hi all,

i have been suffering with anxiety for years and the last year has been quite bad for me. i have been suffering with tension for the last year which i think has caused sciatica. i can only walk for a few minutes then it kicks in and my leg gives in on me. ( fell on a date ) been like this for a few months. i do worry about it and feel that people are watching me so seem to develop a very strange walk when i feel this is happening. also when i drive i am anxious. i did a 5 hour drive last year and was very tense all the way. by the time i had got there i ached all over and again couldn't walk for days which was a shame as i was on holiday and at a festival. what i think is sciatica kicked in and this condition was very limiting.

anyway what has happened is i went to see a specialist doctor a couple of weeks ago and because i was very stiff i had developed the walk. he saw me and said ms. he totally freaked me out and then asked me to stand on one leg which i couldn't do. asked me also to do this with my eyes closed. mmmmmm!

i have been doing my relaxation tape religiously for the last week and things seemed to have stopped hurting so much and my walking seems to improved quite abit but still with a limp. i am getting alot of muscle twitches which i think is just the muscles relaxing after such along time of being tense. i am beginning to wonder if i have developed abit of a phobia( people watching me etc) oh and i can stand on one leg then the other.

it would be nice to get some opinions etc on my experience

thanks for reading

Julie

It would seem that from your experience, it is stress related because relaxation seems to help. So, it would be a good idea to certainly continue with the relaxation exercises. You might also try some yoga postures. You don't necessarily need to take a class; you can do a net search and maybe find a few postures/stretches that would help. They too are part of relaxation.

thanks for that

i was thinking along the same lines as you about the relaxation helping. it may be that the tension is causing the inflamation in my spine and as the symptoms have slightly diminished since doing relaxation. it appears to be stress related. i do have a stressful job which doesn't help

i will definately continue with the relaxation techniques

need to do them now

thanks again

Julie