Typical

[Chris Sheppard]

I was playing with my 18 month old son on the floor, went to get up, twang dislocated a rib, bloody agony could hardly breathe!!

 

 

Youch, no mid christmas trail riding then?

[felixthelogchopper]

Had Sciatica in the past and heat was all that seemed to help it. Hope you get sorted soon.

[david wood]

a good physio can soon get you moving in right direction between treatments and exercises.

 

I have three wrecked discs in my back and put up with it for many many years when doc said its just job related, ended up ambulance job with pain and stuck in bed one day.

cue some drugs i walked out next day, asked around work mates and found a physio who within 2 mins diagnosed problem and how to get me going.

 

that was 4 years ago and if i am sensible when off work, ie do some light stuff every day and keep mobile it doesnt often flair up but when it does some rest/drugs/physio gets me going in not too long.

 

guess the point is find a good physio, go with whatever they suggest be it massage/exercise/acupuncture/manipulation and really truly do as they say.

[chaffey]

I have had sciatica on a couple of previous occassions. The last time it was so bad I had to lift my left leg out of my bed as it was so painful. Trip to the doctor and he said "get yourself back to work as soon as possible as bed rest will just seize you up further"!! Got myself back off to work the next day and I won't lie the pain was awful to start with but once I had been working for a while the pain subsided. Not forever mind you it came back when I rested in the evening but was gone after about 6 weeks!! Good luck with it anyway.

[michaelknapp]

reading all these responses the question when do you retire keeps cropping up in my head we manage these symptoms and mask them with treatment but they never go away but when do you say enough is enough for me i think i will retire at 50

[chaffey]

I'd like to retire now:lol:. Actually I wouldn't. Believe it or not I love doing what I do. Just a bit of a pain when it rains all year!! Never give up. Just don't retire:lol:

[likeitorlumpit]

I struggled with sciatica for 4 months about 5 years ago- spent every day in pain. Finally went to a different osteopath who fixed it with one session. If you are ever in Sandgate drop in on him (Family wellness centre- Julian Drion). I've sent others there too and all have had good results- even miraculous.

I do know sitting around didn't fix it.

[Rupe]

Just to clear up any confusion, sciatica is not the same as a prolapsed disc causing pain in the sciatic nerve.

 

The latter is much worse.

 

Sciatica is simply swelling of the sciatic nerve, somewhere along its length but usually in the lower back (not necessarily near the spine) it is very painfull but it will come and go and can be eased with anti inflammatories such is ibuprofen. The pain usually goes into the buttocks and upper leg but not much more than that.

 

I slipped or prolapsed disc is different, if you slip the L3'L4 disc then it will impinge on the sciatic nerve causing very similar pain to sciatica but its not the same reason for the pain. Depending on the amount of prolapsed disc it wont go away as easily and so the pain is much worse and longer lasting and ibuprofen will not be much use at all. The pain can extend all the way into the foot and toes.

 

Other discs will impinge on other nerves causing different pains and symptons.

 

You should consider a slipped disc to be like a hammer blow to the thumb causing a black finger nail. Once the hammer has landed on the thumb there is no reversing that event. But the black nail will grow out in time. Same with a slipped disc, there is no going back but the body will recover and the prolapsed section will die off and be discarded but this can take months so in the meantime you have to manage the pain and keep moving as much as possible, rest is not necessarily a good thing but of course if the pain is severe then it migh be the only option.

 

In my experience climbing is good for a slipped disc so keep at at, lifting and poor posture is the worse and so using a large saw on the ground is probably the worst thing to do.

 

So anyone with a slipped disc you would wish you had sciatica instead, and anyone with sciatica is lucky, ibuprofen and paracetemaol and maybe hot/cold treatments should ease it.

[RobArb]

Couldn't agree more rupe, it's the prolapsed disc that I have, had it since early November now but I do find that climbing, eases it, being on the ground, ouch!

 

 

 

Sent from my Galaxy S2

[Rupe]

I feel your pain! What painkillers are you using (if any).

 

It took me about 5months for it to get better, it will happen if you can get by in the meantime then you will be fine eventually.