Sciatica anyone?

[FastforaSlowGuy]

I’m getting a referral but in the interim thought I’d check the brain trust here. Picked up some mild sciatica a couple months ago. Intensity went up and down with no real pattern. Pretty much just in the hamstring and glute. Sometimes riding made it better, other times worse. Stretching, Advil, etc have done bupkis. Foam roller occasionally helps a bit, but it’s spotty. Then out of nowhere it became unbearable this week. Woke up Tuesday and my entire leg (down to my foot) was on fire. Now I can’t sit down for dinner and i took over my wife’s standing desk for work. Seems like treatment is sort of along the lines I’ve been following, but anyone been through it and have suggestions that perhaps I’ve not come across? This is awful.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dave thompson]

Sciatica problems originate in the back. Core strengthening helps a lot.

I’ve been seeing my chiropractor, who is also a cyclist, weekly for sciatica and he has nearly eliminated my issues.

[kiwisimon]

Rest and manipulation worked for me. I had TENS treatment with hot and cold treatments as well three times a week.,
I was told NOT to exercise for three months but after a month I was pain free and the PT let me get back on a bike and two months later I was playing rugby again. Never had it since.

[NONN]

Sleeping with a pillow between your knees (if you sleep on your side) reduces tension on the nerve(s) -- also, just casual walking (daily) is very helpful for longterm recovery

[Toeclips]

I've had my fair share of lower lumbar problems
Stenosis is a mean equalizer

Best PT excersise I know for lumbar decompression is to get a yoga ball, mine is gaiam 75 cms blue yoga ball,


I lay across it laying stomach down, prone position, and I gently roll back and forth I try to get my legs to dangle off the back of ball and i let gravity decompress and stretch the lower back
Also I when I roll back and forth the curvature of the ball will decompress your lower back and open your nerve channel
Don't be surprised to feel and hear your back pop

YouTube brad and bob they are good PT's
Bob and brad show this excersise off of the edge of a bed with a pillow underneath their stomach

I use the yoga ball it's more professional and it gives you a better sense of zero gravity

Good luck

[uber]

Sciatica symptoms can originate from the spine or somewhere else "downstream" from where the nerve(s) exit the spinal column. Best to get some professional medical evaluation to find the likely cause and to direct an appropriate treatment. I hope it gets better soon.

[tmf]

I developed sciatica years ago, and an MRI found a bulging disc in my lower spine that was pushing into the nerve. I had two separate steroidal epidurals about a year apart. I did some PT which helped, but it’s been long enough I don’t remember any of the specific exercises.

I occasionally get pain and discomfort in my feet between my toes - right at the spot where the sciatic nerve ends. I describe it as feeling as if a pencil is pushed into my foot right between my toes. I figured out that one ongoing cause was the thick wallet I used to carry in my rear pocket. I converted to a thin front pocket wallet and that reduced the issue about 90%.

[DeBike]

I dealt with sciatica for a number of years back in the 90s. It eventually got to the point where I was almost bed ridden. I had a partial discectomy, L5/S1, in 1999. It was ok until I blew out the disc again in 2002, a sneeze that snuck up on me. I had the same surgery again and not much disc was left. That was really a stop gap measure to get me to a disc replacement, clinical trial stage at the time, without having to be randomly selected for either replacement or fusion. I the replacement surgery done in 2004 and I have done very well with it. Not many people had the good long term results that I had. That procedure is no longer done at that level of the spine.

[pdonk]

I had it after a kidney stone removal.

PT worked. Acupuncture with excercises.

Excercises included wobble board, yoga ball leg lifts, planking, sitting on ball, leg lifts off the ball, donkey kicks.

Chiropractic did nothing and I actually think may have exacerbated it due to being too aggressive.

[buddybikes]

If it is getting worse with conservative treatment (PT, 7 day anti-inflammatory, perhaps Chiro but be REAL careful who to go to) understand what is truly happening in there. Xray, MRI etc. I had spondylothesis, which the only solution was fusion. Couldn't walk more than 100ft. Fortunately I was already connected to one of the top neurosurgeons in Boston.

[Julien]

Finding a good PT and making it clear that the goal is to get back to active lifestyle is key. At this point your nerve is probably on fire and ultra sensitive and a chiropractor manipulations may be too agressive and counter productive, but osteopaths usually go softer and have a more holistic approach. Walking is also great to strengthen core and posture muscles without going to hard. Good luck!

[bigbill]

My back is not symmetrical with regard to my sciatic nerves. They don't route the same past my piriformis which makes the left side more prone to sciatica. Five years ago I had a microdiscectomy to trim a bulged disc that was pushing on the nerve because I had gotten to the point I was dragging my left leg. The feeling was best described as feeling like I was wading through waist-deep water but only with my left leg. The surgery was successful in that I regained full strength in my left leg and was able to cycle again. I still get sciatica on occassion, but I have a foam roller and do some piriformis stretching that seems to fix it.

[gone]

I started having back issues while cycling in 2014. I have (had) a bulging disc at L5/S1. Over time, I learned several things that I did on the bike that caused the problem:

Stretching my back by standing and letting it sag and then pedaling while it was sagged caused torsion on the spine right on the nerve. This was a "lightning bolt, ride over" kind of pain. Solution: don't pedal while stretching my back.
Pulling really hard on the bars while climbing/sprinting. Solution: don't do that.
Gradual tightning of the lower back muscles which compressed the vertebrae on the disc. No solution but core strengthening helped.

But I was "lucky" that my pain was centralized in my back and I didn't have any sciatic involvement. It would usually resolve itself in a few weeks.

Until June 8th. I won't go through the details but I herniated the L5/S1 resulting in a week of the most agonizing pain I've experienced in my life (and believe me, I've had other quite painful things happen). MRI showed "herniation with associated trauma". I waited almost three months hoping it would resolve itself. It got "better" but when the surgeon asked me "if this is as good as it gets, is that good enough?" the answer was an emphatic "no". The possibility of permanent nerve damage if I didn't have something done also entered into the decision.

I had a microdiscectomy in late August which according to the surgeon went well. I'm three weeks post surgery. I still have sciatic symptoms but this is apparently common as they do a fair amount of tugging on the nerve during the surgery.

Jury still out on whether or not it was worth it.

No idea yet as to what the future holds vis-a-vis cycling (no more long rides? recumbent? done for good?).

Good luck. Back pain sucks.

[verbs4us]

Sorry to hear, fastforaslowguy. Same road here. Been off the bike mainly since March, but the problem is more than a year old. Series of three recent fluoroscopically guided dexamethasone injections (L4/L5 and L5/S1) which did help (two weeks apart) but not good enough to get back on the bike pain-free. MRI shows stuff that needs to be trimmed to unload the nerve root. Have date with surgeon. You have great options in Boston, so I'm sure you can find a top doc, if you go that route. I found PT and chiropractic to be palliative but not curative. As other said, core strength--deep layer, not sit-up muscles -- does help.

[buddybikes]

pm me for Dr name(s) if you wish. Good to get into seeing someone now, then the "if" times comes, you are established patient. After my debilitating time in 2015, scans were done and mailed to my surgeon, never saw him till morning of my surgery. I probably will be seeing him again for a microdisectomy after my last second fusion wasn't complete (done via XLIF which is much shorter but they can't get all the disk material out from what I hear) this was done by a second surgeon.

I am riding every day, just not long/hard rides any longer and we live in the flats of RI. Actually have had best year (after last years surgery) since 2014 mileage wise.

[Repack Rider]

I had it a few years ago when I was driving a lot. Took my wallet out of my hip pocket and quit sitting asymmetrically..

YMMV

[bigbill]

I started having back issues while cycling in 2014. I have (had) a bulging disc at L5/S1. Over time, I learned several things that I did on the bike that caused the problem:

Stretching my back by standing and letting it sag and then pedaling while it was sagged caused torsion on the spine right on the nerve. This was a "lightning bolt, ride over" kind of pain. Solution: don't pedal while stretching my back.
Pulling really hard on the bars while climbing/sprinting. Solution: don't do that.
Gradual tightning of the lower back muscles which compressed the vertebrae on the disc. No solution but core strengthening helped.

But I was "lucky" that my pain was centralized in my back and I didn't have any sciatic involvement. It would usually resolve itself in a few weeks.

Until June 8th. I won't go through the details but I herniated the L5/S1 resulting in a week of the most agonizing pain I've experienced in my life (and believe me, I've had other quite painful things happen). MRI showed "herniation with associated trauma". I waited almost three months hoping it would resolve itself. It got "better" but when the surgeon asked me "if this is as good as it gets, is that good enough?" the answer was an emphatic "no". The possibility of permanent nerve damage if I didn't have something done also entered into the decision.

I had a microdiscectomy in late August which according to the surgeon went well. I'm three weeks post surgery. I still have sciatic symptoms but this is apparently common as they do a fair amount of tugging on the nerve during the surgery.

Jury still out on whether or not it was worth it.

No idea yet as to what the future holds vis-a-vis cycling (no more long rides? recumbent? done for good?).

Good luck. Back pain sucks.

I was "good" after my microdiscectomy L5-S1, I followed the doctors orders and avoided sitting for more than an hour and I took progressively longer walks for six weeks before getting back on the bike. Even then, I started with one hour rides and worked up from there. I had my surgery in the fall of 2015 and was doing 500 miles a month by January. I was actually more comfortable on the bike. During the summer of 2016, I did several 6-7 hour gravel races. The general idea is to ease back into it.

[Mr B]

Checking in for L5-S1 roll-call.
Mine started out as intermittent sciatica that I’d occasionally feel whilst climbing a certain incline on my commute. It then became more constant, and I went to see my Dr who referred me to his back guy. Back Guy gave me a 2-week course of oral steroids to tamp down inflammation. Halfway through the course I sneezed getting out of bed one morning and that was it. Total agony, brought to the floor (and held there) instantly.

Booked an urgent visit to Back Guy, who administered a spinal injection that got me back on my feet for the day. I did however instantly lose all feeling and strength in my foot. He then referred me to a PT, but in truth he should have booked an MRI there and then, because I wasted 3 months dragging myself to a PT who eventually discovered (through absolutely none of their treatments having any positive effects at all) that I’d been hobbling around with a ruptured L5-S1 disc all summer and should consider surgery ASAP.

Had surgery, experienced mild improvement. No post-surgery guidance or care offered by Weill-Cornell at NYP at all, which was surprising and very disappointing since I’d just given them about enough money to buy a new Porsche.

Spent just 3 weeks off work, but a whole year off the bike. My job has me on my feet all day which is massively beneficial. I discovered Foundation Training through a friend, and although I’ve only really stuck to their basic exercises along with doing planks, it’s helped me enormously.
I’m back on the bike. My back doesn’t feel fantastic after a 60-miler and I don’t think I have a century in me yet, but even simple Mackenzie-Method moves after a ride can help see me right.

I’d say that the whole ordeal made me realise how little I used to roll my pelvis forward on the bike. Cycling probably didn’t singularly screw up my back (a prior career in photography with no upper-body exercise probably contributed heavily) but my riding position in the past used to be far too fixed. Since surgery I’ve been through half a dozen saddles and settle currently on the Specialized Power Arc series as they let me spend my ride with my pelvis adequately rotated forward without inducing any numbness. Dick still works too, which is a major plus.

[buddybikes]

>>>>Booked an urgent visit to Back Guy, who administered a spinal injection that got me back on my feet for the day. I did however instantly lose all feeling and strength in my foot. He then referred me to a PT, but in truth he should have booked an MRI there and then, because I wasted 3 months dragging myself to a PT who eventually discovered (through absolutely none of their treatments having any positive effects at all) that I’d been hobbling around with a ruptured L5-S1 disc all summer and should consider surgery ASAP.


This is standard protocol which insurances work under

[Mr B]

Thanks for the clarification. Add that to my long list of reasons to hate this for-profit medical industry. Literally wasted three months of my life whilst at the same time massively reducing the quality of it, and all time I had to pay for it.

[OtayBW]

I and a lot of folks have gotten something out of this guy's approach: https://www.amazon.com/Treat-Your-Back-Robin-McKenzie/dp/0987650408
Additionally, for me, nothing has given me more relief than a program of traction on the lumbar area. GL.

[booglebug]

I and a lot of folks have gotten something out of this guy's approach: https://www.amazon.com/Treat-Your-Back-Robin-McKenzie/dp/0987650408
Additionally, for me, nothing has given me more relief than a program of traction on the lumbar area. GL.

Herniated disc also, no surgery or injections. PT used this method and helped me improve to were I’m doing a century next weekend.

[mdeth1313]

still going down the rabbit hole I see.

Could be 9 million different things, the human body is good for that.

[Hawker]

I injured my back loading luggage into the back of a car and then riding in that car for the next four hours. I then had horrible sciata that lasted almost two years. Back surgeons wanted to operate and everyone seemed to agree it was a L4, L5, S1 problem. After lots of anti-inflammatories, exercise and chiropractors....it was two weeks of stretching AND TRACTION that fixed it.

Lumbar traction always made it feel better for about twenty minutes and then everything went back to where it was. But the second week I walked out to the car, felt no pain and never felt it again. That was eight years ago and I'm still fine. I've been Googling this a bit before I posted this and it appears that traction is not widely agreed upon by PT professionals. But all I can tell you is that it worked miracles on me after suffering greatly for two years.

[benb]

I've been trying to figure out if my sciatic nerve is the cause of weird stuff I've had going on.

I was getting a weird cramp riding in my left hamstring & glute area, high up near the sitbone.

It would result in me having soreness if I bent over similar to a dead lift for a day or so after a ride. Worse with harder climbing or an intense interval.

It's seriously slowed me down this year cycling, yet had zero effect on weight lifting, walking, hiking, etc..

When it's bad I could feel it jogging. I don't run much though. Worse if jogging uphill.

Still can't tell if it's a muscle injury or sciatica. Almost no shooting pains to speak of so I've held off seeing the doctor.

It does (or was) getting bad in the car or sitting at the desk to long so I have kind of assumed it was related and staying off the bike might be good since it's sitting exercise.

[ridethecliche]

Surgery isn't without its complications and the decision shouldn't be taken lightly.

I'm younger than most on this forum and has a microdiscectomy on my early 20s for a herniated disc. Was great for a month and then it blew out at the same spot. Had to wait 6 months to have surgery again and it was awful.

Second surgery involved a bit more bone removal to make room (laminectomy) but went well. Recovery was rough though. Took me over a year to feel okay again and get used to the fact that there were certain things I shouldn't ever do again, like doing squats and deads with any appreciable weight.

I'm now almost 8 years out from the second surgery. I can lift, run, bike, snowboard etc within reason. Things still flare up from time to time but being proactive in strengthening and flexibility work and being smart otherwise has been a game changer.

Like others have said, things can be caused by a lot of different things. Surgery is sometimes not the easy road some may make it out to be because experience varies.

That said, sometimes it's a good option if you're willing to be patient. I don't regret it at all. My life is significantly better than it was for the 2+years I tried to get by with rehab and injections alone.

I wish you all well

[Hilltopperny]

I had sciatica after multiple foot and ankle surgeries. I did a lot of planks and hip raises after developing an unsteady gate. Walked on a treadmill backwards so it was in a declined position for a few months as well as multiple lat pull downs and other core exercises. it took a long time, but ultimately fixed the problems I was having and did not require any surgery.