My wife has been telling me for years now that no matter what I think,I am NOT Peter Pan!
I always considered myself lucky to have such rude good health at my age,(67).
Not on any medication like a lot of my contemporaries and able still to do a days graft along with anyone.
My job is not really hard work,that’s why I still do it,it’s the easiest job I’ve ever done.However I have been doing some grafting at home,shovelling tonnes of topsoil for my wife’s vegetable garden and erecting garden fencing with 8’ concrete posts,no problem,until last week.I was shovelling a tonne of topsoil out of my trailer into a barrow but I was working at an awkward angle.When I’d finished I had a pain in the ■■■■,thought I’d pulled a muscle.No problem,I’ve done that many times before,a couple of paracetamol and carry on.
The next night I did a Poole trunk and tipped a full load of pallets and cages with a pallet truck,by the time I got home I was in some sort of pain.
By the next day I was having excruciating pains from my ■■■■ and down my thigh.At times the pain has been indescribable.
Anyway,I looked up the symptons on the NHS website which confirmed it is sciatica and the early treatment is painkillers and rest.
After 3 days I went to the quack who has put me on Naproxen to reduce the inflamation and Co-codamol for the pain.
I was talking to a young lady on Friday who told me she has 3 children and would rather go through childbirth another 3 times than have another dose of sciatica,that’s how bad the pain can be.
At the moment,I can lie down or stand up but sitting down is not possible.(Makes it awkward going to the john),I’m taking the tablets,resting and just walking slowly around the block to prevent total seizure,but I’ve had to park up at work until further notice as this condition is as long as a piece of string,there’s no knowing how long it will last.
To cap it all,I received my HGV licence renewal last week,I only hope I’m mobile enough to get through the medical which I’ve sailed through in the past.
I’ll keep you informed of my progress.
I feel your pain! I suffered with sciatica several years ago, and used to get regular bouts of it, until I actually started doing the exercices that I was supposed to! I now do them on a regular basis, and haven’t had another attack since (everything crossed, carefully). The best exercise for me was called the Bridge, but, sciatica can be caused by several different conditions, so you must do the right ones to suit your condition. I have put a link below which has a video of the bridge, plus some others for different forms of sciatica. Obviously you’ll need to recover some mobility before attempting them, but it seriously helps!
spineuniverse.com/wellness/e … cise-video
Grumpybum (Personal Trainer!)
Grumpybum,
Many thanks for that,it was one of the exercises I’d heard about plus some others,but as you say,some can be benefitial while others can be totally wrong,depends on the exact cause of the problem.
My daughter is able to do reflexology and she was up yesterday playing “this little piggy” with my toes.Surprising how much better I frlt after that.
Last night,went to bed with a hot water bottle under my ■■■■ and thigh,feel much better this morning and was able to sit on the can without too much discomfort.
Well one week on and I’m feeling a lot better.
Still taking the anti inflammatory tablets but not had any pain killers since yesterday as they are causing constipation,but the pain is no
where near as bad now,I can even put my own socks on.
I will take this next week off and see how I feel about work next week.
I suffered from it about 5 years ago. I found the only relief was to lay on my stomach or on my knees using a chair seat to eat meals and read books from. I went to physiotherapy everyday and found I couldn’t drive my car but could ride my motorcycle because of the position.
They put me in a hydrotherapy pool for an hour a day and gave me exercises using a Swiss Ball. I have since bought a ball and use it as often as necessary, although since my hip operation I am unable to use it yet as they do not advocate twisting the joint.
I get sciatica, if I jump down off a trailer/loading dock a few times in a week.
To prevent the sciatica re-occurring I don’t jump down any more, unless I forget 
This works for me 
I only started getting it about 15 years ago. Before then I used to jump off trailers etc quite happily all day.
I only seem to get it in one leg. That first time it was extremely painful to either lift my foot or put any weight on it, but I didn’t have any problem sitting or driving although dipping the clutch was painful.
It seems I’ve been quite lucky, so far. I’ve not had to take time off because of it touch wood.
These days, if I forget and jump off a trailer, I give myself a cuff round the ear for my stupidity and walk for a bit. This seems to stop it coming back, (not sure if its the cuffing or the walking 
), although I do sometimes get twinges, usually fairly mild and short term.
a total pain in the arse 
Wheel Nut:
a total pain in the arse
Absolutely 
A friend of mine lent me a book called,“Heal your own back”,which turns out is so good it’s the bible that physios use for back problems.
The ONLY real cure for sciatica is press ups,but keeping your hips on the floor.Arching of the back as much as possible,this is to open up the vertibrae to allow the ruptured “Disc” to move back into place.Unfortunately it doesn’t happen with a “Click”,it takes a long time.
On my first visits to the pop in physio,when doing the press ups on the couch,I could not keep my hips touching the couch when locking my elbows out.
To overcome this,the physio used a ratchet strap,(Ex trucker maybe?),over my ■■■■ to keep my hips down then had me really pushing up until it was painful,but according to the physio,necessary but not harmful.
At home I am not able to employ the ratchet strap idea on the hearthrug,so my wife stands on my ■■■■ while I do the press ups!(It’s a good job the neighbours don’t know what’s going on,but it’s added a whole new dimension to our ■■■ life when doing this in the buff!).
I thought it would be over before this,it’s much,much better now and I have been back at work after only a couple of weeks off.but I still do the press ups every morning and every night and as many times during the day as I can
Luckily I don’t need the ratchet strap now as my back has now got the necessary flexibility.
The worst discomfort I get now is the ocassional pain in the back of my right calf,but I have been off the pain killers and anti inflamitories for a couple of weeks.
I have been told by others who have suffered with this,that if you keep up the exercises every day,just morning and night is sufficient,you can avoid another ocurrence.
Ten press ups morning and evening is a small price to pay for freedom from the excruciating pain you can get from sciatica.
just to let you guys and girls know i had the same probs 6 months ago I tried going to cyropractors but no joy then i was told of a bloke who is good at this sort of thing so i phoned him up and went to see him on a friday night here in lincoln went into his room he told me to pull my pants down half way over my ■■■■ then told me to lean over his couch then he felt my back and i had 3 discs that had moved so he put them back in one at a time no pain told me to sit on a hard chair that night so i did got up in the morning and no pain at all and i was able to bend over and put the palms of my hands on the floor without pain and i have not had any since all he charged me was £20 quid for the air amblance as he is a lorry driver as well so if you have anybody round you like that well worth the visit or if your down this neck of the woods you could phone him and go round
One of the best things I have acquired is a hot wheat bag. A cloth bag full of wheat which you microwave for 3 or 4 minutes. It stays hot for about an hour. better than a hot water bottle too!
My father came back from 1 of his many runs from Italy
He couldnt get out of the truck he went to hospital they gave him strong pain killers and 2 weeks off work he does say he thinks it was from the seat in the scainia
I have just had 3 weeks of work due to sciatica,i can honestly say i have never know pain like it, i spent a whole day laying over the footstool in the front room, only getting up once for the toilet .
the doctor advised me to keep away from soft furnishings so i sat on the floor for 3 weeks, now back at work and have to do light duties, because i cannot walk too well i guess i seized up sitting down for so long.
Dont take painkillers as they will make you constipated and thats the last thing you want with Sciatica. 
Suedehead:
Dont take painkillers as they will make you constipated and thats the last thing you want with Sciatica.
something I wanted to know lol
Suedehead:
Dont take painkillers as they will make you constipated and thats the last thing you want with Sciatica.
I found it was the anti inflamitories that were a bigger cause of constipation than co-codamol.
Prunes for breakfast was the answer to that!
prunes hope nobody stood behind you after them
i can sympathise with this one , mine was so bad due to the cartalidge ? between my discs , dissapearing i was on antiinflamitorys for over a year , i had a spinal quatazone injection & havent been too bad since but i stil get twinges & still need to do my exersizes
i can sympothise with all of you i have this bad due to nerve compresion by a burst disc was in hospital today for a operation on my spine only for it to be cancelled as i was being wheeled into theatre so have to wait another two weeks for another pre op then wait for another date