Sciatic Nerve Pain

[HC]

Has anyone had any issues with their sciatic nerve or sciatica (sometimes called periformis syndrome)? I started seriously hitting the weights in Feb and this probably started around May. I did focus a lot on my glutes because I needed to build there - and I did. Is it possible as my muscles got bigger - it's rubbing on my nerve?

I have classic sciatica symptoms - pain in butt, shoots down my leg, make my outer foot numb. Have been to chiropractor who told me to stop doing squats (yah, right!) My regular doctor said not to stop exercising (because it feels good when I am moving, just hurts when I sit/drive for a while) - he gave me some stretches and some anti-inflammatory meds but it is not like it is gone - wondering if I should go to a sports med guy...I guess there is some controversy over sciatica (whether it's "real" or not) - well it's real - just wondering if anyone has had this and if anything helped make it go away.

Thanks.

[lcash]

I thought that that was what old people used to say to get out of work! Let us know what you find out. I have had similar pains in the past. Mainly after flying a long overseas flight.

Lcash

[lukamar]

I've had a similar problem for a week. Started after i did some heavy leg work. Yesterday i was talking to the guy that owns our gym but he has 2 physio businesses as well and mostly just does sports and running related work himself.

He was saying that it's common in older athletes especially lifters and often it's related to a disk problem. He suggested laying off for a week and then using lower weights.

I've also had a pinched nerve (it's not that at the moment) and the Neurologist said that a lot depends on how your nerves are routed through your pelvis for that one. If this happens it's normally related to my hams being very tight and stretching works a bit.

I hate taking pain meds but I know the pain you can be in. I usually take ibuprofen or if it's really severe Celebrex, which i have for my elbow.

[dbx]

Has anyone had any issues with their sciatic nerve or sciatica (sometimes called periformis syndrome)? I started seriously hitting the weights in Feb and this probably started around May. I did focus a lot on my glutes because I needed to build there - and I did. Is it possible as my muscles got bigger - it's rubbing on my nerve?

I have classic sciatica symptoms - pain in butt, shoots down my leg, make my outer foot numb. Have been to chiropractor who told me to stop doing squats (yah, right!) My regular doctor said not to stop exercising (because it feels good when I am moving, just hurts when I sit/drive for a while) - he gave me some stretches and some anti-inflammatory meds but it is not like it is gone - wondering if I should go to a sports med guy...I guess there is some controversy over sciatica (whether it's "real" or not) - well it's real - just wondering if anyone has had this and if anything helped make it go away.

Thanks.

The sciatic nerve is very real, and it causes lots of people discomfort. I have issues when driving for more than approx 2hrs. I've had to stop and stretch (toe touches etc..) for 30 seconds or so, and I'm good to go for another hour or more. However.....there are several variations of leg pain as you describe. I do not believe mine is caused from the sciatic nerve....but yours may very well be. My 75yr old father just started experiencing this, this past year. His was severe enough to warrant spinal injections, MRI's etc., and they still can't say with certainty what's causing it.

I know this doesn't really help you, but just know that you're not alone . Again, stretching when I feel that pain coming on works for me.

I thought that that was what old people used to say to get out of work! Let us know what you find out. I have had similar pains in the past. Mainly after flying a long overseas flight.

Lcash

The hottest thing that airlines have worried about in the past 5-6yrs is being sued over DVT, or deep vein thrombosis (sp). But this is a case of blot clotting from sitting too long without moving/standing/stretching. But yeah, your description is probably the same thing we're talking about here, and not DVT.

[amberlynn72]

Has anyone had any issues with their sciatic nerve or sciatica (sometimes called periformis syndrome)? I started seriously hitting the weights in Feb and this probably started around May. I did focus a lot on my glutes because I needed to build there - and I did. Is it possible as my muscles got bigger - it's rubbing on my nerve?

I have classic sciatica symptoms - pain in butt, shoots down my leg, make my outer foot numb. Have been to chiropractor who told me to stop doing squats (yah, right!) My regular doctor said not to stop exercising (because it feels good when I am moving, just hurts when I sit/drive for a while) - he gave me some stretches and some anti-inflammatory meds but it is not like it is gone - wondering if I should go to a sports med guy...I guess there is some controversy over sciatica (whether it's "real" or not) - well it's real - just wondering if anyone has had this and if anything helped make it go away.

Thanks.

Well that sucks! I had the great sciatica when i was pregnant ..just about the whole 9 months..I dont think there is much you can do for it...but i was pregnant..My doc did nothing. He said i will just have to ride it out ..unfortunately.

[user464444132bbg]

I battled sciatica for months. One thing that helped a lot was icing it.

[kmax]

As someone who has suffered backpain for 20 years and had 5 severe episodes of pain that lasted for weeks and as someone who has used and still does use Chiropractic care for 12 years I will suggest you go to a Physical Therapist. Not sure why your Chiro told you not to do squats unless he felt that your form was bad. Physical Therapists know a lot about your problem and can set you up with a stretching program and also test you for muscular weaknesses.

[kmax]

Is it possible as my muscles got bigger - it's rubbing on my nerve?

My opinion.... the short answer to this is no. The long answer is no, this simply does not happen.

[lukamar]

My opinion.... the short answer to this is no. The long answer is no, this simply does not happen.

I agree with you with a caveat.. If you have swelling for whatever reason, it can impinge on nerves and cause pain.

[Enduro]

Has anyone had any issues with their sciatic nerve or sciatica (sometimes called periformis syndrome)? I started seriously hitting the weights in Feb and this probably started around May. I did focus a lot on my glutes because I needed to build there - and I did. Is it possible as my muscles got bigger - it's rubbing on my nerve?

I have classic sciatica symptoms - pain in butt, shoots down my leg, make my outer foot numb. Have been to chiropractor who told me to stop doing squats (yah, right!) My regular doctor said not to stop exercising (because it feels good when I am moving, just hurts when I sit/drive for a while) - he gave me some stretches and some anti-inflammatory meds but it is not like it is gone - wondering if I should go to a sports med guy...I guess there is some controversy over sciatica (whether it's "real" or not) - well it's real - just wondering if anyone has had this and if anything helped make it go away.

Thanks.

Yep have been through it, put up with it for years and finally had surgery to take care of a bulging disc. This was about 10 years ago. The sciatica went away for several years then came back a couple of years ago due to the repaired disc dehydrating, which is typical after surgery. The dehydrated disc creates an even narrower space for the nerve to pass through.

In seeking out alternative treatments, I tried Acupuncture with a traditional Chinese Doctor of medicine (don't know if I would trust an American Acupuncturist, the cultures are just to far apart or different). The good news is Acupuncture cured me It took about 4 months of every other week treatments. He has also helped with some shoulder issues. The weird part is even though there is some slight pain involved in the treatments , I look forward to going to my once a month wellness treatments. The key is being able to relax your muscles during the treatment.

[kmax]

I agree with you with a caveat.. If you have swelling for whatever reason, it can impinge on nerves and cause pain.

Good point, I wasn't thinking about inflammation.

[TDetroit]

I just had this conversation with a trainer.

He pointed out some really great excercises that have side effects. One is leg work...

If you do certain leg excercises (he didn't list all of them), like leg lifts, you could force a tilt in your pelvic bone, which will cause back pain.

Here's what he has his clients do when they start drifting to much in that direction. One leg squats. Hold one leg in front of you, and squat with the other. It's ok to train yourself holding a pole or a table. Istarted doing them first thing in the morning holding the dresser.

They are very difficult to go A2G. You being a hockey player should be doing these on the ice anyway. I get a great alignment all the way up my back when I do these. After only a couple of weeks, I can almost go A2G without holding on to support.

I also do them on the smith machine, but that's a lot harder to do.

[lukamar]

, you could force a tilt in your pelvic bone, which will cause back pain.

Leg presses can be a killer if you don't make sure your butt is planted on the seat. If you get any tilt in your pelvis you can really cause some problems because of the leverage involved..

[kimsquit]

my sciatic flared up last summer during my contest prep. My chiropractor deduced that it started for two reasons: joint impingement where my tailbone meets my pelvis (due to an old squatting injury) and a calcium deficiency.

His joint adjustments were a one-time thing and afterwards, I iced it all the time and started taking liquid calcium. It definitely helped in my situation.

Until the inflammation was diagnosed and treated, I found that using the Stepper in the morning helped reduce the overnight stiffness so that I could at least hobble around at work.

[farsscf]

Might have to look into the calcium supplementation, good call.

[dmangiarelli]

I had what I thought was sciatica. I mistakenly thought it was Pirifomis syndrome. After an MRI and two trips to the ER in the middle of the night from severe pain, I found out I had two disks in my back that were decimated and two vertabrae that were 30% displaced.

After having three vertabrae fused and two disks removed I am feeling much better. Recovery time was supposed to be 6 months but I just passed that and have been back at the gym for nearly 3 months now, including squats.

Get x-rays and an MRI to make sure you don't have a bulging or ruptured disk. Piriformis is a fascia related injury and usually results in knee pain where the pirifomis inserts in the lower leg right under the knee. Sciatica is nerve related and begins in the low back, usually from a herniated disk pressing on the sciatic nerve. I still have damage in my left calf from the disks cutting off the nerve in my lower back. It affects my foot when I run.

Don

[chief1450]

Oh yes, the old sciatic nerve pain. I've been having that problem on and off for the past 6 years. The last 6 months have been bad. When I get up in the morning I have to hold on to things as I walk to the bathroom. It feels like electric shocks going down my buttocks and into the back of my legs. Once I take a hot shower and move around a little, it becomes tolerable.

During the day if I have been sitting in one position for a while and I forget and stand up quickly, ouch! I've done all of the things that normally helps my back pain such as stretching, the hot and cold packs, over the counter drugs, my inversion table, but nothing seems to do much good for my sciatic nerve pain. If this episode is like the last ones I've had, the only thing that really helps is time. It sucks.

If you find a cure let me know.

[QUALITYGUY1]

Has anyone had any issues with their sciatic nerve or sciatica (sometimes called periformis syndrome)?............

I battled it for about a month ~4 years ago. Went away and hasn't been back since. Deep tissue massage & icing relieved much of the pain during the ordeal. Then, my daughter gave me some samples of Skelaxin 800 and it really helped a ton. See here:
http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/metax.htm

Hope yours goes away fast...the sleepless nights are hell!

Funny thing, and this is what a doc told me, guys are prone to this because they carry thier wallet in their back pocket and this can irritate the sciatic when they sit on the damn thing. I guess if you have a lot of money, i.e. thick wallet, it could be worse.

[ironmaidn4life]

I am a poster child for sciatic nerve pain...or thankfully WAS and yes it does exist. I had lumbar surgery in 2001 to relieve my nerve pain that went down my entire leg even through my calf on some of my worst days.

I am so sorry to hear you are having trouble with this. Chiropratics is great and they helped me for a period of time, but then I got an MRI and saw an orthopedic surgeon and a neurosurgeon to get their opinions. My surgery was performed by a neurosurgeon. When it comes to nerve pain, they are the one's to consult. An orthopedic MD will send you to PT or jest give you pain meds. I am happy to say, I am back squating away (MD's do not like to hear this - but I sware by them). If you find squats are bothering you, switch over to a 45 degree angle leg press machine if you have access to or walking lunges.

Best wishes to you and keep us posted.

[tomdana]

You are an athlete. You deserve a dr for athletes. Seek out a referral to a good sports medicine orthopod. He should be able to help and likely has PT resources that he is aware of that will have expertise with sciatica in your area. One of my best friends sufferred the same and I referred her to our sports medicine doc in our clinic and she had PT and is much better and back at exercise. Good luck and take care.

[MattyG]

Poor you - I had quite bad sciatica for over a year. I couldn't put my own socks on and found daily tasks very difficult.
Mornings were the worst - getting out of bed was horrendous. I would literally yell as I pulled myself out.

I went to the physio who prescribed a program of stretches, which I followed strictly and after a few weeks the problem faded away.

You should see a specialist - don't try to self remedy the problem.

For quick relief ibuprofen works a treat - just don't get 'dependent' like I did

[Black Sunday]

Get x-rays and an MRI to make sure you don't have a bulging or ruptured disk. Piriformis is a fascia related injury and usually results in knee pain where the pirifomis inserts in the lower leg right under the knee. Sciatica is nerve related and begins in the low back, usually from a herniated disk pressing on the sciatic nerve. I still have damage in my left calf from the disks cutting off the nerve in my lower back. It affects my foot when I run.

Don

Different PFS. I believe you have your syndromes confused. Piriformis muscle is in the gluteal region. See diagram. Were you thinking of patella femoral syndrom?



Hockeychick I have a friend who went through the pain of sciatica and did the chiro route i believe, with no success. I asked if he had his piriformis checked and he smiled and said one doctor had prescribed some stretching exercises and the pain was gone. Good luck finding the cause of the problem and a solution.

cheers

steve

[kmax]

Reading these posts validates the idea that there is not any one way to treat backpain. It is best to try the least invasive treatments methods first.
Surgery only as a last resort.

[HC]

Thanks so much everyone! All good info! I have slacked off on my stretching so I will get back with that immediatly! I did have an injury on that side to my sacro illiac joint (tailbone/pelvis) when I had my first child...chiro took care of that - but he hasn't been able to fix this - I will see about getting to a PT or sports med doc. I even have a traditional chinese accupuncturist in town.

I did get some supplement advice offline - if I have success with that I will be sure to post.

THANKS SO MUCH!

And Tdetroit - SHOOT THE DUCK??!! - ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!!! hahahaha!!! (I could never do that will as a kid...but I will start practicing)

[drjoe]

Has anyone had any issues with their sciatic nerve or sciatica (sometimes called periformis syndrome)? I started seriously hitting the weights in Feb and this probably started around May. I did focus a lot on my glutes because I needed to build there - and I did. Is it possible as my muscles got bigger - it's rubbing on my nerve?

I have classic sciatica symptoms - pain in butt, shoots down my leg, make my outer foot numb. Have been to chiropractor who told me to stop doing squats (yah, right!) My regular doctor said not to stop exercising (because it feels good when I am moving, just hurts when I sit/drive for a while) - he gave me some stretches and some anti-inflammatory meds but it is not like it is gone - wondering if I should go to a sports med guy...I guess there is some controversy over sciatica (whether it's "real" or not) - well it's real - just wondering if anyone has had this and if anything helped make it go away.

Thanks.

If your symptoms don't ease up, you may want to have a L-spine MRI performed to rule out disc involvement. It's not the sciatic pain that concerns me but the outer foot numbness. In the meantime, try this stretch: lie on your back with your knees bent up. With both hands grab one knee and stretch it down and towards your opposite shoulder while keeping your back as flat on the ground as possible. Hold for about 30 seconds. If one side is tighter than the other, than stretch the tight side two times for every time you stretch the looser side. Hope that helps!

[HC]

If your symptoms don't ease up, you may want to have a L-spine MRI performed to rule out disc involvement. It's not the sciatic pain that concerns me but the outer foot numbness. In the meantime, try this stretch: lie on your back with your knees bent up. With both hands grab one knee and stretch it down and towards your opposite shoulder while keeping your back as flat on the ground as possible. Hold for about 30 seconds. If one side is tighter than the other, than stretch the tight side two times for every time you stretch the looser side. Hope that helps!

ok - thanks - I will try that stretch - I do one like it but from a sitting position....I do have only 4 L verts (not 5) not sure if that would predispose me to problems...but I will be sure to brings the dr's back in the loop!

Cheers!

[TampaNerd]

Several years ago I had sciatic nerve pain as the result of being in an auto accident.

I went to physical therapy. The only thing the therapist did that helped was to pull my leg. That brought immediate relief.

I bought an inversion table and after a couple of weeks use, the pain was gone.

Funny you should post this now. Last week at my gym, a pregnant friend was complaining about sciatic nerve pain. I had her lie down & pulled her leg for a few minutes, she reported the pain subsided.

Try it - I'm not pulling your leg

[michaeljazz]

Has anyone had any issues with their sciatic nerve or sciatica (sometimes called periformis syndrome)? I started seriously hitting the weights in Feb and this probably started around May. I did focus a lot on my glutes because I needed to build there - and I did. Is it possible as my muscles got bigger - it's rubbing on my nerve?

I have classic sciatica symptoms - pain in butt, shoots down my leg, make my outer foot numb. Have been to chiropractor who told me to stop doing squats (yah, right!) My regular doctor said not to stop exercising (because it feels good when I am moving, just hurts when I sit/drive for a while) - he gave me some stretches and some anti-inflammatory meds but it is not like it is gone - wondering if I should go to a sports med guy...I guess there is some controversy over sciatica (whether it's "real" or not) - well it's real - just wondering if anyone has had this and if anything helped make it go away.

Thanks.

My wife had some serious sciatic nerve pain late in the first trimester of her pregnancy. She saw a physical therapist who hooked her up. She also suggested some exercises and stretches that my wife could do on her own which helped greatly. I would definitely recommend going this route.

This may be a "stretch" but I would also suggest that perhaps you could go to a physical therapist who specializes in (or at least deals alot with) pregnant women, as they appear to be the ones that work with sciatic nerve pain the most. As you know, it's pretty much commonplace during pregnancy

Good luck!!

[empresscat]

I had what I thought was sciatica. I mistakenly thought it was Pirifomis syndrome. After an MRI and two trips to the ER in the middle of the night from severe pain, I found out I had two disks in my back that were decimated and two vertabrae that were 30% displaced.

After having three vertabrae fused and two disks removed I am feeling much better. Recovery time was supposed to be 6 months but I just passed that and have been back at the gym for nearly 3 months now, including squats.

Get x-rays and an MRI to make sure you don't have a bulging or ruptured disk. Piriformis is a fascia related injury and usually results in knee pain where the pirifomis inserts in the lower leg right under the knee. Sciatica is nerve related and begins in the low back, usually from a herniated disk pressing on the sciatic nerve. I still have damage in my left calf from the disks cutting off the nerve in my lower back. It affects my foot when I run.

Don

Different PFS. I believe you have your syndromes confused. Piriformis muscle is in the gluteal region. See diagram. Were you thinking of patella femoral syndrom?



Hockeychick I have a friend who went through the pain of sciatica and did the chiro route i believe, with no success. I asked if he had his piriformis checked and he smiled and said one doctor had prescribed some stretching exercises and the pain was gone. Good luck finding the cause of the problem and a solution.

cheers

steve

Yes, the piriformis is pictured here:

http://www.physiciansplus.net/images/piriformis2.jpg

It surrounds the sciatic notch, so when it gets inflamed, it can impinge on the nerve.

Here's the best stretch for it (though for myself, I had to bring the heel of the bottom leg up much higher to feel it, as I'm very flexible.)
http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/piri.2.html

And more info:
http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/piri.html


Other causes of sciatic nerve pain are discussed here:
http://www.sciatica.org/


You may need to rest for it to heal - as with any inflammation... mine didn't go away until I took a month off. (I was getting shooting pains to my toes several times a day, and sometimes couldn't walk.)

Ice and stretching are also good.

[harrisjl]

I had two herniated discs L4 and L5 that caused me to suffer from sciatica for about a year and a half.... took a ton of anti-inflammatory meds... had six epidurals... finally had surgery last Oct... It still bothers me a little but it's much more managable... I'm still not 100% @ the gym...