Treatment options for sciatica relief (Sunnyvale: insurance, live in, cost)

[Shilpar]

Hi,
I live in Sunnyvale,CA and have been suffering from chronic sciatic pain due to L4,L5,S1 herniation since few months.I took a course of oral steroids and have been on NSAID for months now. Just started going to PT for lumbar traction. My PT has started me on the piriformis stretch, hamstring stretch, clams. I do not see any improvement in my pain level. My pain starts in the left butt n goes down the leg. I want to know if anybody around in Bay Area have good PT and doctor referrals for me . I really want to see the right doctor n PT and be on correct path of treatment. And also, please let me know the exercises any of you might have benefited from for the sciatic pain management.. because I know I cannot move on with core strengthening without managing my pain first.I also heard water therapy helps with sciatica. Tried looking up for options around but in vain. Anybody knows of a place for the water therapy? Please share your success stories.

[Standingroom0nly]

The only way I can relate is having bad sciatica in pregnancy. Going to a chiropractor helped me A LOT. She was also the best masseuse and seeing her regularly for massage made all the difference for me.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

What helped me was stretching. Lay down and bring your leg up towards your chest, and also bend it across your body - to stretch out that area around your hip.

I also took a class that was given by Kaiser (which was my insurance at the time) that taught me how to lift things, and move around, including vacuuming, etc., so you minimize back pain.

So, you learn how to minimize the damage (including not picking kids up and holding them on your hip, which was a lot of the reason why I had problems), and stretch out the area.

Also, wear good shoes, like running shoes with support. Until your pain is managed.

But, if you take drugs instead of dealing with the issue - changing how you move, and stretching out, etc. - you'll just mask the pain, which won't heal the problem, so it will just get worse.

I no longer suffer from sciatica problems. No longer picking up kids and holding them on my hips has a lot to do with it, and otherwise, wearing good shoes, moving properly and not lifting things incorrectly, and stretching - all healed my problems.

I find PT to be helpful for only a few sessions. They will just give you exercises and may or may not teach you how to move properly or lift properly. I find them to be pretty much worthless. They won't actually massage you. They just give you a list of exercises and send you away.

I also didn't find a chiropractor to be helpful. I often felt worse from their manipulations.

So, what I learned the hard way is - change your bad habits that are exacerbating the problem, and stretch, take something benign like ibuprophen until you learn how to change your habits and heal.

Good luck.

[ZeApelido]

The fact it seems to stem from the hip is a positive sign hopefully. That might mean something is pushing on the nerve and it needs to be adjusted / relaxed to relieve the pain.

In my case, I overused my piriformis in exercise. Piriformis runs right next to the sciatic nerve. The pain is horrible. When I massaged my hips, I would find temporariliy relief.

After doing the piriformis stretch (mentioned above) I had so much relief. Make sure when you are stretching, you are doing some active stretching (contract muscle - resist, relax, repeat).

I wish you the best luck finding a solution.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Shilpar

Hi,
I live in Sunnyvale,CA and have been suffering from chronic sciatic pain due to L4,L5,S1 herniation since few months.I took a course of oral steroids and have been on NSAID for months now. Just started going to PT for lumbar traction. My PT has started me on the piriformis stretch, hamstring stretch, clams. I do not see any improvement in my pain level. My pain starts in the left butt n goes down the leg. I want to know if anybody around in Bay Area have good PT and doctor referrals for me . I really want to see the right doctor n PT and be on correct path of treatment. And also, please let me know the exercises any of you might have benefited from for the sciatic pain management.. because I know I cannot move on with core strengthening without managing my pain first.I also heard water therapy helps with sciatica. Tried looking up for options around but in vain. Anybody knows of a place for the water therapy? Please share your success stories.

How old are you? Could your disc issues be age-related? I suppose it doesn't matter. Doing piriformis stretches will only make it worse, OP. I went in for a similar problem, not as acute as yours. I was trained to treat sciatica as a massage therapist, having the client do those stretches. I learned at the PT clinic, after I got the right therapist (the first one started me out with those stretches), that for disc issues, you need to do the opposite; you need to do what they call a Cobra position, arching your back, not curling it, as with a piriformis stretch. Arching your back with your pelvis on the floor (raise and lower the back 10 times, pushing up with your arms) should gradually (over a couple of weeks) coax your disc back into place. It worked for me. But I only had a bulging disc, not a herniated one. The situation could be more delicate and tricky with a herniated disc.

Do get another opinion from a different PT office. Let us know what they say. Good luck!

[turkeydance]

NoMoreSnow did what i did.
here is my stretching story:

sciatica pain from chain-sawing. saw my doctor. she said to try the "Rooster" stretch. it worked for me. here is how.....
stand upright with knees together and "locked". do not bend the knees. ball up both hands into fists and press as hard as
you want to into the lower back below the belt-line where the pain is. lean backwards at the waist (nothing below the
waist moves) while still pressing the fists. look Straight Up at the ceiling/sky. to look Exactly Straight Up is hard to do
at first. hold it until you get dizzy. stop and straighten up. rest. do it again. stop. rest. one more time. stop. that is all.
at first, it took me about 30 seconds. since i have been doing it, i am up to 8 minutes with no pain. no cost to try.