Pain Relief - Henderson,NV

One, stop using heat, ice ONLY! Doesn't matter if you like it, ice helps and heat aggravates. Two, try a chiropractor. They can properly diagnose the problem and make it go away, unlike a medical doctor who will just prescribe pain meds, if anything. Without xrays, it is hard to tell if it's a pinched nerve, hip misalignment, herniated disk, or birth abnormality. Good luck, I had that while pregnant and it really sucked, until I saw a chiro.

I agree about lying on the floor with the small of your back pressed into the floor - hug your legs to your abdomen.

Do a LOT of abdominal exercises - crunches, etc. but do them carefully and properly. Spread them out over the course of the day. Make sure all of the strengthening and all of the effort involves your abs and not your back. The more you strengthen your abs, the less pressure you will have on your back and sciatic nerve. I've had this for years and it's always better when I exercise gently but frequently.

Try not to do anything that strains your back - carrying heavy stuff up stairs, groceries, etc. I know, I know - it's hard to get around that!

I also take a really good supplement program (comprehensive, not just single ingredients) and the problem is virtually eliminated. It heals you from the inside (vs. applying heat or ice from the outside) and quiets those overactive nerve cells. It's all food, no drugs and I have a lot of contact from nutritional conferences who've gotten sciatic relief the same way.

I have had that during pregnancy. Stretching really helped me. You may want to try laying on your back on the floor. Then bring your knees up to your chest and hug your knees. Once in this position rock your body (rock backwards kind of like you are going to do a backwards roll). Hope that helps.

Aleve is the only thing that helps me. I think I'm having the same problem as you. I have pain in my lower butt cheek that radiates down my leg. I need to go to the doctor but have been putting it off and taking Aleve. Mine has been going on for about two weeks also.

Chiropractic is the only thing that helped me. Find one who knows how to adjust pregnant women!

I was also told to get off my feet and put my legs up as often as I could. Hard to do, but I found many tasks could be done sitting with my legs on another chair. I even sat on the floor with my legs out straight and my back against the wall through an education program in an auditorium. To anyone who asked why, I only said "Sciatica" and they nodded sympathetically and understood.

I have this also. The first time it was so bad it took a year to finally be out of pain. I threw out my back again in October and it has been a long road healing. The thing that finally finally helped was about 4 months later (February) I started seeing a physical therapist once a week. I do the exercises he gave me daily. I could tell a huge difference in just one week of doing them. I started doing a gentle yoga class twice a week. And last, I started seeing a chiropractor. Wow. What a huge difference...I am in almost no pain at all now. I'm going to keep this up as long as possible. So, I'd recommend seeing a physical therapist and a chiropractor. My chiropractor is AMAZING....so ask around to make sure you get someone really good. (PS - I also kept asking and finally had an MRI done which was expensive but showed what was going on in my back. I shared the results with the PT guy and the chiropractor)

You need to see a good chiropractor. That is the fastest way to improve.

Sciatic nerve pain has to be the worse. I have alot of experience with it since a back spinal injury last summer. It was so bad it was crippleing...couldn't walk. Well first day or two you are suppossed to have bed rest and use ice only. After that alternate heat and ice 20 minutes apart ...leaving it on 20 minutes only.
I have had pain pills galore. And unless they are really strong..the kind that nearly put you to sleep...they don't work. I have had two 6 day treatments of steroids...didn't help...or should I say temporarily.
Been to the doctor a gazillion times. I have 2 pinched nerves and my doctor recomends that I do not get surgrey because it will weaken the surrounding discs. So I have to live with it.
So I am coming up on a year of dealing with...in the beginning...unbearable pain that made me cry all the time...and not because I was sad either. But it did a major life change on me...and now I move slowly most days...and careful how I turn, bend or twist.
My doctor gave me hope. He said the sciatic nerve is the length of your leg...and it takes 1 month an inch to heal....so I now have had it for 9 months now.
You will have to go to a doctor to get an asessment of why you are having the pain...because sciatica is only a sympton of what is actually wrong with you.
Good luck in your venture and I sure hope yours is not as severe as mine was.

Acupuncture always helps me. However, if you're not up for that, the best thing to do is stretch. You have to lay on your back and pull your knees towards your chest and hold them so you get a stretch in the lower back. Don't force it but ease into it and then do it every day several times a day. That should help. Sit ups help too because they will help you sit straighter and take the pressure off your lower back. I also sleep with a pillow under my knees and that takes the pressure off my lower back at night. If it's really bad I take advil or motrin to help ease the pain too. Hope this helps!

i found out i had this not long ago. my doctor gave me some presrciption naproxen at a certain mg that i took two a day,it did not take long for me after i started it. it is a nerve that gets inflamed and inflamation is what this med is used for. I would ask about it? I know what your going through,god bless.

I'm so sorry. I know how lower back pain can really wreck your day/week/ month. :( My sister (who has severe sciatica) taught me a gentle stretch that really helps. Sit in a chair with your hips, knees, and ankles at 90 degree angles (important). You can use a desk chair that rises or lowers or books under your feet to get the correct position. Have someone help you if possible because they can see the angles better. Place a large, rolled-up bath towel between your knees. Gently squeeze your knees together... set of ten. It helps relieve the built up stress. She also recommended "Heal Your Back" by David Borenstein, MD.

I hope you feel better soon.

I've found that injections of Vitamin B Complex and / or B12 do help. Sciatica is really painful but it's usually "self-limiting" (in other words it tends to go away as suddenly as it came on). All the other advice you have been given is valid too.

I use a combination of the "lying on the floor with small of your back pressed to the ground and legs resting on a chair or bed", ibuprofen or other anti-inflammatory, being careful to bend my knees & keeping back straight when picking up heavy objects, avoiding twisting and bending as much as possible as well as going to my doc for the Vit. B shots. Hang in there ... it usually DOES just go away eventually!

I pinched my sciatic nerve a few months ago so I feel your pain. I agree with Carrie. Therapy helps. Also my therapist said not to put heat on it, it won't help. Invest in a body pillow as well. Sleep on your side with one end of the pillow between your legs (at the knees) and hug the other end. Ibuprofen for the pain. When I have severe pain radiating down my leg though the only thing that seems to help is my husband will lightly rub my leg until the pain calms down.
Good luck. I hope you find some relief!

You probably need to go to a chiropractor to get an adjustment.
Until then massaging the area with lotion helps along with the ice and asprin or ibuprophen helps too for pain.

Sorry your going through it :( its quite painful I know. Hang in there!