Sciatic Nerve

[JimSnow]

Sciatica.

LOL

3 years ago while basking in my sedamentary computer geek lifestyle - I turned in my computer chair to ask someone a question. BAM... a bolt of lightning went through body. My back was out.

The next day, while lying on the sofa and pissing in a bottle because I couldn't move, I was delivered to the hospital in an ambulance after enduring too much agony. I was practically a paraplegic. After an x-ray that revealed nothing and 4 morphine shots over 3 hours... I lept up and walked. Hell, I ran around the parking lot 5 times - I was so happy!

I felt great the next day.

The day after I began to have severe pain in my right leg if I walked more than 10 steps. It would bring tears to my eyes for two weeks. I remember walking with a client through his worksite. I was screaming 'bloody murder' in my mind - but outwardly personable.

The Doc had tested for sciatica when my back originally went out. There were no signs! He was perplexed. At one point, he wisped in the room and grabbed my balls... checking for hernia I guess.

About a month ago I turned to hand someone a light package... another "jolt"! Not severe, the pain lasted in my lower back for about a week. I caught it in time (dropped it and fell to the floor before the action was completed), I suppose. No leg pain this time.

I'm getting in pretty good shape. I don't think that's relative to the condition at hand.

 

[AKIRA]

Update

Well, its about 8 weeks now since my injury and heres how life is..

Ive been back to the gym doing only upper body. No movements seem to cause any sort of pain. Thus far..

Numbness has subsided, but is still there. I get a shit load of itches around the numb areas, which is a good sign. Numbness can be defined to me as just not having as much sensation on the right leg than on the left.

Strength? Well, my big toe still hardly has any, so I dont know about that.

I still cant lie in a supine position and bring my leg straight up. Id say I can get it to maybe 30 degrees.

Sitting down is fine now. However, if I sit for so many hours a day, not consecutively, I feel pain in my back. No shooting pain.


My MRI is on Oct 16th. It was delayed until I got insurance. I take 600mg 3 times a day, but today I am going to shoot for 200mg, cuz my stomach is starting to hurt from this Ibprofren.

I still see the doc 3 times a week, but yesterday was the first day we did "active recovery." Meaning, instead of having electronic muscle inhibitors on my back with ice or heat, I see a rehab therapist now. We did mostly stretches for now. I think she was seeing what my limits are...and I think she also wanted to see how hard my dick got.

This is becoming tedious, but things are better, just shit is going real slowly.

 

[BigDyl]

At one point, he wisped in the room and grabbed my balls...

.......................

 

[Arnold]

Well, its about 8 weeks now since my injury and heres how life is..

Ive been back to the gym doing only upper body. No movements seem to cause any sort of pain. Thus far..

Numbness has subsided, but is still there. I get a shit load of itches around the numb areas, which is a good sign. Numbness can be defined to me as just not having as much sensation on the right leg than on the left.

Strength? Well, my big toe still hardly has any, so I dont know about that.

I still cant lie in a supine position and bring my leg straight up. Id say I can get it to maybe 30 degrees.

Sitting down is fine now. However, if I sit for so many hours a day, not consecutively, I feel pain in my back. No shooting pain.


My MRI is on Oct 16th. It was delayed until I got insurance. I take 600mg 3 times a day, but today I am going to shoot for 200mg, cuz my stomach is starting to hurt from this Ibprofren.

I still see the doc 3 times a week, but yesterday was the first day we did "active recovery." Meaning, instead of having electronic muscle inhibitors on my back with ice or heat, I see a rehab therapist now. We did mostly stretches for now. I think she was seeing what my limits are...and I think she also wanted to see how hard my dick got.

This is becoming tedious, but things are better, just shit is going real slowly.

how do you go to therapy without having an MRI, meaning how do you even know what the problem is?

 

[P-funk]

how do you go to therapy without having an MRI, meaning how do you even know what the problem is?

seriously....

 

[DyingTrying]

I had sciatica twice first in my left leg for about a year, then it went away for 6, 7 months then i got it in my right leg, i tried pretty much anything u can think of from different doctors to different pills, but the truth is this stuff doesnt go away man, chiro was the best thing so far its the same thing like you makes one of your legs shorter your bones in the back that are supposed to be aligned are not, i was goin to chiro for about a month or so 3 times a week it killed me $$$ it went away but it is really fragile i went out to play some ball and i'm limping again, thing that helps me relieve the pain is buy a ice pack and put it on your lower back 3 4 times a day for 15 -20 minutes its good stuff, the bad thing about sciatica is there is no one in particular to go to, like if your tooth was hurting you go to dentist and its done this crap is annoying as hell...

 

[AKIRA]

how do you go to therapy without having an MRI, meaning how do you even know what the problem is?

I got the MRI on the 16th. Everything that showed up in the MRI was already diagnosed. I suppose this chiro knows what hes doing.

L5 was protruding centerally (towards that spaghetti/horse's tail of nerves). Nothing was dislodged or seperated from the disk. Apparently, I dont need surgery! No nerve damage.

I was hoping to get better results, but these were pretty much as expected.

 

[Arnold]

I got the MRI on the 16th. Everything that showed up in the MRI was already diagnosed. I suppose this chiro knows what hes doing.

L5 was protruding centerally (towards that spaghetti/horse's tail of nerves). Nothing was dislodged or seperated from the disk. Apparently, I dont need surgery! No nerve damage.

I was hoping to get better results, but these were pretty much as expected.

it does not matter if a chiro "knows what he is doing", not even a orthopedic spine surgeon can diagnose a herniated disc without seeing an MRI.

 

[AKIRA]

What I meant was, even before the MRI was given, he made a diagnosis (guess, assumption, speculation...insert noun here) and it turned out to be exactly what he had thought. In other words, he was bullshitting me.

I could careless either way, its bad news any way I look at it.

 

[Trouble]

No sir, you are incorrect in surmising that your chiropractor was 'bullshitting' you. You may recall I posted several hyperlinks to professional orthopedic/spinal medicine websites that *explicitly* state that an MRI is typically used to confirm a diagnosis when surgical intervention maybe necessary (where indicated by symptoms).

You were told here that an MRI is NOT a necessary diagnostic tool, that radiographic (x-rays) evidence and in-office physical evaluation and patient history are a standard diagnosis of back injury. You *insisted* on having an MRI done, despite the fact that your chiropractor warned you that it wasn't an absolute requirement.

 

[AKIRA]

No sir, you are incorrect in surmising that your chiropractor was 'bullshitting' you. You may recall I posted several hyperlinks to professional orthopedic/spinal medicine websites that *explicitly* state that an MRI is typically used to confirm a diagnosis when surgical intervention maybe necessary (where indicated by symptoms).

You were told here that an MRI is NOT a necessary diagnostic tool, that radiographic (x-rays) evidence and in-office physical evaluation and patient history are a standard diagnosis of back injury. You *insisted* on having an MRI done, despite the fact that your chiropractor warned you that it wasn't an absolute requirement.

There's more to this description of what I *said.* I could have wrote a book explaining exactly what he meant by what he said, but I just dont have the energy to type it.

Really, what does it matter? I have proof that I am fucked up. The chiro said what was fucked up before the MRI. Where is the mystery? Maybe I wasnt comfortable enough with funds to shell out x amount of money to get an MRI at the time. Maybe I didnt want to use someone else to pay for it? Who gives a shit? I suppose, I couldve said it, but I didnt.

Ive got a long path of rehab, therapy, and pain, why the constant need to ask questions or demand answers that wont help me or anyone else with sciatica?

 

[Arnold]

You were told here that an MRI is NOT a necessary diagnostic tool, that radiographic (x-rays) evidence and in-office physical evaluation and patient history are a standard diagnosis of back injury. You *insisted* on having an MRI done, despite the fact that your chiropractor warned you that it wasn't an absolute requirement.

so in his case you do not think an MRI was necessary?

 

[Trouble]

What I think is irrelevant; I quoted professional opinion on its need. Note the simple circumstances of the injury cause. This was not a car accident or high impact sports injury. Its a routine L4/L5 lower back injury, exactly as described in on the websites cited much earlier in this thread.

 

[Arnold]

I still fail to see how any back injury can be diagnosed and treated without an MRI, that seem the same as treating a broken bone without an x-ray.

 

[Trouble]

How do you think common lower back injuries were diagnosed before the advent of MRI use - a quite recent diagnostic tool? I understand your point. Mine is many doctors use MRI to verify a diagnosis when confounding symptoms or complications present in the case.

I will fetch the information/link and repost it.

 

[Arnold]

Really? How do you think common lower back injuries were diagnosed before the advent of MRI use (a quite recent diagnostic tool)? Ouiji board? Crystal ball? Dice?

couldn't you say that about anything in medicine?

I guess I would say often they were misdiagnosed, just as many things were, and many people used to die from things that are easily treated today with the advent of new technologies.

 

[Trouble]

Integrated findings form the clinical diagnosis
A physician???s clinical diagnosis focuses on determining the source of a patient???s pain. For this reason, the clinical diagnosis of pain from a herniated disc is based on more than just the findings from a diagnostic test, such as an MRI scan or CT scan. Instead, the spine care professional arrives at a clinical diagnosis of the cause of the patient???s pain through a combination of findings from a thorough medical history, conducting a complete physical exam, and, if appropriate, conducting one or more diagnostic tests.

*

Medical history. The physician will take the patient???s medical history, such as a description of when the low back pain, sciatica or other symptoms occur, a description of how the pain feels, what activities, positions or treatments make the pain feel better and more.
*

Physical exam. The physicians will conduct a thorough physical exam of the patient, such as testing nerve function and muscle strength in certain parts of the leg or arm, testing for pain in certain positions and more. Usually, this series of physical tests will give the spine professional a good idea of the type of back problem the patient has.
*

Diagnostic tests. After the physician has a good idea of the source of the patient???s pain, a diagnostic test, such as a CT scan or an MRI scan, is often ordered to confirm the presence of an anatomical lesion in the spine. The tests can give a detailed picture of the location of the herniated disc and impinged nerve roots.

It is important to emphasize that MRI scans and other diagnostic tests are not used to diagnose the patient???s pain; rather, they are only used to confirm the presence of an anatomical problem that was identified or suspected through the medical history and physical exam. For this reason, while the radiographic findings on an MRI scan or other tests are important, they are not as significant in diagnosing the cause of the patient???s pain (the clinical diagnosis) as are the findings from the medical history and physical exam.

Often, an MRI scan or other type of test will be used mainly for the purpose of surgical planning???for example, so the surgeon can see exactly where the herniated disc is and how it is impinging on the nerve root.

http://www.spine-health.com/topics/conserv/insights/insights02.html

 

[ponyboy]

I still fail to see how any back injury can be diagnosed and treated without an MRI, that seem the same as treating a broken bone without an x-ray.

You can tell a bone is broken without an x-ray though. Especially an open one that breaks through the skin. Owich.

 

[ubercoach]

Stubborn Akira, Stubborn Robert...

couldn't you say that about anything in medicine?

I guess I would say often they were misdiagnosed, just as many things were, and many people used to die from things that are easily treated today with the advent of new technologies.

In your way you are as stubborn as Akira. If you were to go back and carefully analyze every single piece of infromation posted by Trouble you will not find a single error in judgement or piece of incorrect info. Akira could have saved himself the cost of the MRI had he listened to Trouble and done a little homework. Listen and learn. Remember, Robert, while you are a superior 'human' being, Trouble is not from Earth...

Ubercoach

 

[AKIRA]

In your way you are as stubborn as Akira. If you were to go back and carefully analyze every single piece of infromation posted by Trouble you will not find a single error in judgement or piece of incorrect info. Akira could have saved himself the cost of the MRI had he listened to Trouble and done a little homework. Listen and learn. Remember, Robert, while you are a superior 'human' being, Trouble is not from Earth...

Ubercoach

A little homework? I was obsessed with this shit. I still am! I went to every site you listed, read every post, (even the useless ones), tried every trick I found.

An MRI may not have been 'needed,' but I was obsessed and needed that piece of mind. Plus, why not check for nerve damage?

 

[Arnold]

In your way you are as stubborn as Akira. If you were to go back and carefully analyze every single piece of infromation posted by Trouble you will not find a single error in judgement or piece of incorrect info. Akira could have saved himself the cost of the MRI had he listened to Trouble and done a little homework. Listen and learn. Remember, Robert, while you are a superior 'human' being, Trouble is not from Earth...

Ubercoach

I believe in utilizing technology, especially when your health is involved! I was misdiagnosed by my chiro, he said there was no way I had a herniated disc due to my symptoms (not very severe). But I decided I wanted to find out exactly what was going on in my lower back so I went in for an MRI. It turned out I had a centralized herniation in the L5/S1 disc and a buldging L5/L4 disc.

I once sprained my ankle so bad that I swore it was broken. I went to the ER because it hurt so bad I could not even walk. They did an x-ray and there was no break.

While it is true that a good doc can often diagnose problems without tests a smart one runs the blood tests, takes the x-ray, orders the MRI, etc. for confirmation of his diagnosis.

By the way I was a medic in the US Army and worked in a military hospital for almost 2 years. I went through 4 months of medical training, 8 hours per day, 5 days per week. While I am no MD (or even close) I like to think I have a litle bit of knowledge on the subject of medicine.

 

[AKIRA]

Ok.

My doctor didnt want me to get an MRI right away. In other words, he wanted to see if things progressed, plateaued, or regressed. In the event that I progressed, an MRI wouldnt see really needed. I was making progress, but I was impatient.

He was treating me the whole time as a patient with a "centralized L5 disk herniation." When I asked him weeks ago about an MRI, he said that it wouldnt really speed up the recovery, just point out exactly what was wrong.

At the time of hearing this, I thought "how can he be sure", but after receiving and seeing the results with my two eyes, I had to admit he was right.

 

[redchillipepper]

It has been made apparent that my back problem isnt muscular but a "sciatic nerve" problem.

A 'chiro' took my legs and pulled them to see if my legs were aligned and he said one was shorter than the other. He says this causes this nerve to be pinched resulting in this 'pinched' pain.

Truth is, I havent done any lower body work in over 2 months. I have stretched through some lower back pain that is now gone completely, BUT this sciatic nerve shit is worse than ever!

My question is, how can I see my way through it? Keep stretching? I do self-myofacial release on my lower back, hams, glutes, and IT band. I stretch my hams, glutes, lower back, and hip flexors (actively and static-ly).

This doesnt seem to be helping. I can keep getting adjusted by the chiro, but it adds up in $$.

Anyone conquered this problem before?

Yes, I have and in quite a bad way. Mine started after suffering from a spinal injury due to sky diving. I started out taking medicines and anti-inflammatories but it ended up costing too much. I no do regular acupuncture and specific exercises as well stretching exercises. Trick is to be consistent. I have inserted a link you might want to have a look at. All the best! I know what you are going through.

Henri