Anyone Know How To Cure/Help Sciatica?

[Nokoni]

Hey buddy I don't know if something someone has said on here has helped yet but these "dynamic stretches" cured my sciatica I had down BOTH legs that I struggled with for two years.

This first video shows you rotational excersices. The beginning excersices done with your back on the ground are the most important in the video. Careful trying any of the leg swinging stuff done standing as that may aggrevate your discs, but definitely to the beginning exercises for rotation of the pelvis/spine, you may notice your back pop or crack through the movement; nothing to be afraid of, mine dose this but it's really just realigning your spine as long as you're being controlled through the movement and any soreness, inflammation or pain I'd have after is really just the healing process, not newly incurred injury.




After the rotational exercises I always follow up with the simple yoga exercise known as the cobra pose. Though instead of going into a push up position from downward dog I'd just lower my pelvis with my arms straight right into cobra position as the odd close push-up position kind of hurt my elbow for whatever reason.



These exercises cleared up my sciatica in two weeks doing them every other day the first week then everyday the second week followed by a 5 minute walk to help blood flow increase as much as possible through the injury since sitting stagnant after these exercises just makes the swelling intensify. After my walk I'd ice my injured spot for 15mins followed by 10mins break from ice then again for another 15mins. Doing this icing cycle as much as you can after your exercises is ideal and will help flush the area of inflammation and then ply it with new blood for recovery. The areas in which an injury causes sciatica are very a-vascular so they don't heal very fast because of the low blood flow so all this should help get plenty of blood flow. The rotational exersices help migrate your bulged disc(s) back into place laterally, and the extension exercise (cobra pose) helps migrate your disc(s) in from posterior towards anterior. These two migration patterns are the most common injury direction the discs take in sciatica. Be careful doing too much hamstring/toe touching stretches as this may worsen your bulging disc in the beginning.

After two years of pain these simple things healed me in two weeks! Mine was so bad my right leg would go straight numb randomly! Oh and easy on aspirin or any pain killers during this time as SOME inflammation is necessary and good for healing, ice will do just fine for an anti inflammatory during this without messing with the chemical/ hormonal cascade.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Oh and please forgive the meathead talk in the first video lol couldn't find the original one so this guys vid was the next best.

Great info. Will definitely check it out. Thanks :)

 

[Nokoni]

Message deleted. Wrong thread.

 

[nerfherder]

Peat apparently believes endotoxin infection in the disc plays a role, so I took antibiotics for one month. It can't fully heal if infection remains in the disc. (Remember lower back discs are very close to intestines so endotoxin could easily diffuse through the tissues to the discs.)

My 2yo son had infection in the vertebrae of his lower back. It was fixed with a month of antibiotics deliverd by picc line. They used a picc line because there's so little blood supply to the lower spine that the best they could do was get the antibiotics straight into the heart. The point is that even though you are taking antibiotics for a month it might not be enough to get to the lower spine.

It worked, he walked again.

 

[X3CyO]

 

[x-ray peat]

lol love Bill Burr. Good tips too.

 

[sladerunner69]

Have you tried using a foam roller? Helps after doing ehavy squats and lifting training, not sure if it would provide the same benefits in your case though.

 

[Colin Nordstrom]

x-ray peat, as a physical therapist I highly Jim Johnson's Back Pain Solution book. It got me out of a mess, though ridding PUFA from my life made a huge difference. It has all the research that supports why the multifidus muscles are key to ending sciatica.

 

[x-ray peat]

Have you tried using a foam roller? Helps after doing ehavy squats and lifting training, not sure if it would provide the same benefits in your case though.

x-ray peat, as a physical therapist I highly Jim Johnson's Back Pain Solution book. It got me out of a mess, though ridding PUFA from my life made a huge difference. It has all the research that supports why the multifidus muscles are key to ending sciatica.

Thanks guys will do some research on your suggestions. I googled multifidus and am doing some exercises as I type. Did I mention I will try anything.

 

[Herbie]

On the multifidus,

What can happen is when the hamstrings get tight that a person will flex through the lumber spine to compensate for less range of motion in the hamstrings leading to disc bulges then the multifidus will get long and weak and weaken the integrity of the lumber spine. Doing exerices for the multifidus can help.

Might be worth checking the hamstring mobility.

 

[Felix Fuligin]

I had sciatic pain for over a year and completely healed it with 6 Feldenkrais sessions and regular Tai Chi. Walking was also helpful.

 

[michael94]

Thanks guys will do some research on your suggestions. I googled multifidus and am doing some exercises as I type. Did I mention I will try anything.

Have you heard of or tried guaifenesin ( mucinex standard version )?

https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/guai-fenes-in.20875/

 

[x-ray peat]

Have you heard of or tried guaifenesin ( mucinex standard version )?

https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/guai-fenes-in.20875/

that name when translated sounds scary as f. lol. I'm actually a lot better thanks.
To update the thread, my sciatica finally went away though my back is still a bit stiff. I think it was mostly the McKenzie exercises but who knows as I tried a lot of stuff.

 

[michael94]

that name when translated sounds scary as f. lol. I'm actually a lot better thanks.
To update the thread, my sciatica finally went away though my back is still a bit stiff. I think it was mostly the McKenzie exercises but who knows as I tried a lot of stuff.

Taken literally, the meaning of the drug Gaui- fenes-in
is: "Woe to fenes-in" ( like one would use Woe in "Woe to you!" )
guai - Wiktionary

It is a good thing.

 

[x-ray peat]

Taken literally, the meaning of the drug Gaui- fenes-in
is: "Woe to fenes-in" ( like one would use Woe in "Woe to you!" )
guai - Wiktionary

It is a good thing.

Im sure it is a good thing. I was just commenting on your more full definition,

Guai mean Woe...
In other words, A curse or baneful wish
fenes comes from fenestral which means "window", but related to the body it means opening: an orifice. Windows for the Demiurge to abuse and desecrate. A window for the Devil to enter your Soul. fenes-IN...

 

[jimisonthenet]

6 months of consistent chronic pain due to sciatica is starting to take it's toll on me. I was quite active and have had to stop all exercise apart from walking, but every time I put my right foot forward I get a dull pain in the bend behind my kneecap. I can't sit down/drive/work etc. I've seen 3 different osteopaths who all had very different personalities, but none have alleviated the pain. I'm getting an MRI soon. I have a very much Ray Peat inspired diet, but I just seem to be unable to shake this. I'm doing gentle exercises recommended by osteopaths and resting a lot, and also walking a little once a day to get some blood flow and fresh air.

I've currently started taking Naproxen, I find it makes me drowsy if I have it without a lot of food, it has helped with the pain initially, but barely. I'll probably give it a few more days and then throw it in the bin if my symptoms don't improve. I don't want to mix it with aspirin, and I found rubbing an aspirin cream on my back and right leg helped alleviate the pain better, but this pain relief only lasted a few hours.

 

[Inaut]

To any osteopaths or chiropractors, can sciatica cause a lax sphincter? My girl told me the other day she pooped her pants without noticing.....She's been complaining of back pain for a little while and recently she's reported a numb/tingling sensation on her foot.... I thought it could be related to sciatica but when I did more reading I read about Cauda Equina (i hate webmd) and I'm praying it's not this. Any comments would be much appreciated... Thanks

 

[Regina]

For me, sciatica (which may have been piriformis syndrome) was clearly from estrogen. (which was due to over-exercising).
I had access to marvelous body workers and good exercises. No help.
But a few drops of progestene completely eliminated it--in a 'that was easy' kind of way.
Lidicaine patches also helped when it flared up and I wanted to train.
I stopped training though.

 

[teds]

To any osteopaths or chiropractors, can sciatica cause a lax sphincter? My girl told me the other day she pooped her pants without noticing.....She's been complaining of back pain for a little while and recently she's reported a numb/tingling sensation on her foot.... I thought it could be related to sciatica but when I did more reading I read about Cauda Equina (i hate webmd) and I'm praying it's not this. Any comments would be much appreciated... Thanks

No sciatica but other nerves may be affected (as opposed to the sciatic nerve)- most importantly in this context, fecal incontinence is a red flag for more a serious condition- cauda equina- now I’m not saying that this IS what is going on but if she has back issues and this happens then I’d get her looked at ASAP.. as in hospital visit if you can’t get in to see your GP. Obviously I’m making this statement based on very little information but it’s important to treat this rather than ‘wait and watch’ if that is what is going on.

 

[teds]

To any osteopaths or chiropractors, can sciatica cause a lax sphincter? My girl told me the other day she pooped her pants without noticing.....She's been complaining of back pain for a little while and recently she's reported a numb/tingling sensation on her foot.... I thought it could be related to sciatica but when I did more reading I read about Cauda Equina (i hate webmd) and I'm praying it's not this. Any comments would be much appreciated... Thanks

Cauda Equina Syndrome: Symptoms, Treatment, Surgery. Relieve Lower Back Pain

 

[Recoen]

I needed B12. I know of 5 others whose sciatica also cleared up with B12.