Injury frustration ( Sciatica )

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rocket rich Jun 2011 9:28pm, 14 Jun 2011 11 posts	0 rocket rich Hi Fetchies Can anyone offer me any advice. Fr 5-6 months I have been struggling with a persistent ad at times painful injury, which I have been told by my Doctor is likely to be Sciatica !! I have run 5-6 times weekly for 7 years with no problems done over 30 races and 3 marathons. However at the start of the year I was getting pain that only came on when I had run 3-4 miles and started with a dull pain on the right side of my lower back which then spreads down my right leg ( its all right sided ) to my knee and sometimes further down.It gets worse the more I run although sometimes I can do a whole run and have little or no pain. After running I can be in quite a lot of pain for a few hours although painkillers, and a good nights sleep usually sorts it. At worse it can feel like it tightens up and I hobble around like an old man ( I'm 36 !! ) It usually clears up by the next day and I can walk on it fine. My Doctor says wear and tear can contribute but that with the right measure of rest, exercise and stretches it is possible to continue running. Can anyone advise a very frustrated runner ? Cheers Rich The rest of my body is fine but its very very frustrating. My Doctor says there are probably exercises etc I can do but I dont really know where to start!!
hellen Jun 2011 9:36pm, 14 Jun 2011 10,626 posts	0 hellen Hi Rich, I have had something quite similar.... Pain when running which started straight away. Initially painkillers would allow me to run, I even ran the london marathon on painkillers but after that even painkillers woudlnt touch it. I saw osteo, then physio then specialist and had MRI scan, nothing showed up on MRI so specialist said to go back to physio. Physio was able to feel something in my L3 joint or whatever it is called in my back but never any pain in my back. The pain was always in my leg, stopping at my knee and in diff parts of the leg. Physio said it is a nerve thing, prob irritated nerve. I rested for quite a few weeks and didnt see much progress at all but at least it stopped hurting in the morning. Specialist had said I am OK to run but initially it was too painful. I got fed up with resting so once it was OK enough for me to run ie it hurt but was tolerable I ran. Even about 2-3 weeks ago I went out for a 2 mile run and was in agony when I got back and for about an hour afterwards then all of a sudden it started to get better and at the weekend I was able to do 26 miles no probs - it was hilly and off road so a lot of walking. I am not sure what made it get better, maybe it was just ready to get better but a few days before I saw iimprovement I started taking some quite strong B vitamins as I read somewhere that they were good for nerve function or something. It may have been a coincidence but that was the only diff thing I did. Think best thing is to see a physio, feel free to fmail me
ogee Jun 2011 9:41pm, 14 Jun 2011 16,378 posts	0 ogee Inversion therapy & plenty of stretches worked for me. Haven't had a problems for years now.
cabletow Jun 2011 10:35pm, 14 Jun 2011 20,559 posts	0 cabletow Hmm sounds like piriformis syndrome. You need an examination and scan. If it is sciatica and there is nerve compression you may need attention. But if not then it will be a technique issue