New to trapped nerve!

Hi, The Sciatic nereve is the largest nerve in the body, running down the length of the spine through the hips(there are technical terms but I'll make it simple.) to both legs, down to the toes. While your symptoms are fairly mild at the moment, basically your health provider is just brushing you off until there's the possibilty that you'll have a really serious problem to soilve. You should consult a Specialist, an Orthopedist, have an MRI Scan and possibly X-Rays of your spine , profilre standing and lying down. The Scitica nerve could be being compressed along your spine and doing th ewrong exercise could make it worse or cripple you. I was shown an exercise that I did religiously and I, like you, walk a lot, travel, am VERY active and now can hardly bring myself to go to my RGP. Pilates or physiotherapy the pain is so terrible in the groin an dleg. Pain killers don't cure anything, they merely help you to get around when th epain is really bad, crippling. Don't let it get that bad. Go to a specialist and have the proper exams done. It's not something you want to joke about or underplay. No stiff uper lip. The nerve is NOT necessarily trapped in your leg, mine is pinched along the spine  L4, L5; S1, but NO back pain, the pain's in the groin and the leg , down to the knee. My leg has atrophied and I'm undergoing so many treatments , exercises ,Ozone injections , so I can travel and walk and play and live! Don't accept what your doc. has said, I've got a private Doctor who cares and aids me , but I'm in Rio De Janeiro, where everyone who is alive has to be in shape, if you're out of shape and can't move , might as well be dead! So good luck, BTW I've taken every pain killer on the market, since it's nerve pain, they're really bad for you, too. Meds.  Ibuprofen,'s the most common, not much good for me. Arcoxia , Lyrica, Gabapentin, Codeine, Celebrex. All poisins! Turmeric with pepper, Ginger, devil's Claw, natural ones. Taken the lot , Pilates helps strngthen the core and stretch the spine. RPG, for posture . Alexander, stretches. Anyway , hope I've helped a bit

Hi Jane. If you don't mind, are you in the UK or US or elsewhere? Reason I ask is bc clinical medicine varies per country. I am in the US and I quit this site a little over 2 yrs ago bc the folks on it were beginning to resent my posts because I did so well after my L4-L-5 fusion. I listened to my surgeon and did what I was told. Was back on my feet and had the promised 80% back within 6 months. I was running a treadmill 5 miles on 30 degree incline at 1 yr out and have done well since...until Nov 8th of this year when the vertebrae above the fusion slipped ( only fair to tell you that I am a retired Ortho/Tauma RN, soon to be 69 yrs young, with what my Spine Surgeon calls "a a really crummy back". What caused this is lack of disc height between most of the vertebrae up and down my spine. The exact term for the vertebrae slippage is called Sondylolisthesis. What you dis robe sounds something like Sciatic nerve encroachment by some means. The reason for my fusion was Spinal Stenosis as well as a herniated disc. T the fifer emcee is that you can still walk even though it hurts. The pain I get when I stand up is severe and instantaneous.. An electric shock from buttock to right foot that does not stop until I take the pressure off of the nerve by sitting down. I am trying to be as graphic as I can be so you have a comparison. It was frustrating for the folks outside of the US to understand much of my encouragement because out medical system is so much different than elsewhere. Even in Canada. So I hope that you will understand when I say that what your dr told you makes no sense to me. Please at least think about getting a second opinion(unless you are in the UK which I think you aren't able to do.). The "pain pills" aren't going to help much in the long run if your nerve is pinched. What got me through the 13 months from start of pain in my lower back to the fusion was 30g OTC Ibuprophen every 4-6 hrs. That used to get me through 12 hr shifts 3 X every week until I retired and had surgery. Ha nurses can be a stubborn lot! In any case, I hope this has helped a bit. Good luck and please let us know how you are getting on.

Sciatica is caused by a pinched sciatic nerve somewhere along its path: L4/L5 in the spine, through the hip and the the Sciatic Knot in your glutes, finally down your leg.  The pain tends to be very sharp and "shooting" at times.

Stretching and pain killers do nothing.  You have to fix the underlying cause.  Here are some from my own direct experience with sciatica...

- Played hockey for 45 years and sometimes skating without full gear I'd fall on my hip.  The next morning, I had to roll out of bed...really bad pain.  Went to a chiropractor.  Performed a "pretzel twist" on me.  Lay face up on a low bench, one leg crossed over the other, pressure and then a quick snap of the shoulder in the opposite direction of the legs.  Get up...walk out.  Problem completely gone.

- Five years ago, sciatica again.  PT, Pain injections in my spine, no joy.  MRI at the neurosurgeon revealed a bone spur "crushing" (doc's word) my sciatic nerve root at L4/L5.  Quick laminectomy to get rid of the spur.  Pain free in 24 hours.  No rehab.

- Had a TKR in March.  To avoid knee pain, a lot of us in this group unconsciously change our gait.  In my situation, the SI joints in my hips locked up.  Ortho sent me to a chiropractor.  Two sessions a week for three weeks and it was gone.

- Now I have developed severe sciatic pain in BOTH legs simultaneously.  Sharp pain, total weakness, hard to even walk.  Only one thing causes sciatica in BOTH legs...stenosis.  Now I need more spine surgery to clean out the narrowing canals that the nerves pass through out of the spinal column...kind of like roto-rooter.  That's next month.

So...  Your sciatica can be caused by a multitude of medical conditions.  I'd start with a quick x-ray and a visit to a chiro.  It could be as simple as hip/SI joint alignment.  If nothing shows up or helps, your next visit is to a neuroSURGEON...not a neurologist.  It could be something at L4/L5 in your spine causing the problem.

Hope this helps.

Hi again Jane. Please read carefully to replies, and average the positive against the negative before you form your own opinion. Narcotocs should never be your first drug of choice. That's why I told you what had worked for me. Ibuprofen is an MSAID and convenient since OTC. It worked for me for 13 months so I could continue to work. I definitely not one to pop pills of any kind, much less narcotics.

The 2nd point is that IF it is definitely nerve pain that you are having, do not see an Orthopedic surgeon. What you need is a Neurosurgeon. You have my sympathy trying to navigate the medical system in the UK. I discussed some of the problems you all go through just being seen with my own Surgeon and he agreed that there are vast differences between there and here.

Good luck and stay in touch.