Mine was nowhere near as bad as some above but quite a few years have elapsed so there might be something of value in my experience. Christmas Eve 2010 I was on a trip round New Zealand and went into spasm for the first time. Went to a back specialist physio and after sitting on me he gave up, gave me a large whisky and about 2 days worth of diclophenac in one tablet. Got codeine and valium from somewhere else and spent Christmas talking gibberish but immobile on the floor. Couldn’t move for a couple of days. Spasms are horrific as described by others. The shape they contort your body into is frightening to look at. In my case though, a few days later I could achieve some movement and as soon as I could I did and it worked wonders. Result was that once I could walk I could walk a couple of miles and 3 days after that I was good for a proper hike. Relief of symptoms was oddly quick.

6 months (almost to the day) later I had a repeat, about to start team lap 2 at Mountain Mayhem, track standing in a crowd, back spasmed, hit the deck, ambulance car, injected anti inflammatories. Similar recovery to before except only took the anti inflammatories. On the floor til Tuesday when I managed to go for a dump for the first time; to say that was a relief is an understatement. Thursday walked a couple of miles. A year later I did the Megavalanche, LEJOG and normal riding. I had recurrences about every 6 months which got less severe and I learned to feel them coming. Physio, Pilates, walking and riding helped. Any massage from not a proper physio i run a mile from.

Nowadays I get back stiffness sometimes but it’s not that frequent. Had it the last 4 days. Got myself to ride yesterday, but walking up the hills. That worked nicely. Today I went for a normal MTB ride except walking and stretching on the steeper climbs. I find mountain biking about the best thing for it. Move around on the bike, exercise, stretch as I go, but no great force through the back. Even the rough stuff seems to shake sense into my back if symptoms are only mild.

So for me, exercise is both prevention and cure. Even when it’s bad, moving it is good.

A family member who’s a professor of biomechanics in the USA gave me the analogy when I was lying on the floor that time, aged 34, that your discs are like a sack of gel and a prolapse is a break in the sack and a leak in the gel, but then as you age they change consistency until at around 40 they’re more like cheddar cheese. Cheddar doesn’t prolapse. So there’s a benefit to middle age!

Thx Bushwacked,
For sure there is damaging pain and strengthening pain. I am over 60 but no stranger to the 180 kilo leg press.
With full spine support of course.

Luket, thanks.
Seems like yours is a sometimes severe spasm. Mine is disc prolapse. (I’m over 60) I never sit. I’m a full time no sitting rider. Prostate reasons.

My current issue is severe, unfortunately
24 days in and the pain seems to be worsening, its catching up with the meds as they are upped.
300mg x3, 3x day of Gabapentin seemed enough for a couple of days. Now the pain is becoming too much for it so I’m needing to add Morphine in the evening and at night. Even fully loaded with meds the pain when moving is never gone, it just becomes more bearable.

I suppose the next step might be to add back Tramadol. The hospital took me off that. There was a poster above who mentioned taking both Gabapentin and Tramadol (and morphine as needed) for an extended period to manage L4/5 pain.

I’ll ask the doc. A friend sent a Wikipedia page about Gabapentin which said it doesn’t work for everyone and sometimes opiates have to be added.

I am struggling with the exercises. For sure I want to keep moving but anything that irritates the nerve seems to set me back.

How will I heal? Does the nerve move away from the disc? Maybe it’s swollen and will shrink back with time, but surely not if I keep irritating it – every stabbing pain is an irritation of the nerve, right?

A chat with the NHS physio later today will clear some of this up I hope.

Thanks guys. Good to know I’m not alone in this and that many of you have healed without surgery.

Neil

So then, on Saturday afternoon I appear to have involuntarily joined this club! 🙁

Unpacked my XC race bike & took it out for the first time in 6 months following a solid Winter of road riding mileage. Had a nice local 2.5 xc ride, very tame lanes & gravel trails just to check the xc bike over.

Suffered unusually high pressure on my wrists in final 30mins of the ride & slight left knee tightness but put this down to change in position from road to XC bike. Anyway, finish the ride at home and then when it comes to getting off the bike I barely can, and when I do get off am absolutely gob smacked that I can no longer stand up straight without total nerve agony in my lower most back!

Crawl in the house & have then spent the past 48hrs lay out flat on the bedroom floor on a very slim, super hard mattress we had stored away, regular is no good and doesn’t ease the pain. Saturday night pain like I’ve never experienced before.

I’m still flat on the makeshift bed today but have been standing every 90mins or so and then returning back to the floor just to try to get some movement. Any half quick movements lead to fairly monumental lower back spasm / jolts of pain. I can not stand for more than 4-5 mins before there’s a build up of pressure in my lower back and the associated back spasms commence.

Also worrying me is that my torso is no longer straight if viewed head on from the front. My hips have visibly shifted a decent few cms to the right and my upper body is sitting off Centre from my lower half??!! I presume the 48hrs of back spasms have overly tightened my lower back and caused a shift, hope its temporary! :-O

Currently awaiting GP appointment phone call back and health insurance physio call back.

I had prolapsed/burst discs in my lower back in 1987. A couple of weeks on traction then after a scan (new tech in those days), I was told I needed an operation and would have 25% chance of walking again. On my feet next morning, six months later back as an operational firefighter. Completed 32years and now completed 10 years as a bicycle mechanic. The operation was NOT keyhole and I think that can be the difference in success sometimes, there’s a lot of nerves in that area. Hope this helps, any inspiration needed pm me.

Herniated L5-S1 when I was just 23 from a waterskiing accident. Really bloody painful. It took me about 6 months before I could walk properly again, and another 6 months to get my confidence back to lift things/run/mountain bike.

Saw an expensive chiropractor and made very slow progress (only later realised what pseudo-scientific nonsense that is) before switching to a proper physio and rapidly improved.

I sympathise completely with your pain – know that with patience you can make great progress and recover fully. Wishing you a smooth recovery!

I had an op on a L4-5 about 12 years ago. Pain had become too much and too constant despite pain killers, injections etc. A few weeks after I was fine. Fast forward to last summer, sleeping on a very soft bed on holiday and a familiar bad sensation when I woke up. That was 6 months ago and I think it’s starting to mend.

Amyway, what I wanted to say was my pain management specialist said that 95% heal by themselves as the herniated disk is remodelled by your body. I had not heard that before so I wonder if it squares with what you’ve been told?

Bennyboy call 111
Have you googled Caude Equina?
Ideally treated within 48 hours.

Robertgray05, wheelsonfire (Julie Driscoll, eh?),
good feedback thanks
Dr J
Yes I’ve been told to think of the prolapsed disc as similar to a cut on your skin. Healing involves swelling (inflammation) which gradually subsides. It’s the swelling that’s pressing the nerve.
Some say that 2 years after an injury those who had an op and those who didn’t are largely in the same place.
It can recur.
Looks like I MAY be a candidate for the a spinal injection to kill pain and allow my disc to heal naturally
(that X-Ray guided injection would apparently cost 3K in the USA, lucky us to have the NHS)
Blimey.

12 years ago I had a prolapsed disc, L5 S1, like others here. It was at 3am while taking a piss! I had to stagger out of the loo holding on to the kitchen counter tops for support. I’ve never felt anything like it.

Looking back I had been suffering a sore back for years and gave up playing competitive squash because of it. Rode XC on the bike more but always ached afterwards. An office job and lots of driving thrown in did it no good either and I had sciatica for months before the night it went.

I had 4 weeks off work in bed and almost went for surgery but the surgeon opted not to as the pain was receding. Naproxen, Tramadol and Codeine Sulphate fried my brain for months but kept the pain at bay. Physio, careful pain management, occasional ibuprofen and years of Pilates has helped massively.

I still get the occasional twinge if I do something stupid, but it recovers in a day or two. I’m super careful about what and how I lift anything now.

I know it was a while ago now, but my physio did say that many disc ruptures do repair themselves naturally, they just need time and careful physio. He was glad I didn’t have the surgery.

So six weeks in today.
Saw the specialist last week – he talked to the epidural injection guys who refused to put me on their waiting list because my unresponsive calf is unexplained by my L4/5 prolapse.
He couldn’t see anything of significance at L5/S1.
I’m taking Gabapentin (4,4,4) Amitriptyline (3, evening)
ibuprofen and paracetamol plus Oramorph 30ml/day.
That lot are making me feel pretty “calm”.
I’ve been told THC drops will help so I am trying to get some.
Yesterday, after a better sleep, I found I can stand up straight and also sit with my leg straight. Both were firsts since the injury flared up.
Good sleep last night but more pain this am, so I guess it’s going to be a cyclical recovery.
I can feel the corner approaching but perhaps have not turned it yet.

I’d love to know why my left calf is 60% dead (unresponsive). They have me on the list for a nerve conductivity test. Might take a while they said.
Thanks for all the feedback. Disc issues are pretty common I guess as time passes and a lifetime of injuries catch us up.

Neil

Bennyboy1
Yeah the shift is typical.
I have / had that too.
6 weeks rest – avoiding any painful movement allowing the nerve to calm down – to some sort of recovery seems typical.
You’ll need the right painkillers to get on top of it and get some sleep. Gabapentin and Amitriptyline seem to be a fairly standard approach.
Their effect increases with time – both can take up to 6 weeks to work fully.
An MRI is of limited use, because a very large proportion of people have some kind of prolapse and the majority of them never noticed any issues.
So, your issue can be connected to something revealed by the MRI, but may not be.
Backinshape seems a good resource.
They have some free stage 1 stuff to get you started out.
Hip hinge and straight back seems to be the way to live / ride. Keep the spine straight and stable. No “get aero” if that means curving the spine.
A GOOD Pilates class is a great way to teach the subconscious to look after the “core” I’d call it “core awareness” rather than core strength.
Have a look at Dr Eric Goodman’s “Foundation” training. There’s a great 12 min video on UTube
I messed mine up whilst doing underfloor electrical work and I blame bad posture due to 12 months off from my weekly Pilates since the studio closed 1st lockdown.
In the absence of Pilates, regular Foundation Training would have saved me perhaps but, hey, hindsight is always 20/20.

https://youtu.be/4BOTvaRaDjI

Good luck
Keep us posted.
Neil

I can feel the corner approaching but perhaps have not turned it yet

Good luck, sounds like you’re going down a different path than I did, but I still took the best part of 6 months to get back o a bike and start rebuilding BUT remember that rebuilding is possible, I’ve put in some of the best riding of my life since getting most of my L5/S1 chopped out 🙄

Hip hinge and straight back seems to be the way to live / ride. Keep the spine straight and stable. No “get aero” if that means curving the spine.

This is good advice, my return to cycling happened to co-incide with experimenting with cut-out/short nose saddles which allowed me to rotate pelvis a lot more and keep a flat back, even on road bike. I didn’t realise how useful this effect was until I started messing about with conventional saddles which gradually forced me into more of a flexed lower back position. Amazing how quickly all the old pains returned!

Thanks 13FM
I do feel I may be at the corner. (Time to let go of the brakes)
I’ve now had about 4 decent nights sleep – after 40+ agonising nights.
I had an Upledger CST session yesterday from a master practitioner and I feel far better for the feeling of contact with my inner workings it’s given me. I’m definitely feeling taller.
So it’s either that the Gabapentin has started to work properly (that can take 6 weeks) or I am healing.
I’m hoping it’s the healing and that I am one of the 85%.
The specialist told me 85% of patients suffering from what used to be called a slipped disc recover in about 6 weeks. I’m certainly not recovered as the unmedicated first thing in the morning pain is quite bad. But at last I can now stand straight and move about without supporting myself on the furniture.
Good luck to anyone suffering this as I did.
I’ve never felt pain like it.
Insist on proper medication. The Oramorph is what got me through the periods between taking the Gabapentin and Amitriptyline.
They say morphine doesn’t help with nerve pain but that’s definitely not true for me.

Bit of free gold dust here imo.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4BOTvaRaDjI
I just bought his book and once I can use it I’ll report back.
N

The tone of my previously almost disconnected calm muscle is slowly returning. That was the symptom most worrying the specialist I saw.

I’ve rigged up a way of measuring calf strength progress at home using kettlebells on the kitchen table and the bathroom scale.
It’s lifting 20k now. Long way to go to about 100k (weighted single left calf raise, bodyweight plus a decent kettlebell) but it’s a step.

I wrote to the Foundation Training team (book I mentioned previously) and they wanted me to avoid exercising whilst on painkillers. Playing by it safe I think, as the NHS physio wants me doing anything I can manage. Apparently the nerve is inflamed by being trapped and lack of movement makes it worse. Keeping moving helps healing.

Double edged sword that, as irritating the nerve with movement makes it bloody painful a few hours later.

Surgery has been discussed now, but as progress is being made I have a reassessment in 2 weeks.

At last I am sleeping through after 40+ nights of agony.

It’s almost 6 months since I was called in out of the blue for my operation by the surgeon who was looking at my MRI and saw I was one sneeze away from Cauda Equina syndrome and a life in nappies.
Mine is a wholly good story, so I won’t run your noses in it (but it’s great to be windsurfing again and getting PBs on Follow the Dog and Monkey).
But some of the numbness in my toes has only recently gone away. I think nerve damage and bruising can take months to recover.

My story continues. I’m now 7 weeks in from the onset of serious pain (and almost 4 months in from the event that seems to be what caused the actual prolapse).
Saw the Brighton spinal triage specialist yesterday and, in the light of reduced pain and of my calf muscle starting to awaken (showing a bit of tone and able to support 30kg) he now feels surgery is not indicated. There’s still a nerve impingement but what nerve remains that’s still partially activating my calf should gradually activate mire and more over time.
I am feeling heartened.
The spine surgery info he referred me to was bloody scary.
There’s still the occasional, position dependent, acute pain which can last a few minutes, but that I can deal with.
There’s an element of fear early on that subsides as you get used to it and believe it’s not permanent.

I’ve managed to cut down on the oral morphine but conversely am now taking Zomorph – it’s a background morphine, slow release 2x10mg a day. WAY less than the self administered 72mg I had to take (in liquid form) one really bad day early on.
I’ve been sleeping through for a couple of weeks now. After 49+ nights of agonising wakefulness that’s a real blessing.
Anyone reading this who has recently been diagnosed. It’s potentially a long long road and I am nowhere near in sight of the end, but do persevere. Take the drugs. Try keep moving and don’t let depression take you over.
The Gabapentin and Amitriptyline will certainly help with that.
Onwards and upwards
I hope.

15 weeks in
Walking is still awkward due to limping (inactive left calf muscle) it has, however, picked up strength. Last report 2 months back it could support 30 K, now it’s 50.
I did have the nerve conductivity study, a pretty straightforward test which gave ok results. The consultant said that and my recovery process show that my remaining nerves are branching out to recruit the “disconnected” muscle parts.
Im titrating off the Gabapentin.
4 at 8am, 4 at 2 pm, 4 at 9pm has become
3,4,3
Amitriptyline down to 2 evenings from three.
All positive steps. Once I can walk more smoothly things will speed up I believe. Walking is a great back exercise.

Hi guys,

Just thought I would resurrect this thread to see how everyone is getting on?

I’ve recently joined the Sciatica club for the second time.

First was about 10 years ago, L4/5 on the right side with Laminectomy surgery to cure the sciatica pain, I was living in London at the time and wasn’t doing much exercise.
I’ve been riding properly for any 6 years now and really been focusing on fitness in the past few years.

Unfortunately since March my back has been slowly deteriorating with pain starting across the top of my right butt cheek. I started seeing an osteopath who had given some relief, and the local NHS physio unit but unfortunately the sciatic pain carried on getting worse getting down into my foot.

I carried on with my stretching/fitness exercises and riding as these always eased the pain. I did something I don’t know what and it suddenly got worse and I’m now at a stage where I can’t stand up straight, walk more than 50m, can’t sit normally, and lying down in most positions causes pain.
I was referred for an MRI which showed bulging L5/S1 disc and I’ve now got an appointment with a consultant at the start of November. I’m on Etoricoxib for anti-inflammatory, Gabapentin for nerve pain, Dihydrocodeine, diazepam, paracetamol but to be honest they just scratch the surface and just make me have naps in inappropriate places.
I’ve also moved from the NHS physio as they did FA apart from 3 exercises which actually made things worse, apparently Physios don’t do any hands on anymore, and I’m now seeing the Osteopath.

Basically I’m just here to hear from people with similar conditions that things will get better. I’ve ordered the book linked earlier.
If anyone has any good exercises that they can suggest to help ease the pain or strengthen the area that would be great. And any recommendations of decent Physios/Osteopath in Horsham area I’ll be happy to give them a try.

Thanks very much

Bump to see if any of the Sciatic Team are about.

I’m still pretty immobile but my consultant appointment is just over a week away so that is a date to hopefully get some progress.

The local MSK unit moved me over to the NHS Osteopath and they were better at relieving my upper back pain which has been caused by the way I have to move around however they said to just move around as little as possible and do no stretches or exercises.

I got a TENS machine which I thought would be snake oil but with the pads placed either side of where I get pain it gives some relief.

How is everyone else getting on?

I think I said on this thread or one of the others that physiotherapy didn’t help me, but the pilates (that my physiotherapist recommended) did, so I’ll recommend pilates again.

I had about 6 sessions of 1-1 which gave me enough to use on my own regularly or when it feels like it might be playing up.