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colby
Nov 12, 2008 - 5:37PM
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do the stretches and exercises even with extreme sciatic pain?
I have a herniated disc up against the sciatic nerve causing a lot of pain. I've been on Vicodin for 2 weeks and stopped doing exercises over a week ago thinking I should just let myself heal first because the pain wasn't coming down at all.
Is it better to do just a few specific exercises daily at this stage or just wait it out until the pain subsides more...the promise of alleviating pain by doing exercise is extremely appealing as I can't stand putting my body through all these meds, but I can't function otherwise.
Thanks for any help in advance.
Colby
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Ann
Nov 14, 2008 - 2:57PM
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Re: do the stretches and exercises even with extreme sciatic pain?
Hi Colby,
I am sorry to hear you are experiencing so much sciatic pain.
You mentioned you are doing exercises. Are they from Lose the back pain? If so i would suggest that you send your photos and assessments through to support[at]losethebackpain[dot]com and let Steve have a look and see how he advises you personally.
It may be that you need to take a little time out to rest or it may be that you should do a few exercises very gently...
I started by just doing one exercise gently, then very slowly and gradually building up to others over time but i did ask Steve's advise on which ones would be best to start with. I also spent a lot of time in the pool and in a hot tub as that helped a lot with my pain.
It is important to listen to your body and only go to its tolerance so you may want to take it very gently at first.
You said you are are taking meds. I wonder if anything else helps with pain relief for you? I found heat particularly helpful,either in a hot tub or with various heating pads. I couldnt take pain meds so i tried a variety of non med pain relief. Heat was best of all for me. Things like Heal and Sooth may be worth you looking into as well.
Anyway that is just from my experience. Contact Steve for specific advice for you and let us know how you do. Take care.
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colby
Nov 15, 2008 - 8:54PM
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Re: do the stretches and exercises even with extreme sciatic pain?
Thanks Ann for the support and advice. I stopped with the exercises a couple of weeks ago and decided to see if I could heal up enough so I can cut down on the pain meds...I've been taking Vicodin and a muscle relaxer for about 3 weeks, and also use heat pads and cold packs to help with the pain. I have MRI pictures now, so will see if I can get them sent and am looking to get a couple more opinions her in New York City.
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Paul
Nov 15, 2008 - 11:16PM
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Re: do the stretches and exercises even with extreme sciatic pain?
If you are in NYC there is a doctor named Dr. Norman Marcus. He is on East 30th Street near Madison. I had been in agony for 4.5 years and he detected which muscles were my catalysts for pain. they were none that i had expected. He is a firm believer in muscles being the generators of pain....even ones causing sciatica. His website is www.backpainusa.com.
He has been listed as a top physician in NYC for many years now.
e-mail me if you want any more info. I was treated 6 weeks ago. Series of injections to loosen the muscles.....electro stimulation to force contractions for 3 days....then series of excercises for awhile....
I had seen 19 doctors and he solved my problem ASAP...i could not work the last 2 years....
I have been working out now 90 minutes a day using the elliptical, treadmill, basketball, weightlifting and now back to boxing.
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colby
Nov 16, 2008 - 1:08AM
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Re: do the stretches and exercises even with extreme sciatic pain?
Thanks Paul! I will email you for more info as I'm greatly interested in visiting with him. I just came to the same conclusion about this being a muscle imbalance issue in the last few hours of research.
I would really love to hear from some objective people about the Meilus theraphy solution (www.meilus.com) - pressing shortened muscles until they lengthen back out and in so doing you solve the true originating problems causes pain, imbalance, herniation, sciatica, etc. Apparently this also allows your muscles to start dispelling the lactic acid that is effectively poisoning the muscle and making the chance of injury much worse.
Paul, it sounds like your doctor just has a different technique to get to the root of the same core problem! Glad this worked for you.
I really appreciate all the help this forum and the one at rebuildyourback.com has done for me. So in the spirit of sharing...
Here's a little more information about my story as it may be helpful for others trying to get back to living and solve the root causes of an injury.
In the last two months I have tried massage therapy, acupuncture, ultrasound, TENS, an injection, physical therapy, and hot and cold treatment with icepacks and heatpads. I still use the hot/cold treatment to help with the pain and plan on using the inversion table I bought recently once I can see a reduction in pain from some more time healing. I will also be doing yoga on a regular basis once I get this back issue solved, as several of my older athletic friends swear by it for back issues.
I was in an Orthopedic's office a few days ago to get a second opinion on what to do. He had me do a few stretching tests and within 5 minutes he pushed surgery as the only solution - his thinking that my herniation and pain sounded too severe for fixing by other means. This was before he even looked at the MRI! But why be surprised? Go to a surgeon and he's probably going to recommend surgery 9 times out of 10.
A week earlier I was at my 5th chiropractor visit and decided to quit after learning that most of the people in his office have been coming to see him weekly or monthly for over 10 years, and the chiropractor himself has been seeing a chiropractor for over 10 years for his issues. The red flags were up and I was starting to wonder if the fancy bone cracking was only going to do more damage then good in the long run...arthritis?
As for what could have caused such a huge disc herniation at L5, I have a few theories and guessing that some or all of these things probably helped contribute to the problem:
1. When I was 22 I had a skiing accident where I tore the ACL on my right knee and wore a brace for a year. I've noticed a slight weakness issue in this leg compared to my other one, so wonder if this would effect muscle balance over several years.
2. I have been on the road driving for long stretches a ton over the last few years and realize how my right leg is always on the gas and tense and my left pulled up close to the seat relaxed. Needless to say I've been much more careful of my posture in the car and use cruise control as often as possible.
3. I've been working at a computer for over 10 years at my own business (12+ hours in a day are common) and sitting poorly for at least 25.
4. I was a stomach sleeper up until age 22 or so and have heard this is bad for your back, but don't know for sure if this is just an urban legend.
5. For about 10 years, I've been unable to touch my toes and do other forward bending exercises. I never took stretching that seriously, unless I had a coach, so gotta believe this has greatly contributed to tightened and shorter muscles.
Thanks all again for sharing your stories and what has worked/not worked for you!
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colby
Nov 16, 2008 - 1:58AM
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Re: do the stretches and exercises even with extreme sciatic pain?
I looked over Dr. Marcus' website that Paul suggested and found this short interview he did for Good Morning America. It shows him finding the problem muscle(s), injecting it to soften lengthen it. It appears to relieve much of the pain right on the spot...I may just have to go find out for myself! :) Physical therapy is then prescribed based on which muscles need to be strengthened.
http://www.backpainusa.com/video.htm
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Paul
Nov 16, 2008 - 1:05PM
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Re: do the stretches and exercises even with extreme sciatic pain?
Colby-
I went to Al Meilus as well. Al has a unique eye. He can diagnose a muscle problem and get to the root of it and he is amazing. He got me out of 80% of my back pain. However, i had some serious leg issues that i thought were sciatic in nature. Tremendous calf pain and behind knee pain. Al thought i had some involvement with my femoral artery and worked the iliacus.
However, when i went to Dr. Marcus he detected a severely injured pectineus and adductor magnus which he injected and lengthened. I do not think (maybe i am wrong) that the robot could have gotten in there since this muscle attaches under your crotch to your hip. i know the adductor magnus could be worked (in fact i am seeing al in december to learn) but it is the 3rd largest muscle in the body.
Dr. Marcus will cut through all the BS you hear from regular docs and get to the core issue....ASAP....
You will walk out a new man. i saw his waiting room loaded with people from all over the country. 1 former marine who had a full rupture came in on a monday with a cane and left thursday walking and laughing. This is no BS.
I wish i found him earlier. The torque on my back from these injured muscles was nothing but pure hell. I almost gave up and it cost me a great career and alot of other things, but he gave me my life back.
Here it is and what i got.
LTBP - to get me going
Al Meilus - SHowed me how muscles ARE the culprit and got me 80% better, except leg pain
Dr. Marcus - a GREAT clinician and diagnoser (not a real word) and gets to the core FAST......TOOK ME THE DISTANCE
Egoscue - GEtting my body to function as a unit
Colby,....give him a call....it is covered by insurance
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colby
Nov 19, 2008 - 2:57PM
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Re: do the stretches and exercises even with extreme sciatic pain?
Thanks again Paul and also for all the help by email!
After reading your story and others here who have suffered for such a long time, I'm greatly humbled by just dealing with this for little over a month.
