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Sciatica / Piriformis Syndrome
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Of course not, thanks for the info Janet.
Only 2 days to go and im no better...
Went to the Dr's and they prescribes im 30mg of Codeine and Doclofenac 50mg
Not looking forward to the pain on sunday...
Its the pain directly behind the knee which is the crippling one...
Bennett04, in the Wikipedia entry for 'sciatica' (which, as it explains, is not a condition in itself, just the catch-all name for the symptoms caused by irritation of the sciatic and other nerves), it says that pain behind the knee is often associated with 'self-inflicted sciatica':
"Habits
The risk of self-inflicted sciatica has increased in recent years with, for instance, sitting on a wallet for prolonged hours every day which can cause self-inflicted sciatica. [4] Symptoms of numbness and/or pain behind the knee cap are associated with this form of sciatica. Work-related sciatica may be caused by the use of tool belts which hang around the hips and cause significant misalignment of the sacral vertebrae over long time periods."
Cheers Adrian thats interesting, I dont sit with my wallet in my back pocket but maybe its the way i sit at work? COuld be numerous things of course.
I need a quick fix remedy... Anyone?
edit:
Of course i know there never is one with any injury...
and if it was me I would take 100mg diclofenac the night before (after food).
Just wanted tothank everyone who contributed to this thread, you all really help. I managed to successfully complete the FLM yesterday!
I hurt a lot but i got there in 4:35 in the end. I started to get sore quite early on, started off with lower back pain at about 7/8miles then i tfor the pain in the ass then the last 7/8miles i had the pains down the back of my right leg, very sore but i hobbled through.
This morning the back of my right leg is still sore, just feels like severe cramp and a torn hamstring.
Thanks again for everyones input....
James.
Well done Bennett04! Glad you were able to complete it in the end.
From the symtoms you describe, i reckon the chiro that suggested L4/L5 problem could be correct...piriformis syndrome shouldn't affect your lower back i don't think...if it were me, i'd be pushing for a lumbar spine MRI. You could have a lumbar spine disk prolapse/bulge etc. You need to find the cause of your pain.
Well done Bennett04...i to managed to get round in 4hrs dead. I hadn't run for 11days before yesterday & was in alot of pain Friday so didn't think i'de make it. I was ok until 16 miles when my leg went into spasm & had pain in it. I then tried to compensate with the other leg which then brought on pain in that knee. Anyhow i know if id'e of stopped i would not of got going again so just hobbled the last 10 miles. I am suffering big time today though. Just want an end to all this, my doctor has put me on 75mg diclofenac twice a day, but that doesn't really help. To be honest the doctors are useless, he now says he can put me on a very strong pain killer for nerve pain but will have bad side effects!!
When i said i had been to a chiro it was actually an osteopath i don't know if they are basically the same?? I also had acupuncture on Friday, not sure really if that helped or not. Will battle on & hopefully be pain free real soon....good luck to you!!....Cathy
Hey all - first up congrats James and Dud, and second up I'm sorry I've not logged on for ages as I had the exact same thing for 3 years... and NO-ONE could give me a consistent diagnosis.
I had guesses from misaligned pelvis (inaccurate), slipped disk (inaccurate) to a hamstring issue.
In the end, I found an excellent physio who finally nailed what the problem was. She identified that my abductor muscles (the ones in the buttock/hip area that take the leg away from the body) were so weak they were almost non-existent. The piriformis can do a similar job but is much much smaller and fatigues easily as it's just not built for that kind of stress, especially running related.
When it fatigues it cramps and spasms and contracts around the sciatic nerve.
With a combination of knee raises and other dynamic strengthening exercises plus gruelling sports massage from a high standard marathon runner to get rid of years and years worth of scar tissue, I can now walk again and train regularly in tae kwondo.
I still get the occasional tweak when my piriformis jumps in a little too quickly, but doing the strengthening exercises reminds it of its place.
Things I found made it a lot worse - sitting on a folded leg, sitting at an angle, folding knees up under body when sitting. I sit with both feet flat on floor at all times with cushions to keep back straight. I also have found that doing a lot of core work and flexibility has added to the stability and make things easier.
I understand how tough it is presenting to a GP with a problem like this - the piriformis is a tiny muscle and produces a lot of vague but incredibly painful symptoms. And often, you can get secondary problems because of unconscious posture shifts etc that create probs in back or hams. I saw 4 GPs, 2 NHS physios, 2 chiropractors, 2 alternative health people, 2 physios and a sports masseur over the course of 3+ years at a huge personal financial cost (£30 a time as often as every week or every other week)...
But when you get the right answer (ie they find out what the cause is) its worth it.
Keep going guys
Jx
Well done Dud, Cracking time all things considered. I was all set for a 3:45 finish judging by my training and last years time.
Im guessing not training for 5 weeks had a huge effect!
Fikalina: When i say lower back it wasnt the centre of my back it was more an inch or two above my right bum cheek... so im guessing its the back of my pelvis? confusing... but the chiro did put 2 pen marks on each side and asked my to bend forward. The pen marks were where i described the pain to be - above my glutes and an inch or two out from my spine. (does this make sense lol!?!?)
I think before i do any more distance running im really going to work on core strength, I think that is the root of my old ITBS injuries as well as a contributory factor to all of the above.
Oh and the Chiro also said i have Scheuermann's (sp?) but only mild. He said its hereditary, my mum also slightly rounded, so is my sister. Dont know if this has any bearing on things?
yep i know where you mean i think, it's the same place i get soreness, kind of right over that bobbly bit at the back of your pelvis, the SI joint i think that is. Sometimes i can 'feel' it there, like something is stuck and i want to pull away from it, and sometimes i don't feel it there but get pain/aching in my hip and leg. Apparently it is because of my mildly prolapsed L5/S1 disk which is at that exact level and which bulges out to the left side which is the side of all my probs. Disks do usually bulge to one side or the other and then you get the symptoms on one side.
I think the pen marks are to help the fizz see if your pelvis is level or not, i think anyway.
I've never heard of Scheuermann's - what is that?
Interestingly, i had my first flare up of ITBS on the left side right before all the leg/back issues kicked off - there has to be some connection i reckon.
A lumbar MRI would be useful at this stage because at least then it will either confirm a disk issue or rule it out. I've learnt that these symptoms are confusing at the best of times so best to get all the info you can lay your hands on.
Adrian, don't panic, i've had that too and when i mentioned it to my chiro, he wasn't too concerned, he just reminded me that there is a sciatic nerve on both sides so any irritation around that disk area could also irritate the other side, albeit not quite as much.
How much are you doing in terms of exercise? Could it be possible you have over done something under the cover of painkillers and anti-inflams?
thanks for that fikalina - nice to have some reassurance!
I'm doubtless doing too much as am still doing the british military fitness, but stopped taking anti-inflamms several days ago. All in all it doesn't feel too bad right now but I'm probably pushing my luck ...
I have been to a chiropractor for the first time for an assessment. After one adjustment my leg feels better - and lots of aches and pains which I didn't know I had are better. Am due to go back for a report and treatment plan and am concerned that I don't know what I might be letting myself in for in terms of number, frequency and duration of treatments. What would be a rough estimate?
i think it would very much depend on what your symptoms are and what your diagnosis is. Did you chiro give you a diagnosis?