Sciatica plus

[david.smithers2@virgin.ne]

I have had sciatica for some 15 years now on and off. I have had 3 MRI scans and the latest advice about 5 years ago was to have an op to fuse the spine together. I have since spoken to 3 people who've had it done and they all told me it's better to put up with the pain as the op made things worse.

It has now flared up again but this time my hamstrings have gone into spasm thus squeezing an inflammed sciatic nerve. I am having NHS physio which only consists of traction but nothing for my hamstrings, only telling me to stretch them.

Can anybody recommend anything else as the pain makes me walk like something from Planet of the Apes and I'm losing time off work which I can't afford.

[mattw]

Sciatica can be a bear but do not give up...and if you do not want surgery there are other options. I would recommend reading the book called "Pain Free" by Pete Egoscue. Go to the chapter for "Back Pain" and start doing the exercises. He does talk very much about sciatica but don't worry it will get better pretty quick. There is a reason the sciatic nerve is impinged and this book will teach you exercises that will correct it.

[krunchie]

I suggest you look at how prolotherapy has fixed Bode Miller, JJ Johnson, Eric Schlopy and Bryon Friedman of ligamentous knee and back injuries. Big news in feb 2006 because they went to a well respected doctor who has in fact lost his US licence but that is another story - they went against advice from their team trainers - because they don't know anything about the treatment - went to Mexico and bingo - fixed..I have done a ton of reasearch on prolotherapy (and the doctor these guys went to ..he is in fact one of the pioneer and has written many papers that are still used today by ORTHOPEDIC SURGEONS in the USA and UK...and taught many practitioners BUT that fact has been conveniently omitted from the press reports !!!!!) because I had a chronic back problem with stretched ligamnents...I am fixed...if you have time here is my story...BUT BEWARE....Prolotherapy is only as good as the doctor who diagnoses and treats you..it requires very accurate diagnosis and incredible skill, experience and a STEADY HAND...you have got to get a very long needle into the ligament..especially at the point it connects with the bone..I was very lucky that I picked the only doctor in the UK who had been doing it non stop for 35 years and had had the treatment himself 40 years ago...which was why he studied it !!

here you are.....
In response to anyone asking about experience with prolotherapy.
yes I have ! I am a ski instructor. I am now 44 but had the first treatment almost 2 years ago
The treatments were not painful - just a sensation of the needle going in - this depends entirely on the therapist and even then..there is a risk of hitting a nerve but that is ot too much to worry about - a qucik stab then you feel ok..the local anaesthetic and gas works a treat.
The treatment has been utterly successful and I would like to share my story - because there are some CAVEATs....read on.
I had a chronic lower back problem(which was basically slack SI ligaments and lumbar ligaments on lower right side...very common indeed) which I had been having treatment from 2 osteopaths for which would not heal - osteopaths who had cured me of all other aches and pains very quickly over the preceding 5 years - I was very confident in these guys so when they couldn't fix me I looked further.
I had xrays and MRIS done so I could see if there were any other reasons for my pain other than lax ligaments - the xrays and mris looked perfect - the traumatologists, osteopaths etc all looked at them and said the same - you look perfect...PERFECT...it's just a bit of hypermobility..it will go away...well after 28 months of NOT going away I was not going to just accept their answers...not just because they had letters after their names and nice white coats...oh no...not me....
I found prolotherapy on the internet and spent 1 year reseearching it every day - I asekd many osteopaths, orthopaedic surgeons - ones who were personal friends AND by going to see specialists at clinics in the UK and Spain and France....nobody that I spoke to had even heard of it !
Well...I can tell you that I wish I had not spent 1 year researching it because I wasted a year of my life by having to tolerate the pain - the prolotherapy was effective very quickly - I wish I had just gone to the doctor I found the first day I read about it !!! BUT...I was lucky....the doctor I saw does nothing but prolotherapy and had had the treatment himself 40 years earlier and as a result studied it and has been a leading practicioner for 35 years - I was lucky to find someone with this experience first time.
I have since learned - through more research and discussions with my doctor - that it is very clear that the success of prolotherapy depends on 3 IMPORTANT THINGS..
1) The skill and experience of the therapist - the therapist needs to be VERY skilled, sensitive and accurate
2) The actual solution the therapist uses - they are NOT all the same - each therapist has his preference - therfore one with more experience can judge what wrosk better.....for example...the solutions used in the US are often NOT as effective as the solution my doctor uses because many doctors are unwilling to use enough of the one of the irritant substances - which also happens to be an antisceptic - because it has in a very small numbers of cases caused temporary but painful side effects - this is apparently very very rare and often due to the inaccuracy of the therapist - as I am informed. The effectiveness of the treatment is clearly
governevd by how much irritant solution is used in each treatment - the more used the quicker and more pronounced the healing BUT there is a limit to how much the body will tolerate - do not forget the healing process is an immune response - prolotherapy provokes an immune response..or it should do if given correctly !
3) ACCURATE diagnosis....I knew what my problem was because I had felt it grow over the years and remember the final injury that provoked this particular injury - I had had lots of treatment with osteos, physios, etc during 15 years of sport - I could feel what the problem was - after a few little injuries you can recognise what type of problem you have.
BUT...to confirm I had the luxury of private health and so i just kept going to see different people - inclusing the main professional winter sports clinic in Barcelona - until I was satisfied I had the info. I went to see the prolotherapist in London with all my mris etc...he just laugheed and said.."I have seen your problem every day of the week for the last 35 years - almost everyone has this problem - I dont need these mris but thanks I will look at them for you...oh yes..as i suspected...you cannot see any problem...well you won't ! The SI ligaments will not show any damage on an MRI..the slightest stretching or damage to these can be very painful but you can't see it. Do you want me to treat you now or do want to mess around for another year ?"
He examined me and clearly demonstrated to me that one side of my pelvis was far more mobile than the other...my previous osteopaths had both diagnosed the same thing - and explained which ligamenst would be treated.... I started there and then...I had far fewer treatments than recommended - I was in the gym within 48 hours...skiing within 2 weeks...I am a ski instructor....I have to travel from Spain to the UK for treatment.
I had 3 treatments between nov 2005 and feb 2006....the problem was 95% resolved by the 3rd treatment...but i should have had a treatment every 3 weeks for about 6 months I reckon..it would have solved it totally and much quicker..i have since had 5 more sessions between may and oct 2006...the function of the joint was stabilised within 4 weeks of first session..my osteopath in Spain was astonished at the change and increase in stability of the right side....bearing in mind he had treated me for 5 years before and regularly had to realign my pelvis...since prolo he has never had to do that. The mobility/movement in the joints is now almost equal on both sides. That has been confirmed by the 2 osteopaths who are not connected to my prolotherapist - both of whom had seen me with the problem.
The pain had gone almost completely by the 3rd treatment..it had reduced to about 20% of original pain after the first treatment.
If I had to sum it up...I would say I am now 100% functional and pain free for 90% of the time..before I was in pain 90% of the time.
the other 10% I feel a slight sensation of stiffness - not PAIN - and this continues to reduce and occur less often..even without treatment...however..i stress...I would prefer to have had more treatments close together to be sure of eliminating the problem and strengthening the ligaments as much as possible..I will have another 3 or 4 treatments very close together when i can afford it just so I don;'t have to think about it for another 30 years !!
Is that enough of a postitve vote for prolotherapy when administered correctly and appropriately ????
Good luck...back pain is horrible..and in most cases TOTALLY curable...DO NOT accept back pain advice from doctors who have NOT suffered it themselves !!!! And do not accept it as part of growing old and something you have to live with. Ask your proltherapist lots of questions..how long have they been doing it, what solution they use etc....they are not all the same - but when you find the right one - you will be very happy !

[lancymoor102]

All right, my friend is 20 years old a very handsome football player in German’s league. But recently he has a lot of stress the result is nasal bleeding throwing up and some times throwing up blood. We went to doctor; he was tested and diagnosed no cancer or other diseases except being nervous and his anxiety. He was the naughtiest student in his school time and never had this problem before. Please help us.

[DrRiggs]

Make an appointment with someone in your area who is "Active Release Technique" certified-I have had MUCH success with patients with "sciatica", and it only takes a few treatments, which are noninvasive and basically painless. My past cases I have focused on sacrotuberous ligament, dorsal sacral ligament, piriformis, maybe gamelli, maybe the glutes, etc...then I'll treat hamstrings with adductors and lumbar erectors just in case, and that is usually all it takes. Hope this helps!

DrRiggs

[janeho]

I'd talk to your physio- there are lots of treatment options for back pain and sciatica.
Also I'd be rather wary of stretching your hamstrings. When you stretch your hamstrings you also pull on the sciatic nerve, and irritated nerves don't like been pulled on. They do however like to be rhythmically moved, so a better exercise may be to sit on a chair, make sure you have a good posture, then straighten the knee of your painful leg. Stop when you get to the point of pain or pulling. Don't push into this as you WILL make it worse. Lower, do the same with the other leg, repeat. This gets the nerve gliding and moving again.

Jane
Chartered Physio

[robbyp123]

Talking to your physio is the obvious route here. Surgery is often seen as a 'last resort' for some people, as the other options available are less hassle and often offer the same rewards. However, this type of spinal injury can be quite serious and you should definately get it checked out sooner rather than later.

[shane]

I think When you stretch your hamstrings you also pull on the sciatic nerve, and irritated nerves don't like been pulled on. They do however like to be rhythmically moved, so a better exercise may be to sit on a chair, make sure you have a good posture, then straighten the knee of your painful leg.

[Renewed Myo Therapy]

I would recommend that you seek the help of a professional orthopedic/sports massage therapist who can access you for pelvic distortion that may be caused by tight restricted muscles. There are other muscles that may be the cause of your sciatica; such as the pirriformis or the psoas. When one or two muscles tight and restricted other muscles are affected as well causing some to become hyper contracted while others become weak. This condition may cause the pelvic to anteriorly tilt (bi-lat or uni-lat), laterally tilt (one hip higher than the other) or cause the hip to rotate or a combination of the three. The pelvic region is embedded by the sciatic nerves so when the alignment of the pelvic is compromised because of muscle imbalance or other soft tissue dysfunction; nerves can be smothered, trapped between bony structure, or irritated by fluid irritants like inflammation or spinal fluid. When I say the pelvic region I'm also referring to the lower back at L1-L5 where these never originate.

Having said all of that stuff phoooo! You have said this is a reoccurring condition and if I were to take a shot in the dark I would guess that it most likely is an occupational condition. Sciatica affects individuals who have jobs where they constantly sit but it can be brought on because of physical activity, repetitive motion, poor posture or direct injury. Just the stretching of the hams will not fix this condition.

Get a complete ROM assessment, postural and gate assessment from a health care professional trained in orthopedic/sports massage, Active Release Techniques (ART) or Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques (MAT).

Manual therapy may be directed to the:

* QL muscles
* Psoas muscles
* Pirriformis muscles
* Quads muscles
* Hams muscles
* Adductor muscles
* Abductor muscles

Look it won't happen over night and there will be other things to consider apart from manual therapy such as learning to use good posture while sitting and doing other activities, exercise etc. but the knowledge and experience you gain in your journey towards wellness will be all but worth it.

I wish you well in your pursuit to wellness…
Ray