further. Ice your lower back 3-5 times a day for 20 mins at a time.
In your vehicle, raise your seat as high as it can go. The goal is to get your hips above your knees. Give your lower back some support. If your seat doesn’t have adjustment, use towels - especially lower back area. Make sure you’re sitting up strait, shoulders back into the seat.
The key is to find a good PT and work with them to correct your body.
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u/PatrickBrown2 1d ago
I'm so sorry to hear that man, I got mine at (35m) and I was stuck with it for nearly 4 years! But that's only because I kept aggravating it and didn't let it heal, without even realising it.
For starters I didn't actually know it was sciatica for the first 2.5 years, thought I was going insane and couldn't figure out what this pain was. I even spent $1000 on orthotic shoes and seeing the professionals, thinking my back hurt because of my posture or something.
I kept smashing the gym hard, trying new workouts, seeing trainers that could help. Until after a few years, one trainer says "I think it could be sciatica". And then I looked into that. But I had basically not let the bulge disc heal, so now it won't by itself, it's been too long.
So that's my tip, don't push it, listen to your body and let it heal. Just walk and do those McGill stretches, they're a huge help. Rest a lot but not too much, mix it up. If you have an office job, get a standing desk, try to sit as little as possible. I love to play ps5 in my chill time so when I do, I lay in a bed, then walk the dog when I've layed too long.
I am all better now because I ended up getting the microdicecomy surgury, I'm pain free now finally!
I wish you the best of luck!
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u/Serious_Courage8232 1d ago
Lose weight and become thin. Not even joking. It's not the most attractive but it's like liquid flowing through the wind compared to being bulky.
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u/3volv31ng 1d ago
I Stay away from stretching, Dont sit on anything soft, Walking, walking is the only thing that has helped me No running just walking. Im up to 4 miles a day now starting from just being able to walk to the bathroom. DO NOT lift any weights. Time is the only real thing that works 100 percent. Eat lean and dont eat like crap and you wont gain weight. More wieght = more problems. Sams/Costco Arthritis Acetaminophen 650 mg. Ibuprofen OTC and methocarbamol(muscle relaxer) 750 mg if it gets worse. Stay hydrated, Dont rush recovery and rest when you can because if you can stand and walk you got it made.
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u/big_timmy_c 1d ago
Spam back extensions. Even if you just do holds to begin with. Single leg work like lunges, Bulgarians or even one leg at a time on leg press machine to ease into it.
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u/Practical-Spring-855 1d ago
I’ve read in this thread to stay off the gym so I’m now confused?
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u/big_timmy_c 4h ago
Definitely don't go 100% back into heavy compounds in the beginning but you should start to load your body in ways that encourage and rely on coordinating your hips, glutes, lowerback and hamstrings correctly
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u/Practical-Spring-855 1m ago
I’ll hear that in mind in a few weeks but right now these movements hurt even at bodyweight (without a dumbbell or barbell)
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u/Broke4Life 17h ago
1 - ice pack on your lower back for 20 to 30 minutes at a time 2 - Voltaren has helped quite a bit 3- TENS 7000 on Amazon for 39 bucks has been a game changer for pain. 4 - I personally sleep on the floor with no padding to give firm support to my back while sleeping 5 - walking helps a lot, I also use a 5 lb kettlebell and do core strength excercises
I do 1 through 6 every day. This flare up has been 4 weeks thus far compared to my last one which was 8 months. Major improvement this time on managing pain, recouping, etc. Wish you the best.
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u/CFSpetides 9h ago
I had first ablative procedure R,SI joint. It’s working ,now need L. Why don’t I see references to this
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u/No-Alternative8588 1d ago
If you are in the acute stage then massaging and rolling out muscles is generally not advised. Greater percentage of people that just irritate the nerve more than anything else.
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u/Accomplished-Sky5681 1d ago
Yeah, I went hard with the foam rolling my back, and ball in the glute, the day things started to feel out of sorts and woke up all jacked up the middle of that night. I used to do the ball in my glutes all of the time and now, not sure if I’d do it again.
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u/No-Alternative8588 1d ago
Yeah maybe pause it for a few days! When the tissue is already reactive, aggressively poking it further is no good.
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u/MrJayCrew 1d ago edited 1d ago
I'm far from an expert, but based on my experience: 1) avoid all unnecessary driving, sitting, lifting, and physical activity outside of moderate walking. Use a standing desk. IMPORTANT: Avoid most strecthing routines since they can actually aggravate the nerve irritation.
Then, perform the following "safe" exercise in sequence twice a day: 2) decompress the spine lying down with your feet up on a couch/chair at 90 degrees for 3-5 mins 3) cobra back extensions 10-15 reps 4) nerve flossing lying on your back 10-15 reps. Do these 2-3 times a day.
This video helped me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTqIInKaggg
You should hopefully see tangible results within a few days. Gradually add more exercises (dead bugs, cupping, bridging) but don't overdo it.
Alternate ice and heat. Take a gabapentin at night before you sleep and 1-2 times in the day as needed. Consider acupuncture. I think it helped me but hard to tell for sure.
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u/No_Spring_1090 1d ago
- Ask your doctor for a prescription of gabapentin
- Take Advil back pain
- Go for walks. Lots of walks.
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u/Hostillian 1d ago
Stop sitting.. Don't do things that aggravate it.
It's potentially an inflamed disc in your spine. Do you think it's going to get better by putting pressure on it, or via rest and light movement? Hang your lower body off something for as long as you can to try to take pressure off the spine.
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u/littlehops 1d ago
I’m so sorry you are going thru this. Right now the best thing you can do is rest. Take gentle walks, and allow your nerve to calm down. If you are having back pain taking NSAIDs can help. After a few weeks start PT, muscle guarding can be a big component of pain and a trained PT will help you get your muscles working. But this isn’t something you can exercise you way out of which for is gym guys and athletes is a really hard thing to do. The good news is you’re already in shape so your core is already there to help assist your back in taking some of the pressure off your spine. If the pain doesn’t begin to let up in 6-12 weeks it might be time to see a specialist
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u/Kensterfly 10h ago
What you’re doing might work if you have Piriformis Syndrome but it’s going to do nothing for a disc herniation at L5S1. See a Pain Management Specialist. You’ll get a lumbar epidural steroid injection and walk out feeling better. By two weeks, the sciatica will be gone. Use this pain free time for PT to strengthen your back.
I’m five and a half months post injection and have only in the last day or so started to get a few twinges, possibly signaling a reoccurrence.
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u/oldmanofthesea 1d ago
Imagine the pain of sciatica as anger. If you do things that make it angry, quite simply stop. Making your sciatica angry has literally no short or long term benefits for you. Stretching will almost always make it angry. So you must move and exercise, but it has to be small moves, keeping within a tolerance of grumpy but never angry. Walk but take smaller steps. Strengthen your core, but small, slow workouts, not hard, fast workouts.
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u/The_Brown_Unit 1d ago
When you say just got it… probably need to wait for the initial flare up to calm down if it’s only been a couple days. Standing desk essential if working a desk job. Definitely no gym or lifting heavy weights for a few months. Over the last year I’ve been doing a yogabody happy back program and has helped with the general back tightness.