Pinched nerve solutions? NEW UPDATE: Surgery scheduled!

[Jennasis]

So I've got what I believe to be a very pinched nerve (sciatic). Standing is excrutiating. I can sit or lay down without too much incident. It's been awful for about 2 and half days. Does anyone have any tried and true suggestions for a speedy recovery or pain relief. 800mg's of Ibuprofen did NOTHING. Hot showers help...until I'm out of the shower. I have a heating pad and a tens unit. Both help, WHILE they are actually on. Once I take them off, and stand up, it hurts again. I have Norco but it makes me so nauseous and tired.

I don't have a chiropractor (and it's Sunday so there will be no going to see one today). Maybe tomorrow. Or to see an acupuncturist.

Help!

 

[AKL_Megs]

I feel your pain... literally.

I pinched a nerve in my shoulder when I was 10 on a trampoline. After years of compensating for the pain, the opposite side of my shoulder ALSO has a pinched nerve.

The only thing that works for me is DH hands, a hot shower, a vicoden, and those sticky heat strip things.

Feel better.

 

[shortbun]

Wow, when I had sciatica, they told me to ice it, gave me massage and other physical therapy plus retrained me about standing, walking and sitting. I also took 800 mg Ibuprofen every 4-6 hours and was told not to miss a dose. My doctor's best advice? "When something hurts, don't do it." She also explained that ice was best for inflammation and said something like, ' think about putting out a fire-cold is best while heat encourages it to burn.'

 

[minkydog]

Boy, do I feel for you! I herniated two discs at the same time about 6-7 years ago. I can't even describe the pain. It was bad enough to make me want to die, that I remember. No way would I have lasted 2-3 days--I had to go to the ER the next morning and get some DRUGS. I went to my orthopedist a couple days later(fortified with Percocet!) and he sent me to 8 weeks of PT. Best money i ever spent. I was able to avoid having cortisone shots into my back(!) and didn't have to have surgery. I couldn't sit down for about 4 weeks, so I had to go on medical leave, but hey! you do what it takes, ya know? Back exercises were a god-send.

 

[maelstrom]

I've got some sort of pinched nerve in my hand, in addition to the carpal tunnel and tendinitis... my right hand is sometimes just unusable (and yes, of course, I am right-handed). I wear my carpal tunnel brace and sometimes instead of that I wrap some coban around my hand and wrist. I don't know what else to do with it. I'm not having surgery, no way no how.

 

[Jennasis]

I know physical therapy would help. When i first herniated my disk 16 years ago, I went to P/T for 3 months and it fixed me right up. Unfortunately my insurance sucks wind now and we can't afford P/T. I don't remember any of the exercises I had to do back then, except one (laying on my back with a pillow between my knees, squeeze my buttocks together and raise my hips/pelvis off the floor.)

 

[bumbershoot]

My doctor's best advice? "When something hurts, don't do it."

However, when I get that pain, that's horrible advice for my body. I will generally get it when I've been sick and relatively immobile for awhile. When i get the pain, everything hurts. Just thinking about getting outside and walking makes me want to cry. But that is exactly what helps me, every time.


Jennasis, if you can, try to walk. Maybe what helps my body will help yours (though with me it isn't just one day of walking). What's weird is that generally I hate walking for exercise, but something about it helps me with sciatic pain.

And on Monday, chiro and acupuncture if you can do both.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

I had a flare up of my sciatic nerve Friday night, so bad it brought me to tears-and that has never happened before. Usually I can stretch it out and I feel better. I've done this when I had mild flare ups from sitting for too long.

Lie flat on your back, legs extended and shoulders flat. Form a figure four with your legs by bending at the knee and twisting at the waist - to the left with the left leg still extended, the opposite with the right, keep shoulders flat. Or, bend both knees and twist at the waist. Hold the stretch as long as comfortable, or until the pain eases.

 

[Jennasis]

However, when I get that pain, that's horrible advice for my body. I will generally get it when I've been sick and relatively immobile for awhile. When i get the pain, everything hurts. Just thinking about getting outside and walking makes me want to cry. But that is exactly what helps me, every time.


Jennasis, if you can, try to walk. Maybe what helps my body will help yours (though with me it isn't just one day of walking). What's weird is that generally I hate walking for exercise, but something about it helps me with sciatic pain.

And on Monday, chiro and acupuncture if you can do both.

I joined a gym two weeks ago and have been going 6 days a week. I do 2.5 miles on the treadmill (running and walking) and another 1/2 hour of strength training. I don't think anything I've done at the gym caused this...but I went to the gym this morning (thinking excercise would help). I lasted 20 seconds on the treadmill before I was brought to tears and threw my ipod arm band across the gym.

I would LOVE to walk. I can't even stand right now. I just tried 20 minutes of ice, but I was laying down,(and I fell fine laying down) so who knows if it will help when I stand up again?

 

[tommya60]

Try horse linament. Bigelow Oil if you can get it (call a local feed store). That stuff is amazing. I've been fighting thesame reoccuring pain for a long time, it's instant relief for me. Apply liberally with a cotton ball. Do not apply to any scratches, etc--huge rubbing alcohol content. Wash your hands a couple of times after application (especially if you wear contacts--you do not want it in your eyes). I know it sounds crazy, but various family members have been using this stuff for 30+ years and it works.
After you get the linament on, try gentle stretching. Gentle, slow movements, nothing jerky.
I hope you get some relief FAST.

 

[shortbun]

20 minutes of ice-40 minutes off, 20 on-40 off and 20 on. Ice three times in three hours. Once does not help, the inflammation need repeat icing. I had horrible sciatica when my son was a baby from locking my knees while standing and rocking him as well as loading him on a hip while doing other housework. It was unrelated to any other injuries. My mom had digenerative disc disease, heat was what she used for that but it was not inflamed most of the time, it was disinigrating.

 

[minkydog]

I joined a gym two weeks ago and have been going 6 days a week. I do 2.5 miles on the treadmill (running and walking) and another 1/2 hour of strength training. I don't think anything I've done at the gym caused this...but I went to the gym this morning (thinking excercise would help). I lasted 20 seconds on the treadmill before I was brought to tears and threw my ipod arm band across the gym.

I would LOVE to walk. I can't even stand right now. I just tried 20 minutes of ice, but I was laying down,(and I fell fine laying down) so who knows if it will help when I stand up again?

Yeah, I think at the moment walking is a baaaaddd idea. You need to ice that back and rest it, at least for today. Walking is important, though. Back in the bad old days people used to be hospitalized with sciatica and put in pelvic traction for 4-5 days. Of course, the immobility then caused back spasms which required muscle relaxants and often narcotics. By the time they were allowed out of bed they were so shaky and limp from inactivity that it really was hard on them to get back into normal life. Thank goodness we know better now. But I agree with the previous poster who advised "when it hurts, stop doing it." When you are in acute pain it doesn't seem wise to keep doing things which are causing the pain.

Try horse linament. Bigelow Oil if you can get it (call a local feed store). That stuff is amazing. I've been fighting thesame reoccuring pain for a long time, it's instant relief for me. Apply liberally with a cotton ball. Do not apply to any scratches, etc--huge rubbing alcohol content. Wash your hands a couple of times after application (especially if you wear contacts--you do not want it in your eyes). I know it sounds crazy, but various family members have been using this stuff for 30+ years and it works.
After you get the linament on, try gentle stretching. Gentle, slow movements, nothing jerky.
I hope you get some relief FAST.

Biofreeze works well too. I tried Ben-gay but that didn't help at all. It make my skin hurt and it was hard to get off. But the Biofreeze is a cooling gel that really helped *as much as anything helps when your back is exploding down your leg*

 

[daughtersrus]

I've been having the same problems all last week except that I could stand but not sit or bend. When I did, I would get a shooting pain that went down my legs, across my waist and up towards my shoulders. I can't think of anything in particular that I did to hurt it besides caring for a neighbor's son a few days before. He's a chunker (17 month and almost 37lbs) and isn't walking yet. Carrying him up the stairs to put him down for nap was a killer!

The first 2 nights I had to take prescription pain killers to sleep. Today is the first day that it's really starting to feel better. I am not one that has ever been, or ever plans to go to a chiropractor.

I hope that you feel better soon!

 

[Jennasis]

Try horse linament. Bigelow Oil if you can get it (call a local feed store). That stuff is amazing. I've been fighting thesame reoccuring pain for a long time, it's instant relief for me. Apply liberally with a cotton ball. Do not apply to any scratches, etc--huge rubbing alcohol content. Wash your hands a couple of times after application (especially if you wear contacts--you do not want it in your eyes). I know it sounds crazy, but various family members have been using this stuff for 30+ years and it works.
After you get the linament on, try gentle stretching. Gentle, slow movements, nothing jerky.
I hope you get some relief FAST.

Hahah! You know us old horse-folk pretty well! I have Bigeloil and have used it on achy hands. Back in "the day" they'd use DMSO straight up! I put liniment on this morning and it worked "meh". DH has a liniment with emu oil, mentholyptus and MSM.

I accidentally got Bigeloil in my eyes once. NOT fun.

FTR, I DO blame the horses for the pain. I'm sure I did something on the farm or while riding that just messed me up.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Muscle relaxers and a brutal massage. Seriously! I usually settle for the brutal massage since I don't have access to muscle relaxers. That, 2 tylenol and I get it calm enough that it isn't insufferable.


Usually my pinched nerve is in my shoulder blades. So with a shiatsu masager, I can get in there good and get some relaxing going on to hopefully "unpinch" the dang nerve.


I had a problem in my groin area earlier in my pregnancy--it was insufferable and the best thing was to do nothing. But that isn't always possible. The durn thing finally went away, but I couldn't really do much about it other than take tylenol.

 

[Magic Mom]

I joined a gym two weeks ago and have been going 6 days a week. I do 2.5 miles on the treadmill (running and walking) and another 1/2 hour of strength training. I don't think anything I've done at the gym caused this...but I went to the gym this morning (thinking excercise would help). I lasted 20 seconds on the treadmill before I was brought to tears and threw my ipod arm band across the gym.

I would LOVE to walk. I can't even stand right now. I just tried 20 minutes of ice, but I was laying down,(and I fell fine laying down) so who knows if it will help when I stand up again?

Stop running. If you have sciatica, the disk in your back is bulging and pressing against the sciatic nerve. When you run you pound that disk exacerbating the problem. Take anti inflamatories, and modify how you lift things, sit, bend over, sleep, stand, etc. Don't do crunches or sit-ups. Post the trot, don't sit it. Until you are feeling better, do as little cantering as possible ( I realize that's your job.)
It sucks, believe me I know.

 

[walkerag]

Jennasis,
Trust me, I feel you pain as I'm going through it right now as well. I have spent the last 4 days in bed. I have a herniated disc at L5-S1 and degenerative disc disease in that disc. NOT FUN..
Most of the time I can manage the pain with a couple of Aleive and a heating pad but I really did a number last week while cleaning the house/mopping. It is so painful to try to walk the 20 feet to the bathroom, I have to hold onto things
I have an appointment in the morning to have an ultrasound guided steroid injection (my first) and I'm trying to avoid surgery. I'm pretty nervous about it but at this point I'm desperate. What really stinks is that I haven't been able to take any anti-inflammatory drugs including aspirin because of the upcoming procedure so my Ortho dr called me in a prescription of Darvocet which is helping some (still have difficulty walking though). I really hope this procedure works because this is depressing, I'm only 34

Just wanted to send and telll you that you're not alone. Hope you feel better soon.

 

[auntie]

I had a Sciatica for the first time two years ago. Pain would travel through the hip and down around the front of my leg. There are certain chairs (turned out..the one I used for the computer, that really aggravated the situation). I found heat worked better for me than ice. Norproxin is what I take if I feel it coming on now, and it has kept it under control. At the time my orthopedist had me on prednisone (sorry spelling?) for a week, and then the anti inflamatory after that.
I find it isn't any "one" thing..but usually a combination of things that help. Another is wearing a more supportive shoe or sneaker. I find it flares up when I'm wearing flip flops or something of little support. Couldn't stand or sit for any length of time. I couldn't get comfortable, had to keep changing it up. This was kind of odd..but I had an outdoor patio chair..that was sort of like a recliner..but better. The angel I could recline to was better..and it was the only thing I could sit in where I was comfortable. I had great relief using it and brought it in the house!

 

[Jennasis]

Stop running. If you have sciatica, the disk in your back is bulging and pressing against the sciatic nerve. When you run you pound that disk exacerbating the problem. Take anti inflamatories, and modify how you lift things, sit, bend over, sleep, stand, etc. Don't do crunches or sit-ups. Post the trot, don't sit it. Until you are feeling better, do as little cantering as possible ( I realize that's your job.)
It sucks, believe me I know.

I'm laughing, not at your advice, but rather because there is no way on God's green earth I could get off the couch and WALK to the kitchen, much less run, or God forbid, ride.





UPDATE:

Out of desperation, I went to see a chiropractor on Monday. He told me I'd have to come see him 3x's a week (at $72 a pop) for a month...at least. When I left his office, I was still in pain, but now I have severe numbness in my right calf and foot. It's frightening. My leg feels weak, and I can't rock that foot back onto it's heel.

I went back to the chiro today even though my appt was tomorrow, and told him of the numbness. he said it's "normal" and did the adjustments and massage treatment again.

Then he said to come every day this week.

My leg is still numb and weak, and my right butt cheek still hurts too much to walk. I called my client whose hubbie is a pain specialist (he did an epidural for me back in February) and she said "That's it! I'm sending you for an MRI. Then she put him on the phone and I told him everything. He said it sounds like my herniated disc at L4-L5 is pressing on the sciatic nerve but he insists on an MRI to be sure. Then he is going to do another nerve block for me Thursday.

My MRI is tomorrow. Either way (chiro or MRI) this is all going to cost us a fortune. Our insurance sucks out loud. I am angry, in pain, scared and depressed. I would do anything for relief. But man...this sucks.

 

[tiggger1]

I have bad sciatica in my back, what works for me is lying on the ground with my legs on a couch or a chair. Like I am sitting. I then put one leg across my knee. When I am like that I can tell exactly where the pinch is and I ice it while I am laying down.