One of the bad habits I had slipped into in the past years, was not making enough effort to keep my body in a decent shape. With work taking up more and more of my time - getting up at 5am and not home until after 7pm most days - there did not seem any time to keep in shape. However the severity of how hard the sciatica / piriformis hit me - has made me realise what a bad mistake this was.
I now really try to make an effort to do something each week. So this weekend it has been a 25minute run and stretching. When I am away on business I am now always packing shorts so I can use the gym or pool - even if it is just for 30minutes. Have a swim, sauna rather than a heavy meal and drink.
Sunday 25 May 2008
Wahl Massager
In a previous post I had mentioned using a massager. This is the one I have been using, a small hand held Wahl. I had noticed that massaging was one of the recommended actions for piriformis syndrome - but didn't fancy going to get a regular massage - so wondered if you could do something yourself at home. Looked through Argos catalogue and websites.. and this seemed to fit the bill. Ordered from Amazon, £20 delivered (I think).
It's a rechargeable system, so plug in and place in the base for a few hours. The unit is then handheld. To be honest I hadn't really thought about how powerful something like this would be. I am a bit underwhelmed with the massaging aspect - it's basically a glorified vibration. However the "infra-red" heating is quite impressive for the size. It just looks like 5 red LED's - but if the battery is well charged, this can put out enough heat - almost too hot to touch. However you need to make sure there is good skin contact. When my hamstrings are sore after some stretching and exercise - it's a relaxing thing to use. Only problem is the battery discharges quite quickly if you use vibration and the heat together - and the charger has a buzzing noise. You don't know when it is fully charged, though perhaps I didn't read the instructions properly. I suppose for £20 you can't expect much really - however I like the infra red as a quick shot of heat treatment always can come in useful.
Monday 19 May 2008
Best Day so Far
After 5 sessions with the physio - it was mutually agreed that I now was in control of my stretching and that continuing with this program was the best thing.
A couple of weeks have passed since that point. I continue to do the stretching exercises of all the muscles around my hamstring, hip, buttock, lower back and trunk.
I have also occasionally used the "tennis ball" technique as a way of massaging the piriformis muscle. I don't use a tennis ball, something slightly smaller and harder - it's a kids bouncy ball, perhaps something you would throw to a dog. Lying down with the ball placed carefully on the muscle.. and rolling your weight around it - gives a sort of pain but also a relief.
Additionally I have a small hand held massager with infra red - which I apply each night to either hamstring or buttock.
I have changed my office chair to something more sympathetic and ergonomic - (I had previously changed my car)
I have also started jogging - and manage to do 2-3 sessions per week of 30 minutes. Sometimes it is a little bit painful, but a day or two later I feel the benefit. This additionally exercise has added a lot of general benefits, weight - feeling of appetite and general fitness.
This last weekend was intense where I was doing a bit of everything. By Sunday I was quite sore in my legs - but on Monday I feel the benefit. My hamstring doesn't get the chronic pain and I don't get the acute pains.
So how it feels is the investment in stretching and taking care of the muscles is really paying off.
At Easter I was in real pain, suffering a lot. Now it feels manageable. It isn't cured 100% but I would say it is 80-90% sorted.
The only thing I can think which triggered all of this was switching from left hand drive cars to right hand drive cars.. which changed where I put my right leg.. from being straight to being kinked to the right.
A long painful story - but there is hope for curing this syndrome.
A couple of weeks have passed since that point. I continue to do the stretching exercises of all the muscles around my hamstring, hip, buttock, lower back and trunk.
I have also occasionally used the "tennis ball" technique as a way of massaging the piriformis muscle. I don't use a tennis ball, something slightly smaller and harder - it's a kids bouncy ball, perhaps something you would throw to a dog. Lying down with the ball placed carefully on the muscle.. and rolling your weight around it - gives a sort of pain but also a relief.
Additionally I have a small hand held massager with infra red - which I apply each night to either hamstring or buttock.
I have changed my office chair to something more sympathetic and ergonomic - (I had previously changed my car)
I have also started jogging - and manage to do 2-3 sessions per week of 30 minutes. Sometimes it is a little bit painful, but a day or two later I feel the benefit. This additionally exercise has added a lot of general benefits, weight - feeling of appetite and general fitness.
This last weekend was intense where I was doing a bit of everything. By Sunday I was quite sore in my legs - but on Monday I feel the benefit. My hamstring doesn't get the chronic pain and I don't get the acute pains.
So how it feels is the investment in stretching and taking care of the muscles is really paying off.
At Easter I was in real pain, suffering a lot. Now it feels manageable. It isn't cured 100% but I would say it is 80-90% sorted.
The only thing I can think which triggered all of this was switching from left hand drive cars to right hand drive cars.. which changed where I put my right leg.. from being straight to being kinked to the right.
A long painful story - but there is hope for curing this syndrome.
Sunday 18 May 2008
Signs of Improvement
One of the sensations I had previously was that my buttock muscles were always in a cramp, so that when I stood up after sitting down - the pain was like a knife had been stuck into it. With the stretching exercises that the physio had instructed me on - this sensation was starting to go away. I still had the more chronic nagging sensation in my leg/hamstring area.. but I was at least able to walk around the office more normally and not do this ridiculous routine of standing still for 30 seconds or so after getting out of a chair. I was starting to be able to get out of a car with either foot, I was infact driving still for upto 2 hours and getting out with major pain.
This is starting to work - but doing stretching each day takes a new attitude to how you think about things. Now I am starting to find ways to stretch each time I am either sitting or standing.
Sitting in a chair, is easy to get in a slouch position. So try to sit up with a straighter back - with knees together. Then after a period switch positions, try with a knee over the other one. Constantly adjusting and preventing being stuck in one bad position for a period of time.
This is starting to work - but doing stretching each day takes a new attitude to how you think about things. Now I am starting to find ways to stretch each time I am either sitting or standing.
Sitting in a chair, is easy to get in a slouch position. So try to sit up with a straighter back - with knees together. Then after a period switch positions, try with a knee over the other one. Constantly adjusting and preventing being stuck in one bad position for a period of time.
Saturday 17 May 2008
3rd visit to Physio
Starting to feel progress, but pain is still there as both chronic and acute. However certainly now not walking with a limp, so we are getting there.
Again all of my movement is checked. I had tended to work my right side harder than the left because that's where the problem is, but he advised me to try and work both sides similarly. So I tended to bend over to touch one leg at a time - as doing both at the same time was somehow more painful. Now originally I couldn't touch past my knees, but now I was reaching between my knees and ankles now.
We now started to work on my hip muscles. So lying on a bench, and keeping my shoulders flat (needed to be held down) - stretch my right leg over my left knee and vice versa. This demonstrated just how tight my side muscles and hip flexibility. We checked again hamstrings and these were not much better.
Lying on my front, then tried to lift up whilst keep hips on flat on the bench. Again not a lot of flexibility there.
Clearly a lot more work to do in many more areas than I had first realised.
Again all of my movement is checked. I had tended to work my right side harder than the left because that's where the problem is, but he advised me to try and work both sides similarly. So I tended to bend over to touch one leg at a time - as doing both at the same time was somehow more painful. Now originally I couldn't touch past my knees, but now I was reaching between my knees and ankles now.
We now started to work on my hip muscles. So lying on a bench, and keeping my shoulders flat (needed to be held down) - stretch my right leg over my left knee and vice versa. This demonstrated just how tight my side muscles and hip flexibility. We checked again hamstrings and these were not much better.
Lying on my front, then tried to lift up whilst keep hips on flat on the bench. Again not a lot of flexibility there.
Clearly a lot more work to do in many more areas than I had first realised.
Thursday 15 May 2008
2nd Visit to Physio - Piriformis Syndrome
So after a week of doing the stretching I made it back to the physio. I didn't know what to expect in terms of his assessment of my improvement. My pain was still there and I was a bit disappointed it hadn't gone straight away after some stretching. Obviously I was hugely over optimistic of what was possible in a week.
The first thing that was mentioned by the Physio was that my scoliosis was improving. It hadn't gone but he could see a difference already. Big morale boost.
He then checked how I was standing and sitting. I was still having a problem in placing my weight evenly foot to foot. Also when sitting I tend to slouch, which pulls back my legs.
He then looked at my hamstrings and his opinion was that they were incredibly tight. I needed to work on these.
So the stretch we performed was lying on the back and hand behind the knee trying to straighten the leg. This hurts, particularly in the back. It's also one which doesn't seem to make a lot of progress.
His recommendation was to first start with 5 second stretches.. and gradually build it up to 10 - 20 seconds etc.
He explained to me that the muscle/tendon doesn't get longer - but basically forgets how long it should be and therefore recallibrates itself to the shorter position. With stretching it creates a recallibration of the muscle to work to. Now I don't know if that is scientifically true or not, but as an engineer I can live with that and helps me to understand it.
So now I have got the John Travolta stretch and the hamstring stretch going - and trying to touch my toes. Roll on another week of stretching at home.
The first thing that was mentioned by the Physio was that my scoliosis was improving. It hadn't gone but he could see a difference already. Big morale boost.
He then checked how I was standing and sitting. I was still having a problem in placing my weight evenly foot to foot. Also when sitting I tend to slouch, which pulls back my legs.
He then looked at my hamstrings and his opinion was that they were incredibly tight. I needed to work on these.
So the stretch we performed was lying on the back and hand behind the knee trying to straighten the leg. This hurts, particularly in the back. It's also one which doesn't seem to make a lot of progress.
His recommendation was to first start with 5 second stretches.. and gradually build it up to 10 - 20 seconds etc.
He explained to me that the muscle/tendon doesn't get longer - but basically forgets how long it should be and therefore recallibrates itself to the shorter position. With stretching it creates a recallibration of the muscle to work to. Now I don't know if that is scientifically true or not, but as an engineer I can live with that and helps me to understand it.
So now I have got the John Travolta stretch and the hamstring stretch going - and trying to touch my toes. Roll on another week of stretching at home.
Monday 12 May 2008
Physio Exercises For Sciatica
One of the biggest boosts I got was to my morale. Visiting somebody who actually knew the pain I was in - and what was causing it - was a massive boost to my confidence. All the visits to the GP's had really been a waste of time - and perhaps worse than that. I had gone there with the expectation they knew something about the condition and could advise me. All I got was a packet of anti-inflamatory pills - without a single explanation of my condition and how to go about dealing with it.
Before my visit to the physio - I could hardly stand up after sitting down for a few minutes. The pain in my lower back and buttock was so intense. I could not get out of a car easily, I had to swing my hips around so I could step out with my left foot and not my painful right foot. I stuggled to walk, I was walking with a strong limp as I dragged my foot behind me. I couldn't believe what was happening to me at 40 years old. I am 82kg and 1.8 metres.. hardly overweight, have run a marathon in under 4 hours and was a decent squash player - but now I can't walk??
So I started doing my John Travolta stretch as best I could. I also made a measurement of how far I could bend over - touching my toes - or said another way, how far down my leg could I touch. Before starting the physio work I could barely touch my knee without shooting pains.
So the way I did the measurement was to make a mark on the wall where I could reach out to..from a fixed position on the floor. I found it very painful to bend and stretch with both arms at the same time.. however my physio had told me to do both at the same time and not favour one or the other. Try to hold each stretch initially for at least 5 seconds without bouncing.
I booked to see the physio exactly one week later - so now I had a personal target, how much stretching and bending could I achieve in just one week. For the first time I had a goal and somehow this alone made me feel better in itself.
Before my visit to the physio - I could hardly stand up after sitting down for a few minutes. The pain in my lower back and buttock was so intense. I could not get out of a car easily, I had to swing my hips around so I could step out with my left foot and not my painful right foot. I stuggled to walk, I was walking with a strong limp as I dragged my foot behind me. I couldn't believe what was happening to me at 40 years old. I am 82kg and 1.8 metres.. hardly overweight, have run a marathon in under 4 hours and was a decent squash player - but now I can't walk??
So I started doing my John Travolta stretch as best I could. I also made a measurement of how far I could bend over - touching my toes - or said another way, how far down my leg could I touch. Before starting the physio work I could barely touch my knee without shooting pains.
So the way I did the measurement was to make a mark on the wall where I could reach out to..from a fixed position on the floor. I found it very painful to bend and stretch with both arms at the same time.. however my physio had told me to do both at the same time and not favour one or the other. Try to hold each stretch initially for at least 5 seconds without bouncing.
I booked to see the physio exactly one week later - so now I had a personal target, how much stretching and bending could I achieve in just one week. For the first time I had a goal and somehow this alone made me feel better in itself.
Saturday 10 May 2008
First Visit to the Physio - Does he know about Sciatica
So after finding a private physio (remember I had been waiting on a list for the national health but nobody was calling) I went for my first examination to see if he could do anything about my sciatica problem.
I was armed with the information that I didn't have any issues from either the X-Ray or blood.
Talking with the physio was a revelation. The level and depth of knowledge was completely different to the GP. This person could literally read my body - just by looking at the shape of the skin, the muscle definitions and the positions (or lack of) that I could move my limbs - he explained so much.
We discussed lifestyle, he looked at how I stood, how I would sit and move. He checked my full range of body movements, all aspects of this.
The main problem he said was that I had spent too much time sitting, tightening my hamstrings and buttock muscles.. and these were now going into spasm and were pressing on the sciatic nerve.. giving me the pain and sensations down my lower back and right leg.
I had developed a preference for one side of my body, I leant slightly when standing and sitting and therefore built up lobsided muscle definition, which was getting worse and worse each year. Even the folds in my skin were un-even. All these details I had never realised or noticed. He had a skeleton model and showed the parts of the body we were talking about. However he didn't talk about sciatica as a specific condition.
He then showed me the first stretching excercise that I would need to do. It seemed quite simple, but actually with my condition it was difficult.
It was like doing a John Travolta point to the sky move.. right then left. The idea being to push to the side and up.
After my first session (approx 45minutes), it was good to know I was now working with somebody who had dealt with this problem before, and was optimistic that it could be solved. He also asked me what I expected from the treatment.
Well what I expected, was to be able to get my life back to normal and not have this constant pain. Is that too much to expect?
Anyway - £35 seemed well spent so far.
So he first
Obviously the first point
I was armed with the information that I didn't have any issues from either the X-Ray or blood.
Talking with the physio was a revelation. The level and depth of knowledge was completely different to the GP. This person could literally read my body - just by looking at the shape of the skin, the muscle definitions and the positions (or lack of) that I could move my limbs - he explained so much.
We discussed lifestyle, he looked at how I stood, how I would sit and move. He checked my full range of body movements, all aspects of this.
The main problem he said was that I had spent too much time sitting, tightening my hamstrings and buttock muscles.. and these were now going into spasm and were pressing on the sciatic nerve.. giving me the pain and sensations down my lower back and right leg.
I had developed a preference for one side of my body, I leant slightly when standing and sitting and therefore built up lobsided muscle definition, which was getting worse and worse each year. Even the folds in my skin were un-even. All these details I had never realised or noticed. He had a skeleton model and showed the parts of the body we were talking about. However he didn't talk about sciatica as a specific condition.
He then showed me the first stretching excercise that I would need to do. It seemed quite simple, but actually with my condition it was difficult.
It was like doing a John Travolta point to the sky move.. right then left. The idea being to push to the side and up.
After my first session (approx 45minutes), it was good to know I was now working with somebody who had dealt with this problem before, and was optimistic that it could be solved. He also asked me what I expected from the treatment.
Well what I expected, was to be able to get my life back to normal and not have this constant pain. Is that too much to expect?
Anyway - £35 seemed well spent so far.
So he first
Obviously the first point
Finding some hope outside the NHS
So the National Health Service (NHS) hadn't been able to help me. I don't have a private medical insurance either.
However my back and leg pain was both hurting and making me depressed. You can't do anything with the pain and the range of my movements had decreased dramatically.
Over the Easter holiday I pushed myself to find an answer. I looked through the local newspaper, looked at websites to find anything I could about sciatica. It was at this point I started to realise that I didn't have the classic sciatica, but what people term Piriformis syndrome. My X-Ray had shown there was nothing wrong with my back, and all of the symptoms of Piriformis syndrome seemed to apply to my condition. At least I had a starting point.
The main treatment it seemed to be was physiotherapy - with both stretching/massage techniques.
I started ringing around private physiotherapists.. and found one in my local village. I made an appointment that evening.
My life had started to change for the better.
However my back and leg pain was both hurting and making me depressed. You can't do anything with the pain and the range of my movements had decreased dramatically.
Over the Easter holiday I pushed myself to find an answer. I looked through the local newspaper, looked at websites to find anything I could about sciatica. It was at this point I started to realise that I didn't have the classic sciatica, but what people term Piriformis syndrome. My X-Ray had shown there was nothing wrong with my back, and all of the symptoms of Piriformis syndrome seemed to apply to my condition. At least I had a starting point.
The main treatment it seemed to be was physiotherapy - with both stretching/massage techniques.
I started ringing around private physiotherapists.. and found one in my local village. I made an appointment that evening.
My life had started to change for the better.
Friday 9 May 2008
3rd Visit to GP Doctor
So it takes almost 4 weeks to get the results of the back X-ray and blood test. I visit the doctor again hopeful that they would be able to tell me what the problem actually is - but I am almost disappointed when he says there is nothing abnormal with both the X-Ray and the blood test. This means after almost 6months of continuous pain, we are no furth on.
He does say I have a slight scoliosis on my back, but doesn't say anything more about it.
He asks if the physio has been in contact.. which they haven't.
He suggests I seek an orthopediac examination at the hospital.
This was back in March 2008 - May 2008, I am still waiting for the appointment letter to arrive, let alone knowing when to go to the hospital.
I really start to feel desperate now.
He does say I have a slight scoliosis on my back, but doesn't say anything more about it.
He asks if the physio has been in contact.. which they haven't.
He suggests I seek an orthopediac examination at the hospital.
This was back in March 2008 - May 2008, I am still waiting for the appointment letter to arrive, let alone knowing when to go to the hospital.
I really start to feel desperate now.
Monday 5 May 2008
2nd Visit to GP Doctor
The pain diminished slightly after changing my car from a Ford Mondeo to a Volvo, however after a few months it was back to being very serious.
Everytime I was sitting down, the pain would be incredible. Standing up after sitting was like having a knife pushed in my back. Similarly any time I would cough or sneeze, the pain was intense. Driving was so uncomfortable.
So went to a different GP. Again the diagnosis was sciatica. This time the doctor sent me to the hospital for X-Ray and blood tests. The idea being to try and discover what was causing the pain. He also put me on the list to see a physiotherapist. We are now approx 4 months since the pain was first impacting me
Everytime I was sitting down, the pain would be incredible. Standing up after sitting was like having a knife pushed in my back. Similarly any time I would cough or sneeze, the pain was intense. Driving was so uncomfortable.
So went to a different GP. Again the diagnosis was sciatica. This time the doctor sent me to the hospital for X-Ray and blood tests. The idea being to try and discover what was causing the pain. He also put me on the list to see a physiotherapist. We are now approx 4 months since the pain was first impacting me
Sciatica - First Visit to GP Doctor
The pain seem to be at it's height after driving, to the point of not being able to actually get out of a car after driving for more than 20 minutes. I had changed my car from an Audi A4 to a rental car, Ford Mondeo. The Ford Mondeo was brand new and I didn't suspect anything from changing cars. However it became so painful I was glad when the car was returned. The pain seemed to be less when I drove my wifes Ford Focus, the seats seemed more supportive.
So after struggling along for more than a month with lower back pain, and pain in the leg I made an appointment with the GP. I had been taking pain killers, but without any effect at all. The pain killers simply didn't make any impact to the intense pain.
After a brief discussion, the conclusion was that I had a case of Sciatica - and the GP gave a prescription for anti-inflammatory pills. The pills are called Dicloflex made by Almus pharmaceutical. Apparently they are supposed to reduced the swelling near the sciatic nerve? They didn't actually explain to me what they were - I thought they were stronger pain killers. There is some side effects, you won't be constipated with these things.
However ultimately taking these Dicloflex anti-inflammatory pills in combination with pain killers didn't make any difference to my condition.
So after struggling along for more than a month with lower back pain, and pain in the leg I made an appointment with the GP. I had been taking pain killers, but without any effect at all. The pain killers simply didn't make any impact to the intense pain.
After a brief discussion, the conclusion was that I had a case of Sciatica - and the GP gave a prescription for anti-inflammatory pills. The pills are called Dicloflex made by Almus pharmaceutical. Apparently they are supposed to reduced the swelling near the sciatic nerve? They didn't actually explain to me what they were - I thought they were stronger pain killers. There is some side effects, you won't be constipated with these things.
However ultimately taking these Dicloflex anti-inflammatory pills in combination with pain killers didn't make any difference to my condition.
Background to my Sciatica
This blog is dedicated to trying to recover from Sciatica.
I am 1.8m ~ approx 84kg and when the sciatica started, 39 years old.
In my 20's I was pretty active, and did regular exercise. In my 30's it became less and less, playing squash now and again.
I have a desk job and do quite a bit of driving to different locations of work.
After a very long drive, I suffered slight back pain - but I would recover quickly from this.
I moved countries, which involved moving the family (lots of furniture to move), changing cars and changing chairs/desks at work.
About month after the change I started to feel lower back pain. It didn't recover and gradually got worse and worse.
I am 1.8m ~ approx 84kg and when the sciatica started, 39 years old.
In my 20's I was pretty active, and did regular exercise. In my 30's it became less and less, playing squash now and again.
I have a desk job and do quite a bit of driving to different locations of work.
After a very long drive, I suffered slight back pain - but I would recover quickly from this.
I moved countries, which involved moving the family (lots of furniture to move), changing cars and changing chairs/desks at work.
About month after the change I started to feel lower back pain. It didn't recover and gradually got worse and worse.
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