supplements for sciatica pain

[ginogarcia1238]

Its been 4 months and I finally feel like the pain is going away. Here is a few things I tried, please let me know if there is anything else that might work.

St Johns Wort , I tried 900mgs and I didn't like it . I felt to drugged up. But the pain was a 5 out of 10.

Turmeric, I tried the pills and I even mixed 2 teaspoons in my coffee. It work a little bit but gave me the poops sometimes, I give it a 5 out of 10.

Fish oil, it worked once are twice but maybe it was just loosing me up. I give it a 2 out of 10

l carnitine , they said it worked on rats so I tried a 3000mg dose and it raised my blood pressure, I give it a 3 out of 10 but maybe it takes time to work.

Deer Antler, I didn't realize how much this stuff worked until I ran out and had no more. I give it a 8 out of 10, minus two because it takes a few weeks to kick in and its hard to find even in a big city like Houston.

B complex vitamins, it helped me more than a regular 1 a day vitamin because there stronger. I still have pain but I can bend and squat normally. I give it a 7 out of 10, it helped me flex more and the B 6 is supposed to release natural serotonin.

400mgs magnesium, its supposed to act as a natural muscle relaxer, I'm not going to rate it because I've only been on it a week.

I am currently taking b complex vitamins, 400 MG's of magnesium and 2000 MG's of Deer Antler a day, the pain feels almost gone. Let me know if you have any pointers.

All OTC pain killers only mask the pain but have not cured or healed me.

[YIMBROKE]

I've had two lumbar operations and have had sciatica pain on and off for the last 8 years. No supplment will help you or fix the underlying issue.

Stretch
Ice, NOT heat
I take a prescription anti inflammatory that has worked wonders over the years, speak to your doctor about your options. I would recommend a neurosurgeon and not a orthopedic doctor.

[VO2Maxima]

Yeah, supps aren't going to do it, unfortunately. Are you sure it's sciatica? So you may already know this, but just in case you don't, sciatica is caused when the sciatic nerve (a big nerve that runs down the back of your leg) or one of its roots near your spine gets compressed...could be a herniated disc, could be piriformis syndrome (a muscle deep in your butt compresses the sciatic nerve), etc. A good PT or chiropractor can help determine what caused the problem (if you go to a chiropractor, check their website...if they mention soft tissue techniques like A.R.T. or Graston, they're more than likely someone who could help you rather than someone who would just be like "I'll crack your back and fix you"). It may be as simple as getting some soft tissue work done on your butt and hips, and then doing some stretching and corrective exercises.

Good luck!

[kissdadookie]

Yeah, supps aren't going to do it, unfortunately. Are you sure it's sciatica? So you may already know this, but just in case you don't, sciatica is caused when the sciatic nerve (a big nerve that runs down the back of your leg) or one of its roots near your spine gets compressed...could be a herniated disc, could be piriformis syndrome (a muscle deep in your butt compresses the sciatic nerve), etc. A good PT or chiropractor can help determine what caused the problem (if you go to a chiropractor, check their website...if they mention soft tissue techniques like A.R.T. or Graston, they're more than likely someone who could help you rather than someone who would just be like "I'll crack your back and fix you"). It may be as simple as getting some soft tissue work done on your butt and hips, and then doing some stretching and corrective exercises.

Good luck!

Oh man, I'm all too familiar with that piriformis injury.

[VO2Maxima]

Oh man, I'm all too familiar with that piriformis injury.

^Things that don't sound fun...

Mind if I ask what you did for it? I like soft tissue work for stuff like that, but if you don't correct the underlying problem (often strength imbalances and overly tight muscles), it'll just come back.

[ginogarcia1238]

I went to the doctor and he gave me 800mgs of ibuprofen and flexeril for 7 days. The pain is in my left glute but sometimes I stretch and it will go away. The pain was a lot worst 3 months ago. All I could do was lay on my stomach. When I was a soldier the pain was in my lower back and all the doctor gave me was naproxen and Tylenol. I've come a long way. I was dead lifting in the 300s but I think those days are over for me. Its just cardio and vitamins now

[kissdadookie]

^Things that don't sound fun...

Mind if I ask what you did for it? I like soft tissue work for stuff like that, but if you don't correct the underlying problem (often strength imbalances and overly tight muscles), it'll just come back.

Abductor and adductor work, daily GHD at the end, glute stretches, lying on the hardwood floor, deep squat position landmines, suitcase carries, anti-flexion movements.

Also had to stop doing deadlifts (so I deadlift once a month now) and replace those with rack pulls.

At first it was just a piriformis strain but then I went too heavy on rack pulls and that just turned it into sciatica. It's still recovering, getting better VERY slowly but at least I can sit without too terrible of a burning pain down my right leg.

Still feels unsafe to go really heavy on squats so I've just kept it at 225 for high rep sets of 18-20. The squats seems to help alleviate some of the issues a little.

As the injury heals, the issues seems to shift around so I am having to alter some of the rehab exercises here and there to account for the issues altering (like right now, I feel it in my hips and abductors). I'm assuming it's getting better because the sciatica symptoms are slowly going away or at least reducing.

I went to the doctor and he gave me 800mgs of ibuprofen and flexeril for 7 days. The pain is in my left glute but sometimes I stretch and it will go away. The pain was a lot worst 3 months ago. All I could do was lay on my stomach. When I was a soldier the pain was in my lower back and all the doctor gave me was naproxen and Tylenol. I've come a long way. I was dead lifting in the 300s but I think those days are over for me. Its just cardio and vitamins now

Pretty sure that's not sciatica. It's sciatica when the nerve is pinched which causes a pain/ache/tingling/numbness typically from the knee down to your foot of the affect leg.

[VO2Maxima]

Pretty sure that's not sciatica. It's sciatica when the nerve is pinched which causes a pain/ache/tingling/numbness typically from the knee down to your foot of the affect leg.

^Yeah...I think I'd suggest getting a second opinion on that one. It's still possible it's sciatica, but what you're describing isn't the typical presentation. There are usually nerve symptoms down the back of your leg.

Good luck with your recovery, KDD. Sounds like you have your rehab well under control, and that it's helping since your symptoms are going away.