MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Ok my sciatica is back (ha,ha) with a vengeance after 4 years (relatively) pain free. Last time it was this bad it took 3 months to sort.
I can get physio through work so that isn't a problem, but is this going to be a problem for the rest of my life? Long term what are my optikon? GP appointment on Wed to get signed off work as I can't sit down for longer than an hour tops...🙁
It will most likely get better all on its own. That seems to be the most recent evidence.
Also, they tend to stiffen up a bit through your forties. Then less likely to cause issues.
short term, you need a muscle relaxant, not pain relief as such. Refuse opioids.
Rachel
Cheers Rachel. I'm 47 well past the stiffening stage 😂
Managing about 4hrs sleep due to the pain at the moment so I am a grumpy sod...
Mine came back a second time (due to a second disc prolapse), and that was the point I sat up (so to speak) and made large lifestyle adjustments...sit-stand desk, Pilates 5 days a week (at home), making sure long car journeys are broken up, limit time on the sofa etc. My physio looked at me and said if I didn't change my life, I wouldn't be able to walk in 5 years time. I decided not to test whether she was right or not. Now 3 years on I have very few issues, and when very initial signs appear I pay attention and manage it for 24 hours and it passes.
This might be the moment to have a look at your life as a whole.
I had sciatica for 20 years or so. Early on it would go away on its own or with physio and drugs. Then 10 years ago I had a caudal epidural which worked for about 5 years. Then it came back with a vengeance. Two herniated discs, with a third ruptured by a physio!
I had spinal surgery in 2015, 3 partially decompressed discs, packing, and flexible fusion of L3-4, L4-5, L5-S1. Took 6 months to get back to some sort of fitness, but now it's better than it's been since my mid twenties. It's not perfect, I still have nerve damage that effects my foot and toes, and I have to be careful with heavy lifting and manual work.
I don't regret my decision to have surgery, but it's not for everyone, for me I had no life at all because of the constant pain.
My job is very physical and I have to carry a fair bit of weight, plus I can be in a vehicle for 8 hrs a day. If I am not at 100% fitness I can't do my job but my job can be a cause of the problems too (if that makes any sense)..
I will look into Pilate's, and I won't rule out surgery. I think I also need a good chat with my GP.
I think you might need to speak with your employer (or yourself if you are self employed?) about what reasonable adjustments you can make at work. Can you avoid carrying the very heaviest stuff, without help, can you break up your journeys etc. It does sound like your job is a large part of the problem, but without some changes you won't be able to carry on doing it.
As ahsat says, you need to change how you work. You job, by the sounds of it, will be a massive contributor to your back pain. It's not the cause or even that you have done anything wrong, but sitting for long periods or heavy lifting or manual work will not make it any better.
Your doctor or surgeon, if you go that route, will not be able to give you a new back. It will be a repaired back and you will not be able to treat it badly and expect it to not wear out.
I had a disc herniate for a second time 3 years after I had it repaired .
It's now been 8 years after the second operation and fingers crossed it's bebeen as good as gold.
I also do Pilates to strengthen the core and avoid any heavy lifting.
The only lasting issue has been the nerve damage but that doesn't really effect me .
Had surgery on L5 12 years ago. I’ve had a few issues over the years and what I’ve learned is fairly obvious. First hint of the symptoms I stop work (lots of driving followed by sometimes physical work). The earlier I catch it, the quicker the healing.
I clicked on this thread as sciatica kicked in hard this week, my own fault as I sometimes forget that although I can lift Heavy things, I really shouldn’t.
Thing is if you keep yourself fit and strong you’ll suffer fewer problems but it’s still easy to forget and do something daft.
when very initial signs appear I pay attention and manage it for 24 hours and it passes.
If you don't mind me asking, what do you do to manage it? I started with back pain about a month ago and stopped any heavy lifting, but also started doing some light yoga exercises as well to stretch it but it got massively worse so I stopped everything for about 2 weeks and now it seem to be slowly on the mend. Unsure when to start stretching it again as I'm sure that increased flexibility will help to prevent a reoccurrence.