Finally sciatic relief

Wow, after several months of sciatic nerve issues and pills and such (I quit taking the pills) I started feeling some relief so I went to my doctor(30-33yr old female) and talked to her about it she sent me to physical therapy sessions. She also requested that I should not remove all my clothes unless she requested it. My wife still thinks I am crazy (but I do it to mess with the doc.)
So therapy I went..a few sessions in I had to make it clear that I was not there to work thru my pain nor was I there to be put in anymore pain than I entered with.( I do all their reccomended stretches daily already) Once that got staightened out they have been heating me up and zapping me with a "tenns unit" I love that thing. Last two times they put me on a table belly down, strapped me in and the table pulled apart at the middle causing my back to stretch...oh yeah.. feeling better. Plus I swear, the more riding I did the more numb I got and the better I felt. My own therapy. I go two more sessions then they send me back to my doc..... Oh yeah.....can't wait to show her how much better my leg and back feel. And oh yeah I'll strip down for the sake of it. Lady must think I am nuts but gotta liven up her day some what...Just glad tyo have some relief that Sciatic stuff really hurts!!!!!
later,
Voo

I've got a ruptured L4/L5 disc in my back (where the sciatic nerve starts) from a 1988 injury & I'll have to brag on my Chiropractor. Unfortunately many treat the symptom instead of the problem, making you feel better for a few days & I've gone thru the "spinal traction" deal @ a hospital too. Same deal - yeah, it does make you feel better, but only for 2-3 days then you have to do it again.

My sciatica symptoms were so severe I had to have help getting out of bed & the pain was so bad the MD's had me on drugs so strong I didn't know what planet I was on. The MD's said the tingling sensation like electricity running down the sciatic nerve would never go away & the 1st one wanted to do surgery. Thank God I did not go that route & I've seen people who did - they're using walkers or stuck in wheelchairs.

When I first went to see the Chiro in this area, the L3/L4 disc was herniated on top of the ruptured L4/L5 & I walked like a cripple - left foot turned out, bad limp & my head tilted off to the left too. He had me walk down a long narrow hallway with a full-length mirror @ the end & I hadn't realized how bad it was until then. I'd had 2 surgeries on my left knee & didn't realize I was favoring it, which made everything worse. X-Ray showed my spine in an S shape, out 29.4 mm (over an inch). Took a year & 1/2 of Chiropractic, but the last X-Ray showed the spine within 1 mm of being straight & if you were to see me walk today, you'd never guess I ever had an injury in my life. Limp is long gone, so is the pain & I haven't taken any Rx meds in years.

My Chiropractor said about the only thing the MD's were right about is that your body does have a "memory" & that's why they said the pain would never go away. But we're going to create a new memory - you've been out of shape for so long your body thinks that's normal & we're going to have a fight that will make you hurt worse for a while. But with regular treatment & do your exercises, we'll make the body think foot straight ahead is normal, no limp is normal, head straight instead of tilted off to the left is normal. He was right too & he'll want to kick me 'cause I haven't been to see him in ages.

Another thing he did was to come out & look @ my riding position on the bike I ride most often, after I'd made some changes. He said that's much better & I don't have any pain riding. My seat, handlebar riser, footpeg setup would not be ideal for anyone else, but it is for me & I listened to what the Chiro told me about taking stress off the old injuries. The L3/L4 disc is fine after Chiropractic & although the L4/L5 is shot, the vertebrae are straight & I have no sciatica symptoms @ all.

I've been helping some friends on a construction project & I'm happy to say I can do things like frame, hang drywall, climb ladders, work on high scaffolds, do roofing, etc. that the MD's said 20 years ago I would never be able to do again. I don't do that full-time anymore but I still can & take side-jobs when they're available. Point being that if I'd taken the MD's advice I wouldn't be able to do any of it & I darn sure wouldn't be able to ride a Sportster - but because I found a great Chiropractor I can & at 55 years old I'm in better shape than I was when I was 35. You may have to see 10 to find a good one, but they're out there & what you're looking for is one who treats the cause of the problem rather than just the symptom.

I hear ya

Yeah that zapping pain down the leg went on for months and the charlie horses too. The therapist I see also pushes/cracks my spine. They are a new outfit call physiotherapy. The "cracking" is also part of the treatment I am getting too. It is a one stop building, crack,zap,pull,heat and like ya said the "feel good" only lasts a day or two. I took all the pain killers and relaxers and antis I had and stuck them in a drawer. Got sick of taking them and not getting " the problem fixed" just zoned out. I feel for anyone that has had to go thru back pains where I work it is not umcommon to have bones fused from the job. What I did in the service also was not something you saw anyone doing in their old age.By 30 yrs old,disc problems were not uncommon. I am just finally glad to get some relief and treatment that is working hopefully. L4 and L5...yeah bingo.....on that.

I'd say that's very good advice. I've still got the MRI scans from the 1988 back injury that ruptured the L4/L5 disc, which I gave to my Chiropractor & he was an X-Ray technician in a hospital while going to college. He's one of only 4 in North Carolina that has the equipment to take an X-Ray from head to toe in one shot & develop the film himself. I first went in @ 9 a.m., he did the prelimanary exam, took the X-Ray & said come back @ 1 p.m. Put the X-Ray up on the board & compared it to the MRI. Yep, there it is clear as a bell - disc blown out & he's got a red string with a pencil on the end that acts like a plumb-bob - compare that straight line to where the spine is - uh-huh, S shaped & out 29.4 mm.

Then the questions were what caused this problem & why has it gotten worse over the years? My MRI scans covered my left knee too, which I'd had 2 surgeries on & by giving my Chiro all the information I could, the causes became clear. OK, this is what we're going to do to treat the causes of the problem. He did too & yes I did hurt worse for a while, as the body didn't like getting forced back into the position it should be in. But a new "memory" was created & all the symptoms I had before are long gone.

One thing I found very interesting was looking @ the classes my Chiro had to take to graduate - more than an MD has to take & surprisingly more hours in Chemistry too. He can prescribe & dispense Rx medication, but he hates drugs with an utter passion (so do I) & does not prescribe them. Chiropractors are looked down upon by the "medical profession", as are Osteopaths, who are MD's but use a lot of Chiropractic & physical therapy preferring that to surgery & drugs, but if you look @ what they have to learn about the human body & how it works, you'll be impressed.

I saw 3 neurosurgeons after my back injury & they don't know as much as my Chiro does. And an Osteopath orthopaedic surgeon @ a nearby hospital who did the "spinal traction" deal that helped for a few days @ a time sent me to a Chiropractor & said do not have the surgery. That Chiro wasn't as good as the one I have here locally (injury occured in Ohio & I live in North Carolina), but as I said, thank God I did not have the surgery. Again, it's all about treating the cause(s) of the problem(s) rather than just the symptom(s) & you'd be amazed @ what a good Chiropractor can do.

Proud for ya

Years of heavy equiptment, worn out trucks,not to mention3 laydowns and a long stint on a rigid Panhead had my dues paid in full for the old age sucks club.
My partner Hagar gave me an aerobic Rider 2. It's a seat, peddles and handle bar that as you push out your legs you pull in with the arms. It keeps everything in line and and doesn't take forever to get it done. My Chiro aint real happy as he lost a steady source of income, and I know real quick when I slack off, but it works for me.
Tommy Gunn has one of those wheels with the rod and handles on both sides that works for him.
Sometimes when I streach frsh out the bed it sounds like a box of marbles, but it beats gimpin' around. later