Sciatica!!!!

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Mark pallister

Senior Member
Saturday 31st November washing my feet in shower when I was hit by a massive pain in my right thigh, buttock and lower back. Excruciating pain like I have never experienced. Doctor diagnosed it as Sciatica and said 2 to 6 weeks to calm it down with pain killers and rest. Anyone on here suffered the same or similar with any advice or help would be very much appreciated. Only affecting my Right side lower back, hip, buttock, thigh and knee. Dare not ride my bike which is causing me grief.
Yep I always used to get in when my bad back subsided
made a big effort to improve my posture whilst sitting and driving
lost a couple of stone and regular walking ,lots of cycling usually 150 to 200 mls a week and stretching have cured back and sciatica
oh and I retired as well
 
@steven1988 here it is.. (1) There is light at the end of the tunnel | CycleChat Cycling Forum didnt get the expected relief from the op , still i pain more or less constant and still on the fentanyl patches. i often say i wish i never bothered having the op, but then again who knows what would have happened if i hadn't .
 
OP
OP
Saracenlad

Saracenlad

Senior Member
Just thought I would give you an update on my Sciatica situation:- It lasted about 3 weeks and I am certain that getting back on the bike and riding short distances (5-6 miles) helped. The stretching exercises I am still doing also helped. Sorry to hear that some of you have had this a lot worse that I have. I do hope that operations and other treatments get you all through this. My mobility is just about back to normal but I am much more conscious about my movements. Thank you all and have a good and SAFE Christmas.
 

vickster

Legendary Member
Single disc at L5 S1
Good luck. I had that done in 1993, not had any serious recurrence of sciatica since and an MRI a couple of years ago didn’t show any long lasting ill effects.
They do discectomy keyhole now I think, I have a big scar!
Follow the surgeon and physio instructions to the letter especially regarding rest
 

newfhouse

Resolutely on topic
This has been an interesting thread to read.

I started getting usually fairly mild sciatica a couple of years ago, with a wandering pain usually in my right hamstring, sometimes moving down to my calf. YouTube sourced stretches usually reduce the intensity, and cycling seemed to help, at least while on the bike. I had learned to live with it, I guess. During the last year I haven’t been riding to work very often and despite good intentions my pretend commutes on the bike were only on particularly sunny days. I did start running for the first time in my life and came to enjoy it. It felt as if it reduced the incidence of my sciatica. I still somehow managed to gain 4 kg during lockdown.

Just under four weeks ago I had bad back pain all through the night, for no obvious reason. In the morning I couldn’t stand but managed to fall out of bed and crawl to the bathroom in absolute agony. My left buttock and thigh were on fire - I’ve only known pain of that intensity once before, and that was a kidney stone. I simply couldn’t move without crying with pain. Despite my initial protestations, after a couple of hours face down on the floor we realised that it wasn’t improving and my wife phoned for an ambulance. With morphine and a whole cylinder of entonox they got me to hospital, where I was MRI’d and stayed for three days. There was no treatment other than pain relief but on the third day I was able to stand and shuffle about. The diagnosis was a bulge at L3 - L4 and a bigger prolapse at L4 - L5. I was sent away with Naproxen and Pregabalin, which I’m still taking.

Since then I have improved, but I’m still not back to where I was. I was given an exercise leaflet by my GP practice, very similar to what I had been used to doing for my milder sciatica. There’s a constant numbness and pins and needles down my left leg, all the way to my toes. When I walk it increases in intensity after about ten minutes, to the point where I lose feeling in my ankle. I have fallen over a couple of times on uneven ground while walking the dog. I’ve been on the bike a few times, once on a 5 km round trip to be jabbed, and some twenty minute sessions on the turbo. After about five minutes I think my right leg is doing all the work as I can’t feel much from my left.

Yesterday I had a follow up appointment with the orthopaedics team at the hospital. They gave me what I presume to be the three standard options.

1. Physio and drugs for the rest of my life. It probably won't change my numb left leg much but might stop things getting worse if I'm lucky. Risk free.
2. Steroid injection into the affected joint. Intended to reduce inflammation, maybe 3 to 6 months relief before needing another one, if it works at all. Low risk of making things worse.
3. Discectomy surgery. 80% chance of fixing the problem, 1% chance of making things worse, right up to possible paralysis.

I was disappointed that there was no advice about what was best for me, just a chat about risks. I was asked to choose one option there and then, so I chose the injection to start with. It seemed odd that the decision was entirely in my hands - they’re supposed to be the experts. When I was in A&E the doctor said if I was offered surgery I should go for it, but I don’t know how much weight to give to his thoughts.

I’m keen to learn of other experiences, from here and elsewhere. I’m aware that CC has a large cohort of middle aged cyclists, many of whom will be similar to me I guess. I’m just feeling a bit lost and concerned about my future to be honest. I had hoped to give up full time work in the next five years - I’m 58 next week - and had planned for it to be an active retirement. Now I’m not so sure.
 
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3. Discectomy surgery. 80% chance of fixing the problem, 1% chance of making things worse, right up to possible paralysis.
This is actually the best option, in my opinion. If the discs can just be trimmed away, and there are no other problems like cord stenosis, then this is always touted as the best all-rounder. If, for any reason, you ever need more heavyweight surgery (decompression, fusion, other spinal bone work), then it's a trickier call.
 

Mo1959

Legendary Member
This has been an interesting thread to read.

I started getting usually fairly mild sciatica a couple of years ago, with a wandering pain usually in my right hamstring, sometimes moving down to my calf. YouTube sourced stretches usually reduce the intensity, and cycling seemed to help, at least while on the bike. I had learned to live with it, I guess. During the last year I haven’t been riding to work very often and despite good intentions my pretend commutes on the bike we’re only on particularly sunny days. I did start running for the first time in my life and came to enjoy it. It felt as if it reduced the incidence of my sciatica. I still somehow managed to gain 4 kg during lockdown.

Just under four weeks ago I had bad back pain all through the night, for no obvious reason. In the morning I couldn’t stand but managed to fall out of bed and crawl to the bathroom in absolute agony. My left buttock and thigh were on fire - I’ve only known pain of that intensity once before, and that was a kidney stone. I simply couldn’t move without crying with pain. Despite my initial protestations, after a couple of hours face down on the floor we realised that it wasn’t improving and my wife phoned for an ambulance. With morphine and a whole cylinder of entonox they got me to hospital, where I was MRI’d and stayed for three days. There was no treatment other than pain relief but on the third day I was able to stand and shuffle about. The diagnosis was a bulge at L3 - L4 and a bigger prolapse at L4 - L5. I was sent away with Naproxen and Pregabalin, which I’m still taking.

Since then I have improved, but I’m still not back to where I was. I was given an exercise leaflet by my GP practice, very similar to what I had been used to doing for my milder sciatica. There’s a constant numbness and pins and needles down my left leg, all the way to my toes. When I walk it increases in intensity after about ten minutes, to the point where I lose feeling my ankle. I have fallen over a couple of times on uneven ground while walking the dog. I’ve been on the bike a few times, once on a 5 km round trip to be jabbed, and some twenty minute sessions on the turbo. After about five minutes I think my right leg is doing all the work as I can’t feel much from my left.

Yesterday I had a follow up appointment with the orthopaedics team at the hospital. They gave me what I presume to be the three standard options.

1. Physio and drugs for the rest of my life. It probably won't change my numb left leg much but might stop things getting worse if I'm lucky. Risk free.
2. Steroid injection into the affected joint. Intended to reduce inflammation, maybe 3 to 6 months relief before needing another one, if it works at all. Low risk of making things worse.
3. Discectomy surgery. 80% chance of fixing the problem, 1% chance of making things worse, right up to possible paralysis.

I was disappointed that there was no advice about what was best for me, just a chat about risks. I was asked to choose one option there and then, so I chose the injection to start with. It seemed odd that the decision was entirely in my hands - they’re supposed to be the experts. When I was in A&E the doctor said if I was offered surgery I should go for it, but I don’t know how much weight to give to his thoughts.

I’m keen to learn of other experiences, from here and elsewhere. I’m aware that CC has a large cohort of middle aged cyclists, many of whom will be similar to me I guess. I’m just feeling a bit lost and concerned about my future to be honest. I had hoped to give up full time work in the next five years - I’m 58 next week - and had planned for it to be an active retirement. Now I’m not so sure.
You sound very similar to me. Left leg about 12 years ago still has numbness, right leg even worse 3 years ago. Like you, crawling about in tears it was so sore. I just put up with it the best I can as a doctor friend I follow on Strava says back surgery should be the absolute last option and doesn't always work and could end up worse. I also have less leg strength which is the most annoying thing. I still jog and cycle but speeds and distances are declining.

Be interested to hear how you progress.:hugs:
 
I’m in my thirties and wake up daily with back pain that remains throughout the day I am been tested for rheumatoid arthritis which is inflammation of joints based but what I think is more likely the case and similar to sciatica is a condition called ankylosis spondylitis which I am also been tested for. I have been given some exercises to stretch out the calves and buttocks to release the hips and some core exercises to strengthen the core in the meantime while I await the results. I’m not sure what the treatment will be after diagnosis, anyone got this?
 
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Badger_Boom

Veteran
Location
York
2. Steroid injection into the affected joint. Intended to reduce inflammation, maybe 3 to 6 months relief before needing another one, if it works at all. Low risk of making things worse.
My other half suffered with back pain for about a year before being referred to a specialist for MRI etc. She took this option as a ‘try it and see’ before surgery. The injection gave relief, and the pain never came back probably because the swelling was reduced and the pain relieved enough for things to return to something like normal. Apart from an occasional thing it hasn’t come back.
 

Beebo

Firm and Fruity
Location
Hexleybeef
Here is my 2 pence worth based on my father-in-laws experience of spinal surgery, which helped for about 5 years then relapsed. His odds of success/failure were worse than yours.
Go for option 2 and see how you feel.
Option 3 will still be available if you need it at a later date. But option 3 is probably a one time only treatment, there is nothing beyond option 3.
 
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