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Is this sciatica?

Posted , 3 users are following.

rob75002
rob75002

I have a numb bum on the right hand side and tightness on my thigh as though it is about to go into spasm only after work on the drive home.

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • n8ster
    n8ster rob75002

    Posted

    Could be degenerative disc desease. Usually somehow pinches or queezes a nerve . Mine started on my hip and then down to my toes . I had a few herniated disc . It is pretty common with age and trauma . We all do things every day that can easily cause it .May need an mri to find out where .
  • Mooncrow
    Mooncrow rob75002

    Posted

    Hi Rob, it certainly could be. Do you get a pain like someone pushing a thumb or finger into your groin at the top of the leg?.

    Sciatica is an inflamation of the sciatic nerve which could be caused by some trauma in the L4/L5/S1 region, like, as n8ster said, degenerative discs.

    For example, I spent a couple of hours lifting boxes of computers and monitors in a store room. The last box was about the size of a box of Kleenex and had 2 or 3 ink cartridges, it weighed less tha 0.5 Kg, but I twisted and prolapsed a disc, for which I had a partial discetomy and decompression. Over time, what was left of the disc degenerated and 'leaked' causing an irritation of the nerve root.

    I can't say that I know what it feels like for you, everyone experiences pain in different ways, but I know how painful it could be.

    Get checked up by your GP, if there is a problem then it could take some time to get sorted. My accident was in March 2004 and I only got the surgery in December 2005 because I had Cauda Equina, urinary retention and my kidneys were starting to shut down.As I say everyone experiences pain in different ways.

    Does this help?.

     

    • rob75002
      rob75002 Mooncrow

      Posted

      Hi my gp says she's not sure what it could be but gave me diclofenac to take before and during work. Is it worth getting a second opinion?

      My pain is just numb bum and tightness at back of thigh the numbness goes away after I rest but the tightness on my thigh is there still. I think it sounds like l4 but I'm no expert.

      I'm getting bloods taken due to a twitchy left eye and feeling tired still all the time due to my underactive thyroid which I've had for a year.

    • Mooncrow
      Mooncrow rob75002

      Posted

      Hi Rob, check the paper that came inside the box of the Diclofenac, I was taken off anti-inflamatories, partly because they gave me a stomach upset which could have also lead to ulcers. The Diclofenac did help with some of the pain but I was taken off them. does this 'numb bum' happen when you are sitting or standing or all the time?. My feet start to feel numb after a short time when I sit, it's because I put pressure on the nerve root. I have a small pillow that's shaped like a horse shoe, i sit on that to keep the weight off my 'sitting bone' and it helps.

       

    • rob75002
      rob75002 Mooncrow

      Posted

      It happens after a heavy lifting shift at work. On the way home I have a half hour drive home then the numbness kicks in after 5 10 mins sitting down. I have been getting sharp tightness pains down my thigh throughout the day but it's not consistent.
  • Mooncrow
    Mooncrow rob75002

    Posted

    Hi' It sounds like sciatica. Probably triggered by the 'heavy lifting', it's so easy to do, but, as said before, it could have been degenerative discs that weakened the back. You probably need to get an MRI to check if the spacing between the vertibrae is smaller than it should be. I have problems at L4/L5/S1 and also at the top, C2 area, Cervical Spondylosis. There are all sorts of treatments that may or may not help, Facet Joint Injections seem to help a lot of people, but it may have to be repeated.

    There are probably a lot of entries on this web site that could help.

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