Desperately seeking sciatica solution...

Just let me say that I used to run until two years ago when sciatica knocked me out...I still have trouble walking a few miles due to buttock pain and bilateral sciatica. Some people just need to do some good stretching, but take it seriously b/c sciatica can really hurt your daily lifestyle. Does it burn down your hamstring when you sit for too long? Good luck

Pete,

I believe I have this same problem. Not sure what to do about it.

Nope, no burn in the hamstring. Last summer when this bothered me it was also related to hamstring pain, but not so this time (yet...?). Sitting here at my desk my right calf has a very mild dull throb. On the drive to work there was (very mild) numbness/tingling in the right leg.

Solutions, guys/gals? Gotta race to run, and won't like it if one leg is only at 75-85%...

I had this problem for years and years but finally got rid of it by working with a good massage therapist (deep, painful massage!) and a good Physical Therapist. My pelvis was out of alignment and my SI joint was also involved. For years, I had trouble sitting and now I am pain free. I am not sure that there is a quick solution though. I would try massage first.

My sciatica was caused by an inflamed piriformis muscle. But "sciatica" really just means you have an irritated nerve, which could be caused by lots of things: tight muscles, bulging discs, probably some others. My problem lasted for a couple of years, and was solved within a month finally by the sort of painful, deep tissue massage someone else mentioned. And stretching from then on.

In my case, the massage therapist observed that my hamstrings were REALLY tight, so I worked on those (gradual stretching, nothing radical or too fast).

Good luck.

Pete,

Please describe your "dead" leg. I may have the same problem but was wondering what you are experiencing.

Pete, I would second the calls for a massage. I was having problems with my sciatica and went an got a massage, it really helped. My problem was that my quads where really tight and messed up, not sure how to explain in terms of the correct muscle groups, but basically the outside muscle group on my quads where tight and having the massage person discover this and then work them out relieved a lot of the problem.

too wrote:Please describe your "dead" leg.

The right leg just doesn't have the same power as the left. I could tell this fairly quickly yesterday, when I ran a very light workout of 3 x 1200 @ 6:00 pace. I did a long warmup with some up-tempo stuff and then ran a few strides. I didn't have any "zip" in my legs. Normally I feel light and springy and can get some pretty speedy turnover on the strides, but not yesterday - the legs just didn't want to respond. Then on the 1200s I felt like I was half dragging (I'm exaggerating, but that's basically the feeling) my right leg around the track.

Pete, My PT showed me a 'nerve stretch' that really did the trick. Lie on your back with the offending leg pulled to your chest with the knee bent. The other leg is flat on the floor. Now with hand holding your hamstring and knee still bent raise your foot to the ceiling foot flexed @ 90 degrees. Hold. repeat. Also a cortisone patch on the low back butt works to relieve swelling of the nerve. And another. Lie on your stomach legs behind you tilt your legs to the offending side so you are shaped like an 'L'. Now push up into the cobra postion with your waist still on the ground. Hold . repeat pete.

I had the piriformis issue and deep (and very painful) massage helped quite a bit. The original irriatation occurred during a very long tempo run. Lots of anti-inflammatories, stretching, yoga positions, and a mattress change helped quite a bit. Sessions of ice followed by heat helped also. Would recommend Chinese linament oil to ease the pain (or something called "Sore No More"). It took several months (6-8) for everything to be back to normal though. Would also recommend seeing a PT to get your pelvic tilt checked out. Gook luck!

I am in high school and i had piriformis pain last year. knocked me out a couple months of the xc season. go to an orthopedic sugeon. he can perscribe a few things.1. ultrasound to loosen up the area. 2. a shot into your buttocks that lossens the piriformis tension on the sciatica. 3. there is a simple surgery that cuts the muscle to lossen tension, but that is a very serious case. I only had to do ultrasound and i was ok, but there are plenty of options at the dostor that can have you running in no time. i felt pain free and in two weeks i was running pr's.

Good Luck!!!

Lot's of good advice here. If the stretching doesn't seem to work (seek out piriformis stretching), then it is time to check for SI joint dysfunction, pelvic alignment.

when i had a bought with sciatica last year, i was basically told to take care of it or i might not be able to run again because it could plague me my whole life. i went to a massage therapist and got a deep tissue massage to relieve the tension. after about 3 trips to the massage place, i was able to run again with little to no pain. i rushed my return though and had a really shitty end to my season. but after taking 3 weeks completely off i started my summer training and had absolutely no pain at all. it was my strongest summer of training of my life. so i suggest getting a deep tissue massage. tell them to focus on the lower back and the piriformis muscle. once the muscle is release you will feel tons better.

Not one of you bastards has told me how to fix it by Sunday.

kidding... thanks for all the suggestions

time to consider hanging it up and find another sport

sciatica is a long-term pain in the butt, literally

quick term, ice and heat possibly keep it at bay.

That does not sound like sciatica. You have a different issue altogether, a 'dead leg' sounds like something else entirely.

To repeat: "Sciatica" just means that a nerve is irritated. "Dead Leg" could be a symptom. It was for me.

I will add that the doctors spent two years treating me for extruded discs (posture, yoga stretches, some traction, ibuprofen) and/or bursitis (a cortisone shot in the ass, only for the bursa, not the piriformis). They were sure it was discs until they did an MRI, and my discs were fine. Then a PT friend of mine, who told me she thought it was piriformis 3 months before the docs figured it out, gave me the deep tissue massage treatment.

Mind you, I hadn't run in 2 years, and I'm sure the rest contributed to my quick response to the massage.

Well... I'm pretty sure it IS an issue with the sciatic nerve, and I also think it's due to a tight piriformis muscle. Mind you I haven't been to a doctor or PT, becuase it's simply too soon since I started noticing that it was affecting my running, and it takes forever here to get an appointment.

I've been getting some joy from the suggested stretches and some self massage. Mostly the massage, I think, as I'd been stretching it the last week or so to no avail. We have this (no lie) ladybug shaped vibratory massage thingy that's the size and approximate shape of the palm of my hand with bumps on the bottom flat surface. I've been spending 15-20 minutes each day working at the butt muscles, lower back and hamstrings. Yesterday's run felt very good (mind you I wasn't running fast enough to notice the issue). Today I feel a general "funny" sensation in the right ass cheek, but the rest of the right leg feels normal. So I'll knock on wood and keep at the stretching and self-massage.

By the way, my wife has found all kinds of ways to make fun of me for this (tightass... you get the picture). So at least my misfortune has brought a little bit of joy to the world.