Whilst training to do the London marathon back in January I 'hurdled' a puddle which in turn pulled a hamstring which went on to manifest itself in various ways such as:
Back pain
'Hot' sensation in buttocks
Lack of flexibility in bending
Tight hamstrings
Throbbing in legs
A tightness in a band under my knees
The pain can be in either leg (it is particularly uncomfortable in my left leg at the moment but the original injury was in my right).
I have seen a private physio but at £50 a pop I gave up on that when I realised I wouldn't be repaired in time for the marathon. I then did a very short run (1.2k as I was showing my little girl how to pace for an upcoming cross country race) which resulted in 24 hours of pins and needles in my feet which panicked me so I went to the docs who prescribed some pills (I forget the name but I have had them before for various biking/snowboarding injuries to reduce swelling) and he referred me to the hospital physio.
I have done no end of stretches and been manipulated to within an inch of my life but any improvements have been small and I feel nowhere near able to run and suffer almost continuous discomfort – I wouldn't say 'pain' as such, it is more of a background throbbing/nagging issue but still uncomfortable at times.
So - does anyone have any experience/advice etc that I might be able to add to routines to try to shake this annoying thing off?
Ta
I struggled with similar symptoms (sciatic pain, tight/sore butt and lower back pain/immobility) for a couple of years. Tried all sorts including yoga, physio, various stretches, youtube vids, muscle releases etc etc.
The only things that seem to keep it at bay are plenty of regular (i.e. daily):
- Lunges (hip flexors)
- Squats (glutes)
- Plank (core)
As soon as I back of doing these regularly the pain creeps back up.
Good luck!
After years of sh*te with my back. I've found Pilates (combined with gluteus and hamstring stretches) has been the only thing that helped with my sciatica. I try and do 20-30 min session every other day - but have found that if I don't do the exercises for about 7-10 days, the sciatica starts playing up again. IME, not all Pilates is the same, and I'd strongly recommend finding a physio led class (preferably one who has APPI qualifications).
HTH
When I had first had a flair up of sciatica, I had similar symptoms to you. I believe it started out as a lower back 'injury' which later became pins and needles/tingling in my right foot. It was very uncomfortable and worrying initially.
I immediately had a course of physiotherapy. This focused on improving mobility in my lower back in combination with some core strengthening exercises. Oddly, this resulted in the sciatica subsiding but the lower back pain returning. The Physio was actually pleased with this!
I've subsequently modified some of my behaviors e.g. I'm much more conscious of my posture and try to avoid slouching and sitting in one position (work desk) for too long. I have maintained my activity levels, so I still run, cycle, play Golf but I have built more stretching and core strength work in to my routine. Yoga also helps.
If I let the stretches and strength exercises slip or I do something particularly strenuous for my lower back (two days of digging and laying turf will do it!), I have a flare up. But, at least I now know what it is and how to get back to an even keel. I find a Nurofen helps with the symptoms if it's really bothersome.
Wot Tired said. January I had an episode. Only now getting something like good again.
Physio, Yoga and core work seem to have it on the run for now. Fully expect it to be a feature of life from now on though.
EDIT. I did have an MRI scan to see where the issues were. No that it disagreed with what the Physio diagnosed but I wanted to be sure in my own mind.