Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Sciatic Home Remedies

Lets hear em. Not a big fan of meds or the Doc (no offense to those in the profession). Been giving me fits for the last 4-6 weeks, she's hurtin pretty bad the last couple days.

It hurts down the back of your leg?

If it's really bad just lay around with a heating pad.

Things that helped me long term are a firm mattress, ab/back exercises, and stretching(touch your toes/cross your legs and touch your toes). Other forms of exercise like cycling can be terrible for your back.

Oh yeah, eat/take fiber and poop everyday!

I had a bout with sciatic nerve about seven years ago. It got so bad I could barely walk into the hospital, fifteen minutes under the flouroscope while the doctor injected steroids into the joint in my pelvis and I walked out of the hospital totally free of pain. I am not aware of any home remedies that will provide permanent relief from sciatic pain.

try a chiro yet? they have worked wonders for several different back issues for me. but you gotta find the right one. some are useless.

Yup. Burning, pain in my ass with pain down the back all the way to my foot. If i stand to long my toes get to tingling like the feeling when your foot falls asleep. I'll try those stretches. Thanks.

Laying on the floor flat on my back and pulling my knees up to my chest. Works sometimes, sometimes not. I hate taking any kind of pain meds.

+1 on a good chiropractor.

Never been to a chiro. Was hoping to avoid an office visit of any kind.

That doesn't make any sense. You have a lumbar vertebrae out of place. A home remedy is to hope it improves.

Hope in one hand $hit in the other - whick fills faster?

Stretch hamstrings well in addition to back/pelvis. Doing ab work doesn't hurt either.

Thanks all. I give it a try, minus the schitting in my hand thing.

Simple stretching helps me when I have a flare up.

Sciatic pain is often caused by inflammation of a vertebrae that pushes on the nerve. For me, ice on my lower back and ibuprofen often help.

If it gets too bad to handle, find a non-quack chiropractor.

went about 3 weeks with it once - then just got in the habit of laying on my back on the floor, raising my leg and keeping it straight and having my wife stretch it toward me as far as I could stand it.

The more pain I endured from stretching the less pain I had during the day. Up until that point I couldn't even sit down at work. The stretching gave me more relief than any horse tranquilizer the doc gave me.

No heat. Ice. 800 mg Ibuprofen. Stretch your hamstrings. If you can find an inversion table -- IT WORKS.

May not be a vertebrae out of place, I've been dealing with the same issue since July 4th weekend. I had an MRI Tue. and have already done about 10 visits with a chiropractor, mine is either a bulging or ruptured disc (will find out with results of MRI) it bulges out and presses on the sciatic nerve causing all of the issues OP mentions. I also have numbness on left side of left leg from knee to ankle.

I tried to tough it out for a few weeks, began Anti-inflammatory meds, muscle relaxers, Ibuprofen, finally broke down and began low dose prescription pain meds after tears running down face trying to get socks and shoes on..can't sleep in bed for 3 weeks, been in recliner since only way to get comfortable enough to fall asleep.

At this point I hope an epidural of steroids will work but if surgery necessary so be it I just want it resolved.

Still able to work and grateful for that.

Mike

this, if a good chiro cant help you your looking at surgery or leaving it which is a bad plan as the nerve will eventually die if its kept compressed for to long...

as far as DIY.....there are alot of videos on youtube but dont see the two that helped my ex the most, the first up can do yourself, the other you need someone, preferably someone stronger than the tension in your leg muscles so if you have a small wife or girlfriend you may be SOL on that one

#1 stand with a chair beside you on the affected side. put your foot on the chair with your leg as far out to the side as you can, your foot should be pointing more or less to the side not ahead of you...now slowly bend down to touch your toes a couple of time....that will stretch stuff out and may help make it better...

#2 lay in bed with your gal on the affected side, bring your foot up so your heel touches your arse and lay it over onto the bed, now hae your gal bring your knee up to your armpit keeping the knee joint as close to bed as possible....pushing on it bouncing it a couple times to help stretch it out but not to hard that you really pull something...slowly bring the leg back to straight still keeping the knee as close to the bed as possible....closer you can get it to your armpit the better but most guys aint terribly flexible...

i do know a third way but a chiro showed me it and i have to do it by feel and am not sure i can do it on anyone but my ex, really dont think i could do it to any normal size guy....

You have two choices
Go to a Dr, or stop complaining and just suffer

Thanks everyone. If all else fails, Jim Beam and a warm bath will fix it. At least according to my dad. That was his cure all for anything. Bad back, constipated, Jim Beam and a warm bath.