Sciatica sucks!

[cowboy]

It seems to hit me every time I run more than about 20 miles in a week, and it drives me nuts. I usually mix ibuprofen and tylenol to control it, but it doesn't make it go away. Any other treatment recommendations?

[landpoke]

Maybe stop running 20 miles per week?

[cowboy]

Maybe stop running 20 miles per week?

If you ran 20 miles a week then maybe you could catch the wild turkeys in your back yard.

[The_Tick]

Your version of Wild Turkey and Lanpoke's version are two different things.

[landpoke]

If you ran 20 miles a week then maybe you could catch the wild turkeys in your back yard.

Geese

[beelzebabette]

My initial reaction was pretty much the same as landpoke's. You know I'm all for running marathons, but I have an even stronger opinion that continung to run when your body rebels against it is stubborn.

[ERCougar]

I think I may regret asking this, but are you sure you have sciatica? I'm not sure I've ever seen a case of sciatica brought on by running. Truck-driving, standing for long periods of time, sure--but running? Are you taking good doses of ibuprofen (800 mg three times a day)?

I say I regret it because this is the kind of thing that's impossible to diagnose over the computer so I really don't want to make you question your diagnosis. Take my opinion for what it's worth (not much)--I'm only saying that sciatica brought on by longer-distance running is a little odd.

Overall, I would just echo what BBB's saying. There are plenty of races you can run on less than 20 miles a week (even half's except for a few of the weeks), so if you're body's telling you to stop, no matter what the cause is, why push it?

[cowboy]

I think I may regret asking this, but are you sure you have sciatica? I'm not sure I've ever seen a case of sciatica brought on by running. Truck-driving, standing for long periods of time, sure--but running? Are you taking good doses of ibuprofen (800 mg three times a day)?

I say I regret it because this is the kind of thing that's impossible to diagnose over the computer so I really don't want to make you question your diagnosis. Take my opinion for what it's worth (not much)--I'm only saying that sciatica brought on by longer-distance running is a little odd.

Overall, I would just echo what BBB's saying. There are plenty of races you can run on less than 20 miles a week (even half's except for a few of the weeks), so if you're body's telling you to stop, no matter what the cause is, why push it?

That's what my doctor says, but who knows. I hurts like crazy though. I try not to take that much ibuprofen, but I will when it gets too bad. I also have some meloxicam, but it is kind of hard on my stomach.

[JangleJam]

Hi cowboy - I'm a committed lurker but wanted to post in case there is a chance that this will help

Some argue that sciatica can be brought on by a strength and flexibility imbalance between the muscles that are responsible for inward and outward rotation of the hip joint. The sciatic nerve weaves though six deep muscles (often under the upper three and over the lower three) found underneath your gluteus muscles. When these 6 deep outward rotators are tight they pinch the sciatic nerve causing pain.

I have no idea if this is what is going on in your case, of course, but stretching these muscles would at least be worth a try. It often see runners stretch their quads, hamstrings, calf muscles, etc. but I rarely see them stretch the outward rotators of the hip. It only makes sense that these 6 muscles are very engaged when running.

To stretch muscles that rotate the hip outward, you need to do the opposite: rotate the hip inward. My favorite way to do this is on the floor with the leg of the hip I'm not stretching extended straight behind me and the leg of the hip I am stretching bent in front of me with its heel touching the hip of the straight leg. Move around, lean forward, do whatever you need until you feel the stretch deep in your rear. Hold for a while then squirm around until the stretch feels a little different and hold again. I hope this makes sense. It is kind of hard to describe an obscure stretch in writing. Any stretch you can devise that you feel under your gluteus muscles would be worth a try. It would probably also be worth figuring out how to stretch with your hip rotated inward and extended (leg straight in a standing position), too.

Good luck!

[cowboy]

Thanks, JangleJam. I appreciate the advice. Also, glad to see you here - stick around!

[cowboy]

Sorry to bump such an old thread, but I didn't think it was worth starting a new one. I found out yesterday that sometime in my past I broke my back. I know, that doesn't seem like an injury that one could incur without knowing it, but I apparently did. Looking at the x-rays, this explains a lot of my back pain/problems, as arthritis is setting in and my disc is virtually non-existent.

I went in because I got bucked off last week and my back was hurting more than usual, so I wanted to make sure nothing was broken. The doc came in and said nothing was broken, but then said there was an old break on my x-ray's and asked when it happened. The crazy thing is that I don't know. I've been beaten up by horses so many times that I honestly have no idea which time it was. The doc, a friend of mine, just looked at me and said "you lead a rough life, and your back shows it." One one hand, it sucks knowing that the arthritis will progress as will the pain, but on the other hand it's nice to know I'm justified in hurting and it's not all in my head.

[byu71]

Sorry to bump such an old thread, but I didn't think it was worth starting a new one. I found out yesterday that sometime in my past I broke my back. I know, that doesn't seem like an injury that one could incur without knowing it, but I apparently did. Looking at the x-rays, this explains a lot of my back pain/problems, as arthritis is setting in and my disc is virtually non-existent.

I went in because I got bucked off last week and my back was hurting more than usual, so I wanted to make sure nothing was broken. The doc came in and said nothing was broken, but then said there was an old break on my x-ray's and asked when it happened. The crazy thing is that I don't know. I've been beaten up by horses so many times that I honestly have no idea which time it was. The doc, a friend of mine, just looked at me and said "you lead a rough life, and your back shows it." One one hand, it sucks knowing that the arthritis will progress as will the pain, but on the other hand it's nice to know I'm justified in hurting and it's not all in my head.

I empathize with you. I have chronicled my back and subsequent behind my knee issues on the board. I had about 6 months of pure misery. Pain that went down from my right hip into my right foot. A cortizone shot helped a bit, but what really started getting to me was an ache, like a toothache behind my knees especially at night.

Eventually I saw a back Doctor highly recommended and she gave me some pills that didn't work and said my knees had nothing to do with my back.

I saw a pain Dr. who gave me another cortizone shot and the pain down my leg went away, but the knee issue persisted. I saw a knee specialist, a vein doctor, a nerve doctor, a chiropractor, massage therapist, a shrink, and another back Dr. who thought I needed surgery.

It seems you are against pain pills, but that is all I have left. On average I take 1 hydrocodin during the day and two at night when I go to sleep. I am now sleeping pretty well and last week I played 27 holes one day, 27 the next and 36 the next.

I wish you the very best. That 6-9 months of pain and no sleep was pure misery.

[Donuthole]

Sorry to bump such an old thread, but I didn't think it was worth starting a new one. I found out yesterday that sometime in my past I broke my back. I know, that doesn't seem like an injury that one could incur without knowing it, but I apparently did. Looking at the x-rays, this explains a lot of my back pain/problems, as arthritis is setting in and my disc is virtually non-existent.

I went in because I got bucked off last week and my back was hurting more than usual, so I wanted to make sure nothing was broken. The doc came in and said nothing was broken, but then said there was an old break on my x-ray's and asked when it happened. The crazy thing is that I don't know. I've been beaten up by horses so many times that I honestly have no idea which time it was. The doc, a friend of mine, just looked at me and said "you lead a rough life, and your back shows it." One one hand, it sucks knowing that the arthritis will progress as will the pain, but on the other hand it's nice to know I'm justified in hurting and it's not all in my head.

Out of curiosity, did your doc get any more specific than "broken back". Fractured vertebrae, displaced verterbrae, etc? I only ask because I recently deposed a Plaintiff who claimed his doctor told him, verbatim, "looks like you broke your back". The medical records indicated that the doctor had told him he had a displaced disc and some muscle strains. Upon deposing the doctor, he said he would never tell someone "you broke your back" as that's not an accurate medical term. I'm just wondering if there are doctors out there that actually say that.

[cowboy]

Out of curiosity, did your doc get any more specific than "broken back". Fractured vertebrae, displaced verterbrae, etc? I only ask because I recently deposed a Plaintiff who claimed his doctor told him, verbatim, "looks like you broke your back". The medical records indicated that the doctor had told him he had a displaced disc and some muscle strains. Upon deposing the doctor, he said he would never tell someone "you broke your back" as that's not an accurate medical term. I'm just wondering if there are doctors out there that actually say that.

I used the term 'broken,' but to be specific, he actually said there was an old injury that appeared to be a compression fracture with chip out of one of my vertebrae. The chip is pretty plainly visible, but I couldn't see the compression fracture, though clearly my disc is much narrower there than the discs above and below it. I suspect that the compression fracture part was an educated guess on his part that would have to be confirmed with an MRI, as I wasn't seeing at all what he said he was seeing.

[Y84it]

I used the term 'broken,' but to be specific, he actually said there was an old injury that appeared to be a compression fracture with chip out of one of my vertebrae. The chip is pretty plainly visible, but I couldn't see the compression fracture, though clearly my disc is much narrower there than the discs above and below it. I suspect that the compression fracture part was an educated guess on his part that would have to be confirmed with an MRI, as I wasn't seeing at all what he said he was seeing.

There goes Donutholes Case! Had the Dr. told you it was broken DH could of justified being on the site during work hrs. In turn we would see him around here more often. Thanks for nothing Cowboy!