Sciatica

[pewter]

I done mine when swinging 110v transformer in the van with my knees locked straight on the bumper.

When i first visited the Osteopath he said ' you might not walk for 18 months'  luckily i was back to work in  3 months.

I use Osteopath, they always joke about how much Chiropractors charge, and how they love X-rays. I am Osteopath convert, but i dont want to start a Chiropractor V Osteopath war.

PLEASE take note of this guys.

I have one of these,

http://www.backinaction.co.uk/perfectchair

I also have a different version of this which i use for the computer in the kneeling position.

http://www.backinaction.co.uk/gravity

when my back starts to get sore,  i sit in the perfect chair in full recline position for a couple hours in the evening. It takes the pain away and makes my back feel better.

When i was bad no position was comfortable, the perfect chair is amazing, i can sleep in it no problem. Everyone who has a go can not believe how comfortable it is.

I got both chairs from ebay sellers for around £100 each, though they often go for £500ish each.

 

[kme]

+1

My GP said mine was Sciatica, `cos at 24 I couldn`t have a damaged back...........

18 months later, they removed a disc, and told me I`d never work again.

 For Seven years they were right ( four years on crutches; so the shoulders are bolloxed now, too )

At the worst  -28 tablets a day, every day. Always worse if it was wet or cold ( if it was both  - )

Weaned myself of the tablets, for the most part. Careful gym work ( build the muscles either side of the spine, and it takes some load off the bones) ; and swimming / pool exercise.

Anyone with serious back issues ( if you`ve ever had to roll out of bed and crawl to the bathroom, because you can`t stand up........thats serious) - best recommendation I can make is a waterbed ( important - soft sided). The single best thing I ever bought.

Second best - TENS unit. stops chronic, long term pain messages from reaching the brain. It still hurts - you just don`t KNOW that it hurts.......Bad side being that you can do really silly things, and cause yourself worse injuries, because you cant` feel the "stop" message!

Now - I`m ok most of the time. Never going to win a race for working speed ( don`t care) ; occasionally do daft things; then pay for it for a day or two after - you know, the "there`s no-one else to do it and I`m here - it`ll only take a second - it`ll be ok.......OW!" type stuff.

Don`t ever ignore a pain that won`t go away; and don`t be fobbed off by a lazy GP.  

 

[OnOff]

I know two people who've has this disc fusing thing where they remove the offending disc and fuse the adjacent vertebra - neither are 100% right now. Glad I avoided it. As I and others have said keeping those core muscles tight has huge benefits.......and not just for your back! 

A mate (ex site sparks now has a cushy maintenance job :lol:  ) uses one of these and swears by it:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B001V5INF2/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1408314529&sr=8-1π=SX200_QL40

He wrote:

"I thought a £20 piece of plastic will never work but was paying £30 a session for a chiropractor that wasn't working, might as well give it a go. Got rid of it pretty much instantly. Use it about once a month now just to give my back a bit of a stretch and even though my back is fine now it feels so much better afterwards. Like all the tension's gone.
 
Probably won't work for you now I recommended it so much but I like it."

 

[Blue Duck]

Was moving bags of sand around yesterday and that twinge is back

 

[Adrian]

Broke my back 16 months ago paragliding my glider collapsed and ended up falling around 35 feet to the ground and broke my L1 and L3 lucky for me it was a stable fracture, and I was back to work in 3 months, I get back ache every day but i'm still smiling as it could of been worse.