Sciatic Nerve Stretches

When the pain of a sore back becomes nearly unbearable, what works best to control it? Here are a few different techniques I am trying, to make myself as comfortable as possible as I struggle to recover from a severe case of sciatica, in which my last lumbar disk has herniated and hit my sciatic nerve, making everyday life, well, really difficult.

After going to my orthopedic doctor, I tried physical therapy. It felt good in traction, when the body is pulled to take the pressure off the spine. Little did I know, that the next day, my whole body would go into major spasms. Being practically paralyzed from the pain, I knew that if I didn't do something to help myself, then I'd most certainly end up in a hospital bed. With limited insurance, I decided to fight going, until exhausting my options. I called the doctor, and he changed my medicines to new ones, since the former kinds didn't have an effect on the pain whatsoever.

Now, on muscle relaxants, narcotics and steroids, the pain subsides some. The only place I can find comfort is on the floor, as my bed, couch and recliners aggravate my spine right now. It is so touchy that I have to be careful how I get up, walk, turn, and I cannot bend or twist at all.
With a slab of memory foam on the floor, and a sleeping bag over top of it, the back pain forces me to work my computer from the floor. Not being able to sit up hardly at all, I am propped up by pillows only slightly, with a wedge under my knees and another behind my back for firm support. If I lie still, the pain subsides somewhat. Other people would have given up and gone to the hospital, but I am being gentle with my back, in hopes of recovery. I gave myself a time limit, if there is no improvement in two weeks, then I will go to the hospital as the doctor advised. I don't recommend this for everyone, but when money is tight and work must be done, for me it's worth a shot.

The steroids seem to be helping. I am now able to do more than a few days ago. I can sit up a little longer, and walk to the bathroom without doubling over in severe pain. I can get up just enough to get my food, and and feed my cats. They are concerned and sleep at my side at all times, wondering why their normally energetic owner isn't moving much.

I have stopped physical therapy for now, to avoid more strong muscle spasms, my body is too touchy right now. Thank goodness the pharmacy has someone deliver my medicines to me. I have bottles of different meds all over my desk. It looks like a pharmacy in here. I take pills to sleep, for the pain, to relax muscles, and to keep calm during all of this. I am mellow as a marshmellow. Slowly, there is improvement. The floor is quite comfortable, and when I tried to sit up in my recliner, I realized that I'm not ready for it yet. It is a long and slow process.

Every so often I talk to my doctor, or one of his nurses. I avoid seeing friends much and rest most of the time. Work has been difficult, and I've had many days off (though I work from home, it is hard to work on the phone and use the computer efficiently). Thank goodness my bosses understand. As I lay here on my back, surfing the net from a horizontal position, I am learning a lot about dealing with lumbar spine problems, spine anatomy and what not to do to make the condition worse. Surfing orthopedic supply sites, I shop for a tens unit (muscle stimulator, to help control the pain) and all sorts of contraptions meant to help with back pain. I have already bought a few supplies meant to help my back, such as a hand held massager, massage recliner, back belt, ice packs, wedge pillows and memory foam. How glad I am to have them, they all have gotten quite a bit of use lately and make the situation more bearable with their convenience. Using the massage chair or the vibrating massage wand can aggravate the swelling in my back if used too much so I just use them briefly as needed. I apply heat then ice packs.

I'm doing gentle leg exercises to keep my muscles from wasting, too, when I get a momentary reprieve from the pain. Slowly, steadily, there is improvement. The pain is there but there is light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. It is a slow process, and I am encouraged but impatient.
So far, so good. I have new appreciation for my spine. Carelessly twisting, bending and otherwise abusing my back on a daily basis has probably gotten me into this position so now, newly learned habits will get me out of this mess. No more contorting my spine into a pretzel as I fall asleep on the couch in front of tv. Those days are over. This is an unfortunate but necessary learning experience. Take care of your spine and get it checked, it never hurts to be preventative, than come in later with a bad case of back trouble. Some conditions aren't preventable, so if you get one of those, read up on the condition so you know what to expect from your treatment. It will make the whole situation less scary, the more you know.

Last year, I had a gastric bypass. For a few years before that, I occasionally had back problems. Not constantly, maybe once every few months. I would bend a certain way, and the muscles in my lower back would just sort of lock up and start to spasm. It was painful. It was difficult to move. The first time it happened, I was bending over to make my bed. I managed to kind of fall onto the bed and then I was stuck there for hours. I couldn't move. After several hours, it let up just a little, just enough that I could get off the bed. But I hobbled around like a little old lady for a few days. I saw a doctor, and was given muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatories, and pain pills. It got better. Then, several months later, I was bending over to get in the car and it happened again.

I assumed that losing weight would be good for my back. After all, I was carrying around more than 100 extra pounds. That can't be good for the back, can it?

Well, my back was fine for about six months after surgery. Then my lower back started to ache, all the time. I did some reading and read that when you lose a lot of weight rapidly, it causes a change in your posture. This can throw your back out of alignment. Made sense to me. So I went to a chiropractor.

I had my first adjustment, and it really seemed to help. So I went back for another. After the second adjustment, immediately after, my back muscles locked up and went into severe spasm. I couldn't even get off the table. The chiropractor let me lie there for a while and put an ice pack on my back. I finally managed to get up and get out to my car and drive home.

However, I was then unable to get out of my car. The muscles in my back had locked and I could not stand up. Any movement at all was excruciating. I ended up having to call my partner to come home from work and help me. He got me some Vicodin left over from a root canal, and we sat in the car for 30 minutes waiting for that to kick in. Then I was finally able to make it into the house.

I went to see a back specialist after that. I had an x-ray taken and was told I had a compressed disc in my back. The back specialist asked if I'd injured myself or been in an accident recently, and I explained my theory about rapid weight loss. He agreed that was possible.

He wanted to prescribe NSAIDS for me. NSAIDS are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and apparently they are the drug of choice for back problems. Unfortunately, you cannot take NSAIDS after a gastric bypass. After a gastric bypass, you are at too great a risk of ulcers. Take NSAIDS, and you will likely develop on ulcer in your little pouch.

He gave me steroids, instead. He wasn't sure if I could take those or not after a gastric bypass, and neither was I, but I called my surgeon and he said it would be fine. If in doubt about medication, always call your surgeon. Other doctors are usually not very familiar with gastric bypass and may not know what you can and cannot take.

Well, the steroids didn't do a thing. A few days later I woke up and I literally could not walk. My muscles were locked up and I was in excruciating pain. My partner ended up calling an ambulance and we went to the ER. Was that ever a long ride! Every little bump in the road was pure agony.

At the ER, they gave me several different pain medications by injection. They also tried to give me NSAIDS. If you've had a gastric bypass, you really, really need to watch for that. Most doctors do not realize you can't have them and they seem to forget it even after you've told them. The pain medications they gave me by injection did not help, and they ended up admitting me overnight to give me IV pain meds.

They gave me Diladud, which ended up working quite well. After a few hours, I could walk as far as the bathroom. The next morning they did an MRI, which just showed the compressed disc, nothing new. I was able to walk around by then, though I was still in quite a bit of pain, so they sent me home.

They sent me home with Percocet, which worked pretty well. I had to take it every few hours. Percocet is not an NSAID, so it's safe to take after a gastric bypass.

I went back to see the back specialist, who once again tried to prescribe NSAIDS for me. You have to be so diligent about that. When I reminded him I could not take those, he did not know what else to do for me. He said we could try epidural injections in my back, but said those only help about half the time, so he couldn't make any guarantees. They just sound so unpleasant that I wanted to avoid them if at all possible. So he referred me to physical therapy.

I guess the physical therapy helped. The therapist showed me some exercises to do to open up the space around the compressed disc and relieve the pressure and some exercises that would help the disc go back into the proper place. Over the next several weeks, the pain gradually improved. I was able to quit taking the Percocet.

I have had no problem at all with my back for a couple of months now, so hopefully it's over. But if you are having a gastric bypass, do be aware of the possibility of back problems afterward and the treatments available to you.

back pain remedy

back pain remedy

If you have very tight muscles, try putting 2 or 3 cups of epsom salts in a bath of hot water. Have the water as hot as you can stand. Soak in the bath for at least 15 minutes.

If you cannot get into the bath, or don’t have one, try soaking a towel in a basin of hot water and epsom salts [ 1 cup ] and wrap the towel around the soar area.

When I read about using epsom salts as a back pain remedy i thought thats an “old wives tale”, but I am a firm believer in it now.

If you have sciatica, you should try this. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn’t. Sciatica is very often related to tight muscles and the salts have helped in some cases.

Tight muscles very often cause back pain, and again the salts are worth trying.