April 2018 – I attended my local hospital with a back
sprain.
I was in agony and thought I had
broken my coccyx bone.
A Senior Nurse
Practitioner was less than sympathetic when telling me “even if you have they
wont do anything” and sent me away with a prescription for painkillers.
Six weeks later I was feeling better. I was due to start a new part-time job as a
Lunchtime Supervisor at a local primary school.
On the third day there I was asked to assist a colleague in moving a bench. It wasn’t heavy but I knew straight away I
should not have done it. And so began
The Sciatica Journey.
To say it was painful is an understatement. Anyone who has had it will tell you. I heard tales of walking sticks, six months
off work, couldn’t get in and out of cars, depression, injections in spine etc
etc. Mornings were the worst having lain
all night the first thing I needed to do was move my right leg from side to
side to ‘wake it up’ as it felt like a ‘dead leg’. Putting it out of bed onto the floor and
getting to the bathroom felt excruciating and I hobbled like a 90 year old
woman. It bought tears to my eyes with
the pain traveling rapidly from my heel up to my sacrum. A day of pain in my leg, buttock and back
followed. And that was every day for
several months.
I finally got a Physiotherapy appointment at my local
hospital where an explanation of what the sciatic nerve was like using a
skeleton to demonstrate. Knowledge for
me is half the battle as otherwise my brain goes to the worse case scenario
imagining all sorts of terrible things.
I also educated myself via the internet, magazine articles, The Sciatica
Handbook by Bill Habets
and
treated myself to other means of helping aides as painkillers and
anti-inflammatory tablets just weren’t touching it. I was prescribed Gabapentin and later an
anti-depressant drug that helped calm the nerve - I had bad reactions to both
of these so I abandoned all prescribed medications and went ‘natural’. I ate fresh pineapple every day – a natural
anti-inflammatory; drank chamomile tea; ate as much fruit and vegetables I
could and bought a digital watch to count my daily steps. Walking and fresh air have helped lift the
mood. Paracetamol and other available ‘over
the counter’ tablets were taken to get me through the hour at school. Resting with legs up has helped too.
- Hot
and cold treatment – an ice block became my new best friend. Freezing the pain allowed easier
movement but was very temporary.
Heat pad belts were also very useful at the beginning giving relief
and felt assurance I was ‘treating’ my back. A cosy hot water bottle placed either
under my leg or buttock whilst sitting or in bed was another comfort. I also used heat cream or an ice gel but
these were less effective.
- Private
Physiotherapy sessions x 3 at two different locations. These gave me more reassurance in the
diagnosis and exercises to help. I
have done these religiously for the whole time – two or three times a
day. Mornings have been taken up
with the routine of rising, taking a warm bath, exercising, dressing, and
massaging my back, butt and leg with oil.
- A
bed of nails mat – in my exercise regime I lay on my yoga mat and this -
hoping for relief. I think the thought was that it may act
like acupuncture, I’m not sure of the benefits but when you are suffering
you try anything to relieve it.
- Pain
gun –
When
I started using this I noticed a change in my thought patterns. I began to repeat a positive statement
over and over in my head at the end of each exercise session.
- Tennis
ball – I was advised to roll this across my periformis muscle (in buttock)
which I did. Also rolling it under
the ball of my foot where the Sciatic nerve ends.
- Jacuzzi. I continued my membership at the leisure
centre and although I did less and less in the gym (no weight lifting or
strenuous exercises) I kept going.
A few times the tears would not stay in my eyes. I swam of sorts, I couldn’t do much but
enjoyed floating. I used the
Jacuzzi which has been a lovely relief of pain.
- MRI
Scan – this showed I had two bulging discs and degeneration of spine bones
(old age). I requested a copy of
the report to take to the Osteopath.
- Private
Osteopath. A trainer at the gym
recommended her friend who would be gentle with me. I had feared going to a Chiropractor
worrying they would do more harm than good and was considering acupuncture. However, I read up what the difference
was between a Chiropractor and Osteopath and booked the latter.
The Osteopath gently stretched my
lower spine with the palms of his hands; rocked me as I lay on my left side;
manipulated the sciatic vein in my leg and did some cranial massage too.
A few days after the first
session, the pain in my lower leg vanished.
After the second session, it hurt for a few days and I have to be honest
and say my moods by now were not at their best.
Anger slipped out in frustration, I am only human and not
super-human. But that said there was
more improvement. The pain is receding
and is now mostly only in my very upper leg, buttock and back. I have hope that by Christmas and New Year
this journey will be at its end.
As Sciatica is an ailment that can’t be seen or felt by
anyone else it is hard for friends and family to empathize. People who live permanently with disabilities
were more sympathetic and those who have previously suffered sciatica could
feel my pain when I sat with a cushion for support in their company.
I have experienced many physical and mental health issues in
my life but this was by far the worst. I
wish I had gone to an Osteopath much sooner and can highly recommend this form
of treatment for those who prefer holistic therapy. With grateful thanks to Peter Andrews, Sutton
Osteopathy, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.
To date (16.12.18) I still exercise daily, walk, have warm baths with Epsom Salts in, use the pain gun and none prescribed pain killers once a day.
Thank you for taking time to read this blog. If you know anyone who is suffering in this debilitating health issue please print it off - it may help them.
