sciatic nerve

[MissConduct 1]

Has anyone ever experienced a "sciatic nerve" problem before?? I've had a pain in my ass that sometimes shoots down the back of my leg since the day after the MSH game, here's my problem, I HAVE to play hockey tonight, and entered a tournament awhile back for the 26th-27th-28th of this month, will I make things worse? Im taking muscle relaxers and 1 motrin w/ibuprofen for pain before I step on the ice already.. lol I can handle pain a little but dont wanna make things worse, anyone had this problem b4?

TIA

Mich

[RadioGaGa 162]

Have you had any therapy? Massage...Chiropractor? That may help.

[JR Boucicaut 3760]

Mich -

Why do you think I was hobbling around?

I have sciatica - pain starts at the lower back and shoots down to the hamstrings.

I've had it for years. Muscle relaxers will help, but what works best is stretching. There are a number of stretches that you can do that will help.

[Spreedizzle 1]

I had a pretty extensive knee surgery about 7 years ago and have had difficulties with sciatic pain since then. The #1 cause of it (for my case at least) is tightness in the hamstrings and lower back. Because of this I have adopted a daily stretching routine as preventative maintenance and it has worked wonders in curing my sciatic pain. One of the best ones that I have found is called the "doorway stretch." If this is one that you are not familiar with, feel free to PM me and I can explain it to you. Good luck, and I hope that the pain subsides.

[number21 3]

hmmm. this thread kind of confirms my thoughts that i may be having sciatic nerve problems. It only bothers me when i drive though and sometimes if i sit too long at my desk at work.

Usually it starts behind my knee or in my hamstring and shoots down to the foot.

Hockey doesn't bother it at all with me. Like i said, driving is my trigger and it gets bad sometimes.

I always thought sciatica was an old person thing, so i was slightly concerned since i am 28. Obviously it's not an old-person-only thing.

has anyone scene a doctor about it?

[MissConduct 1]

mine is at it's worst when I bend my left knee and move it in towards and/or past the right leg/knee. The pain is mostly in the high left part of my ass, and a bit in my lower left back, sometimes going to about the knee but rarely. But last Friday night I skated and my first stride was so painful I had tears.. I found muscle relaxers help, I will try stretches but like I said it's painful to bend and turn my left leg without sharp pain. With it being so close to xmas, I dont feel like calling the doc to make apt. cause it's prolly busy as hell

[chk hrd 164]

if you haven't had it looked at get it done. Something has to cause the pain, for me it was a herniated L5/S1 disk. The pain started in my lower back/top of left ass cheek and went down my left leg. As it got worse the pain would go down to my foot. At the very worse I lost sensation in the foot from the nerve being pinched.

A anti inflammitory / pain releiver like advil is good. Try putting an ice pack on if you get the chance. Also lay on your side (prefferably on the floor), put a pillow between your knees and pull your legs up a little. Do this with the ice pack and it may help some. I've spent many hours in this position.

I still have the sciatic pain (as well as other back pains). I take a couple of advil and try and stretch before my games. If I sit to long or don't stay active it hurts more. Better safe then sorry, get it checked.

[chippa13 1844]

hmmm. this thread kind of confirms my thoughts that i may be having sciatic nerve problems. It only bothers me when i drive though and sometimes if i sit too long at my desk at work.

Usually it starts behind my knee or in my hamstring and shoots down to the foot.

Hockey doesn't bother it at all with me. Like i said, driving is my trigger and it gets bad sometimes.

I always thought sciatica was an old person thing, so i was slightly concerned since i am 28. Obviously it's not an old-person-only thing.

has anyone scene a doctor about it?

Your problem sounds different with the pain always being so low in the leg. Sciatica is definitely not an old person's problem. I've had flare ups since I was in college.

[Theo 1]

Just as one way to see if it *may* be sciatica, as you sit in your chair while reading this, bend your back/upper body forward and downward(like you are giving someone a bow) and see if the pain intensifies in your bad leg. Also, getting in and out of the car would be a bitch, in most cases

Some people try stretching, chiropractors, surgery to alleviate disc/nerve issues...Here is another option:

http://www.amazon.com/Mindbody-Prescriptio...8883&sr=8-1

Reading this may help above anything else. Not saying the injuries are not legit, but there are strong connections between perfectionists, stressed, accountable people and these conditions which are explained

[N!! 0]

The term "sciatica" only refers to the symptoms and not the actual cause; there could any of a number of causes for sciatic inflammation. It's basically a catch-all, the same way that "gastroentritis" is used to refer to anything that last 24-72 hours with fever, nausea, stomach pain, and vomiting.

If anyone is having sciatic pain and hasn't had it checked by a doctor, I strongly recommend doing so. Although it could be something basic and minor, it could also be something as major as a disc herniation or (the big one) lumbar spinal stenosis.

[mack 44]

Still not sure how I got it or how I ever avoided it again, but one time it kicked in when I just got on a flight to Atlanta. Worst flight ever. After the flight I bumrushed the store to get some Aleve but it was gone right after.

[Yakus 0]

What you have is called the piriformis syndrome. I had the exact same problem a few months ago. Got hurt in a game and the pain started from left ass and when I move, it shoots the pain down my left leg. Usually hurts the most getting out of bed, car, chair, etc. It started with the pain just going to the knee but it got worst and the pain went straight down to my foot.

It took me about 3 months to recover. To get through hockey games, I took ibuprofen. Gotta keep stretching it everday! You can find the appropriate stretches online.

[jbyun04 7]

Like everyone else said, stretches and muscle relaxers help but if it's serious, acupuncture could be a big help especially since the whole idea is to correct the nerves.

[chippa13 1844]

Still not sure how I got it or how I ever avoided it again, but one time it kicked in when I just got on a flight to Atlanta. Worst flight ever. After the flight I bumrushed the store to get some Aleve but it was gone right after.

You may have just pinched the nerve from sitting on the plane for a long period.

[DarkStar50 679]

When I was 27 I slipped a disc in my lower back by improperly lifting furniture. Within a month, I was in major pain. I had sciatica from my left butt to my toes. It is the most intense pain I ever had. I could barely drive to work since sitting in the driver's seat just made it worse. The chiropractor was useless so I quit that after 2 visits. I lived on Tylenol like chewing gum. I had to eat meals in my apartment standing up since I could not sit in a chair. I would lie on my back on the floor with a pillow under my knees for temporary relief. If I let my legs lie flat on the floor, I could only raise my left leg to about 45* before the pain was too much. I used to do butt-tucks on my back to strengthen the muscles. I put a board underneath my mattress to sleep on a firmer bed. I quit hockey for 15 months. I could not skate. At one point, things got so tight I had a limp. I hurt myself in May. The following February I had to drive to Montreal for the CSGA show. The trip would take 6 hours usually. It took 10 hours because I had to stop and get out of the car to stretch my legs. The sciatica was just killing me. Eventually, after 15 months it went away. The first time I went back to play hockey, I lasted 15 minutes.

You should see a doctor. An x-ray or MRI will get some questions answered.

Every once in a while if I move the wrong way, my back will lock up and I can't move. You never know when it will happen.

[number21 3]

Your problem sounds different with the pain always being so low in the leg. Sciatica is definitely not an old person's problem. I've had flare ups since I was in college.

judging from these stories i am wondering as well. Mine bugs my right leg only. It's never been so bad i had to stop driving, but bad enough to constantly trying to massage my hamstring while driving. Sometimes my foot gets pins and needles too. I either have a mild bit of it or maybe some other nerve pinching or something.

i think in the new year, i will see a doctor. it's been ages since i have gone to one anyway.

[MissConduct 1]

just an update, did some stretches, and didnt take pills last Saturday, was good, and have been good ever since, little to no pain now.. hope that never comes back :o that was crazy :)

[The Stranger 0]

Your problem sounds different with the pain always being so low in the leg. Sciatica is definitely not an old person's problem. I've had flare ups since I was in college.

judging from these stories i am wondering as well. Mine bugs my right leg only. It's never been so bad i had to stop driving, but bad enough to constantly trying to massage my hamstring while driving. Sometimes my foot gets pins and needles too. I either have a mild bit of it or maybe some other nerve pinching or something.

i think in the new year, i will see a doctor. it's been ages since i have gone to one anyway.

Do you sit on your wallet?

[Spreedizzle 1]

just an update, did some stretches, and didnt take pills last Saturday, was good, and have been good ever since, little to no pain now.. hope that never comes back :o that was crazy :)

Glad to hear that the stretching and other things that were recommended on here helped you out. Hope that it stays away from you for good. :)

[chk hrd 164]

Your problem sounds different with the pain always being so low in the leg. Sciatica is definitely not an old person's problem. I've had flare ups since I was in college.

judging from these stories i am wondering as well. Mine bugs my right leg only. It's never been so bad i had to stop driving, but bad enough to constantly trying to massage my hamstring while driving. Sometimes my foot gets pins and needles too. I either have a mild bit of it or maybe some other nerve pinching or something.

i think in the new year, i will see a doctor. it's been ages since i have gone to one anyway.

Do you sit on your wallet?

good point, my doctor told me to put my wallet in my front pocket because it puts pressure on your nerve when you sit on it

[Wolfpack_1986 146]

I totally know what you guys are going through... If you've got nerve damage (as in permanant symptoms), there's a few things you can try to talk to your physician about.

I have a lesion on my spinal cord at about the c2 vertebra (up high in the neck). On bad days, the pain in the legs you guys feel is what I'll have in my neck, in addition to muscle spasm and the like... I'll also get some tingling in my ass and in my finger tips (especially if i tilt my head forward). I'm on muscle relaxers, and they seem to help me out alright. I'm also on lyrica, which is a seizure medication. You might have seen an ad for it for fibromyalgia, which is something else it is used for. In my case, nerve damage can sometimes be dulled with drugs like lyrica or cymbalta. I take a fairly low dose, but i really do feel as though my quality of life has improved significantly. I've also got a large bottle of vicodin that I take as needed, to manage the pain (since its in my neck it leads to brutal headaches and just general miserableness). My balance is also terrible for my age (that of a 50 year old), but only when my eyes are closed.

Any how, since we were talking about damaged nerve tissue and all that figured I'd share my story and suggest that if it causes significant pain to see a neurologist.

[number21 3]

nope i keep my wallet in my front pocket,never liked the back pocket feeling.

anyway, i think i should still do the doctor thing. I have absolutely no back pain with it, just in the hamstring area and in the back of my knee, sometimes it travels to the foot or up through my entire upper leg. It is mostly a linger pain with random moments of sharp pain.

i am going to try and stretch more, i forgot during my driving for the holidays and yesterday was a killer drive through the snow of West Michigan with my leg in pain!

[mug25 2]

Well, I was lucky enough to experience my first sciatic nerve incident tonight...took a stride, out of nowhere. BAM! Sharp pain in my ass....Luckily it started feeling better after the Coach who was running the clinic helped me with some really good stretches. Hurts now that I'm home...

(sorry for waking a dead thread, it came up when I went to make a new thread on the topic)

[Hermans 9]

Well, I was lucky enough to experience my first sciatic nerve incident tonight...took a stride, out of nowhere. BAM! Sharp pain in my ass....Luckily it started feeling better after the Coach who was running the clinic helped me with some really good stretches. Hurts now that I'm home...

(sorry for waking a dead thread, it came up when I went to make a new thread on the topic)

pressure the weight of a dime can trigger the nerve to feel threatened and the nerve then calls the muscles around it to tighten to stop movements. Once the nerve relaxes it tells the muscles to relax. And that is just for simple injuries you can treat with a chiro or physio or RMT. or so my chiro told me, but she got me moving again with 5 weeks off of the ice.

Apparently being "off-balance" in your muscles and skeleton can also pull things against the nerve without injuries to discs, etc., so it's important to balance out excercise. And rest. I'm good at the resting part for 3 days a week.

[psh 25]

I've had trouble with piriformis syndrome, as well. Spent a few months in PT, but have never fully solved the problem. Just one thing to add. Be careful about taking ibuprofin before skates. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs--aspirin, advil, alleve/naproxin) can really tax the kidneys when taken in conjunction with heavy exercise routines, especially if you are prone to dehydration. The advice I have gotten regarding both hockey and running is to stick to acetominiphin/Tylenol and to leave the NSAIDs for when I'm not exercising.