Which is best for sciatic nerve pain, a hot or cold compress. It's the small muscle that caused pain

Hi Brenda, I rely mainly on ice with my sciatica. I think it's really what works best for you. I had a few doctors tell me to use heat within the first 8-24 hours, alternating with ice but then stick with the ice. The heat tends to feed the inflammation. 

Personally, I have used both but it depends on where exactly I am with an onset of sciatica or muscle spasm. If it works, I don't think there's a right or wrong. 

Good luck and I hope you feel better soon -

Hi Brenda,I suffer with back pain and sciatica. I have had 2 discectomies. Nothing works.I am on gabbapentin, diclofenac, and zomorph. I tried the cold compress and it instantly sent pains down my leg.The only thing that relieves it is when I lay down and put deep heat rub on.Sometimes when it is extremely painfull I have a special 300 watt halogen lamp that I use when I've put the deep heat on first then I use it to help soak it in and in 7 years I have tried facet injections and epidurals but nonever of these have worked apart from the deep heat body rub which I order in bulk.Hope this helps. Dean.

Hi Brenda, I also suffer from acute sciatica from my pelvis down through my left leg. I am on the same Naproxen levels as you however I'm on 90mg of Amitriptyline with a view that the high levels will work on the pain messages getting through to my brain receptors while also helping with sleep as my sciatica prevents me sleeping other than very short episodes. I was advised by another patient that cold works well to reduce the size of your blood vessels feeding your nerves and I do seem to suffer less during winter months so there might be something in it! 

I do hope you find the right solution for your own personal symptoms as medication works differently from people to people! 

Regards Dave

Alternating can work with tests in between. Cold for inflammation, hot to relax muscle spasm 😊

Give the naproxen a few more days or weeks. It takes time to work and when it does I promise you that you won't feel a thing! Make sure you get tablets to protect your stomach while taking strong pain meds. Hope you feel better soon

Hi

I've just posted to someone else on here my story and the best thing is to get an MRI scan if you can and get yourself down to the Spinex disc clinic where they do IDD treatment. I could barely walk at one point and I've had all the pain killers and physio and nerve root injections and surgeon referrals. IDD treatment has brought me through to the other side and back to work after four years away from my twenty year career which I thought would never happen.

The number is 0207 100 4598

Please do yourself a favour and call them.