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As a sciatica and chronic lower back pain sufferer, I have tried a number of therapies and have had failures and successes in all. Chiropractic was a regular part of my health care until I was pregnant and learned how to adjust myself. I still go if things get really bad but find I can relieve a lot of minor problems before they grow. Some chiropractors are brilliant and some probably shouldn't have graduated. I've also tried massage therapy to relax the muscles and let the spine heal itself. This works as well but then sometimes it just doesn't do enough.

I've tried accupuncture, yoga, and shiatsu but I think the best thing is EXCERCISE. "Just walk it off" isn't such bad advice. Once you can walk again, that is.

What other therapies are there? What works for you?

Big difference between Massage Therapy and Chiropratic Koan. Massage therapy is super for soft tissues and muscles, but will not address dispalcements or mis-alignments of vertebrae or bony structures which may impinge on nerves. Some Chiropractors (as I am sure you have discovered) will even claim to cure cancer.

I had a vetebral displacement, caused by a muscle spasm that kept pulling it out of place. The Chiropractor was adept at getting the vertebrae back in place, but could not help with the muscle spasm. I wound out going first to the Chiropractor to get the vertabrae adjusted and then ran over to the M.D. to get a shot of a muscle relaxant. That did the trick and solved my problem. The MD couldn't manipulate and the DC couldn't prescribe.

I go for a full body massage twice a month and have done so for the past 10 years. I am a tight muscled guy, prone to cramping, and massage is helpful.

I suffer with sciatica i have done for years, like Koan i walk quite a lot to strengthen the muscles in my legs & lower back, and reading Mystic moons post its strange but when my back's bad the only way i am comfortable in bed is to sleep in the position she suggests,with one leg across the other & a pillow under the knee to raise it a little.

My back "went" again on Thursday eve and i havent been sleeping too well, it seems that i'm much more comfy walking/standing, i bought some heat patches yesterday you just rip the back off & stick it over the painful area & it heats up & stays warm for 12 hours, it does'nt cure it but the heat sure does comfort you & the up-side is you don't make everybodys eyes water with the smell of wintergreen.

A few years ago i went to a chiropractor and i ended up in bed for 2 weeks, i could'nt straighten my back at all, i'm obviously best off sticking to manipulation/massage & heat.

By the way i'm knelt on the floor with my laptop on a stool typing this, its the only way i can use my computor at the moment cos it hurts to put pressure on the base of my spine!! :yh_sad

mystic moon wrote: i've been a licensed massage therapist for years.i specialize in theraputic (medical) modalities. sciatica is caused by your piriformis muscle compressing on sciatic nerve. this muscle goes almost horizontally across your bottom.(attatching into hip joint -top of thigh bone. what u need to do is stretch. try putting (affected side) leg across other leg.-foot @ (good side) knee, push knee over/up till u feel stretch. do not raise hip while stretching.- (done lying down, obviously). if u have someone who can do this 4 u it's much better. ther are actually alot of things u can do at home to help this.however if done correctly this is what i've found to be most effective for myself & my patients. hope it helps.
I love massage therapy.. Cant afford it too often though. Its quite an indulgence.

Wouldnt go near a Chiropractor. That concept of cracking makes my stomach feel ill.I was injured ( lower back in a horse accident ) X rays said I was Ok. HA! The pain shoots down my legs and even affects my feet and ankles. I live with it. Hot water has always been a remedy I rely on. That and bribing people aroun me to squeeze my feet and ankles. I wish you lived here moon. Sorry you all have pain. Its a *****

Lon,

The idea of comparing massage and chiro is based on the concept that the body is always trying to heal itself. Like when you stand up and something cracks on its own. So massage can relieve the muscle tension allowing the bones to move to the proper place without forcing them. Sounds like you found one of the good chiropractors.

Mystic Moon, thanks for the advice. I will try to add that in with my little yoga bit that I do. I think the hands on part of massage is why it works so well. Human touch is very healing.

abbey, I love heat too. I was told that cold was better to use but I can't do cold.

weeder, Don't ya love it when you drag your butt into an office because you are in pain and they tell there is nothing wrong.

Yeah.. 30 years ago i was lying nude on a table.. with my legs in the air.. talking to this male gynocologist thru my knees.....I told him that the problem I was having was so bad, I was tempted to use a wire brush to remedy the situation.

His reply was "Really, I dont see any scratch marks here" Needless to say.. that was the medical adventure that colored my outlook on male Gynos. It was Female all the way after that kids.Two children later.. both delivered by women.

Yeah!!!

weeder wrote: Yeah.. 30 years ago i was lying nude on a table.. with my legs in the air.. talking to this male gynocologist thru my knees.....


Yikes!!! Captain cover your eyes.

weeder you are BRAVE! Bravo.

Sorry.. sometimes I get carried away with my sence of humor.You know the sign of a true comedian is that they will humiliate themselves for the sake of laughing.

The post really should have been under. OUR WORLD OF ANTIBIOTICS. You know side effects and the like?er hmmmm

weeder wrote: Sorry.. sometimes I get carried away with my sence of humor.You know the sign of a true comedian is that they will humiliate themselves for the sake of laughing.

The post really should have been under. OUR WORLD OF ANTIBIOTICS. You know side effects and the like?er hmmmm
Weeder, Pissa??? :wah: :wah: :wah:

yes.pissa!!!!! You got it. ha ha ha ha

Lon;20416 wrote: Big difference between Massage Therapy and Chiropratic Koan. Massage therapy is super for soft tissues and muscles, but will not address dispalcements or mis-alignments of vertebrae or bony structures which may impinge on nerves. Some Chiropractors (as I am sure you have discovered) will even claim to cure cancer.

I had a vetebral displacement, caused by a muscle spasm that kept pulling it out of place. The Chiropractor was adept at getting the vertebrae back in place, but could not help with the muscle spasm. I wound out going first to the Chiropractor to get the vertabrae adjusted and then ran over to the M.D. to get a shot of a muscle relaxant. That did the trick and solved my problem. The MD couldn't manipulate and the DC couldn't prescribe.

I go for a full body massage twice a month and have done so for the past 10 years. I am a tight muscled guy, prone to cramping, and massage is helpful.


(comment) I am Dylan a Liscensed Massage therpist that actually works with a CHIROPRACTOR and i beleive are work complements eachother in so many different ways. It seems that you may not know about sertain modalities that address impinged nerves, mis- alignments, sertain cancers. Modalities like Structural Intergration, Myokinetics, and Functunal assesment works deep tissue to change the bodies Postrual disfunction like manipulating the BOnes to form back to the correct posture because what makes the bones impenge nerves the tight muscles that attach to them? I hope you feel free to ask me anything and if you have any other medical problems and would like to know about them let me know thank you! .

koan;20411 wrote: As a sciatica and chronic lower back pain sufferer, I have tried a number of therapies and have had failures and successes in all. Chiropractic was a regular part of my health care until I was pregnant and learned how to adjust myself. I still go if things get really bad but find I can relieve a lot of minor problems before they grow. Some chiropractors are brilliant and some probably shouldn't have graduated. I've also tried massage therapy to relax the muscles and let the spine heal itself. This works as well but then sometimes it just doesn't do enough.

I've tried accupuncture, yoga, and shiatsu but I think the best thing is EXCERCISE. "Just walk it off" isn't such bad advice. Once you can walk again, that is.

What other therapies are there? What works for you?


Hi, my name is Dylan and i am a liscensed massage therapist and i actually work with a chiropractor and i believe our work complements each other in soo many ways! I notice that you wanted to know about other therapies or treatments are there to help with your proplem. Keep excercising of course but find someone that knows these massage therapy modalities! Myokentics or Structural intergration because the idea or goal of these two modalities are to change the source of the problem becasue it is obvious you have tryed everything but it keeps coming back soo with these modalities they believe the body is a tensegrity model and everything is connected soo maybe the reason that your Performis Muscle is tight and impinging on the Sciatic Nerve is because something else like antagonist muscle (which is the opposite action muscle) may be tight sooo i hope my advise helps a little? but if you want to know more let me know!

Noacky;567392 wrote: Hi, my name is Dylan and i am a liscensed massage therapist and i actually work with a chiropractor and i believe our work complements each other in soo many ways! I notice that you wanted to know about other therapies or treatments are there to help with your proplem. Keep excercising of course but find someone that knows these massage therapy modalities! Myokentics or Structural intergration because the idea or goal of these two modalities are to change the source of the problem becasue it is obvious you have tryed everything but it keeps coming back soo with these modalities they believe the body is a tensegrity model and everything is connected soo maybe the reason that your Performis Muscle is tight and impinging on the Sciatic Nerve is because something else like antagonist muscle (which is the opposite action muscle) may be tight sooo i hope my advise helps a little? but if you want to know more let me know!


Interesting!!

Noacky;567392 wrote: Hi, my name is Dylan and i am a liscensed massage therapist and i actually work with a chiropractor and i believe our work complements each other in soo many ways! I notice that you wanted to know about other therapies or treatments are there to help with your proplem. Keep excercising of course but find someone that knows these massage therapy modalities! Myokentics or Structural intergration because the idea or goal of these two modalities are to change the source of the problem becasue it is obvious you have tryed everything but it keeps coming back soo with these modalities they believe the body is a tensegrity model and everything is connected soo maybe the reason that your Performis Muscle is tight and impinging on the Sciatic Nerve is because something else like antagonist muscle (which is the opposite action muscle) may be tight sooo i hope my advise helps a little? but if you want to know more let me know!


Actually, I do have another question.

The heel and outside edge of my left foot (no Daniel Day Lewis jokes, please) have been numb for over two years. I think this is from a pinched nerve near the sacrum. Does this sound possible? How can it be pinched for two years without more loss of feeling?

I've gone to massage and chiropractic since it started and it didn't help.

I am in a bit of a conundrum. I was referred to a chiropractor for my arthritus in my hip.

It seemed to work OK for me. My problem? I am tactile sensitive...no humor intended here...I have trouble with the close proximity and the touch required for this. I found that the anxiety of needing to go, and having him do what he needed to do outweighed the benefits of it. So I stopped going.

Forget massage..I think I would have the same problems.

koan;567527 wrote: Actually, I do have another question.

The heel and outside edge of my left foot (no Daniel Day Lewis jokes, please) have been numb for over two years. I think this is from a pinched nerve near the sacrum. Does this sound possible? How can it be pinched for two years without more loss of feeling?

I've gone to massage and chiropractic since it started and it didn't help.


It can happen Koan, where my S1 nerve is crushed I have permanent pins and needles and more often than not numbness in my right leg, down the outside of my foot and underneath it through to the toes. Apparantly it can and more than likely will stay this way forever. Have you tried a tens machine for your lower back, you can borrow mine if you want to try it.

koan;567527 wrote: Actually, I do have another question.

The heel and outside edge of my left foot (no Daniel Day Lewis jokes, please) have been numb for over two years. I think this is from a pinched nerve near the sacrum. Does this sound possible? How can it be pinched for two years without more loss of feeling?

I've gone to massage and chiropractic since it started and it didn't help.


To be honest there can be sevral reasons why you might have that ! I might be able to narrow it down if you do some test for me k? It could be an impengment of Sacrum Nerve 1, the Gastrocnemius Muscle(calf muscle) may be tight because you said you run alot and the Achilles tendon(tendon that is connected to the calf muscle) attaches to the Calcaneus ( the heel bone), or the Plantor fascia( is on the bottom of your foot) is tight which is the "most common for runners." The Plantor fascia is continuous with the achilles tendon! Or Retrocalcaneal Bursitis Or Calcaneofibular ligament ext........... WOW there are alot of theings that can affect the outside heel!lol

Ok have you ever injured it befor? When does it hurt the most like when your active or not. Is there sertain activities or actions that you do that it makes it worse? Can you fit more that two fingers inbetween your arch when you are standing up? Move your ankle up or down does that hurt? Laying face down on your bed or kneelling on your bed have your foot over the edge and have it slightly pointing down then squeeze you calf muscle OR in that some position without the foot pointing down pinch the achilles tendon 1 inch forn the heel!(if you experience pain or the numbness increases then somethign is wrong with you Gastrocnemius or Achilles tendon. THen press on the bottom of your foot when your foot is pointed up! then if it increases numbness or any other symptoms it may be the Plantor Fascia!

ok. outside of it hurting when I tried to reach the bottom of my foot I only noticed the numbness feeling more pronounced when I tightened my calves with my foot pointing up, not down.

I have injured my sacrum before. Falling down a slope. Bang. Into a post.

Hi.

I dont know much about chiropractice, do they 'click' you back into place?

But massage therapy, though it couldnt treat the condition. As a regular treatment it would complement other treatments and aid your general well being holistically. Most therapists have a slightly different touch, so its important to let your therapist know if you feel you'd like more or less pressure applied, or more or less of certain movements. And when you find a therapist who you work well with, stick to that person.

If you swim, it is the best exercise for sciatica, particularly the breaststroke leg movement

xxx

Massage Therapy and Chiropractic serve two different purposes. Massage involves tissue only whereas chiropractic involves manipulation of bones and joints. I have massage twice a month which is called Shiatsu and is very relaxing and I have it done after sports activity. Last time I visited a Chiropractor it was for a displaced vertebrae that needed to be put back. Training for Chiropractor is much longer and requires a doctorate DC, certification for Massage Therapy can be done in less than a year.

I've never been to any of them but I don't know which one will solve my problem I need help I have really bad pain on my left side on my back like on my shoulder blade every time I move my head, hurts or when I tried to lift my left arm hurts too I think is a muscle but I'm not sure please help...

You should see an MD first for pertinent medical advice on this, and what course of action would benefit you the most.

verod2000;1362657 wrote: I've never been to any of them but I don't know which one will solve my problem I need help I have really bad pain on my left side on my back like on my shoulder blade every time I move my head, hurts or when I tried to lift my left arm hurts too I think is a muscle but I'm not sure please help...


That sounds like a knotted muscle.

But as Chonsigirl said, see a Doc, first.

As for OP question. My lower back pain and sciatica are helped a lot by using an inversion table.

It has saved me thousands of dollars in Chiro and Med bills.

Thanks guys I'll go and see my doctor first and then will see...

You did sure have tried a lot of treatments and therapies. For chiropractors, yes there are a lot that are good and also there are a lot that is not. That is why before you have your session with a chiropractor, you should do some digging on the background of the chiropractor.

Also the therapies that you have mentioned were all good therapies for our body and that it is a natural therapy. It just depends on how our body will react to it.

koan;20411 wrote: As a sciatica and chronic lower back pain sufferer, I have tried a number of therapies and have had failures and successes in all. Chiropractic was a regular part of my health care until I was pregnant and learned how to adjust myself. I still go if things get really bad but find I can relieve a lot of minor problems before they grow. Some chiropractors are brilliant and some probably shouldn't have graduated. I've also tried massage therapy to relax the muscles and let the spine heal itself. This works as well but then sometimes it just doesn't do enough.

I've tried accupuncture, yoga, and shiatsu but I think the best thing is EXCERCISE. "Just walk it off" isn't such bad advice. Once you can walk again, that is.

What other therapies are there? What works for you?